Keep Them In The Auditorium

They are always charming and helpful and friendly, those people who show you to your seat at the theatre and sell you your programme. Nowadays they often ask you to turn off your phone or march around carrying a picture of a phone with a big red cross through it. So far, so good but what happens when the show begins ? They all disappear, presumably to stock up their ice cream trays for the interval. Sadly, though, auditoria now really need to be policed. When someone starts reading their emails or taking photographs or video it should not be left to their neighbouring audience members to stop them. We need staff members discreetly patrolling and taking action when inconsiderate audience members behave in a distracting or annoying manner. It’s not just phones. On a recent visit to the Peacock Theatre in London the whole row in front of me, who all seemed to know each other, talked amongst themselves and were laughing and jeering ( inappropriately ) throughout the first act. When I left at the interval ( so angry I could not have enjoyed act two even if the problem was dealt with ) and reported the matter to a staff member they were very concerned and looked like they were going to deal with it. It should never have happened, though. A staff member in the auditorium would have noticed this straight away and nipped it in the bud.