Little Beast
This afternoon I was mostly at The West Yorkshire Playhouse, watching their production of Beauty and the Beast.
The Stage newspaper had given it an excellent review: however, you can't always tell from The Stage, which is perhaps better known for listing all the actors' names and saying "they were very good" than for its incisive criticism.
This production, however, was extremely enjoyable, and the actors excellent.
Of course, it was a family show, so there were lots of small children in the audience, most of whom were very well-behaved.
In the second half, however, a small child in the balcony decided to repeat every line each actor said, immediately after the actor had said it, as a kind of shouted echo.
It became Very Annoying very very quickly. The child's parents, or whoever he was with, made no attempt to stop it.
Perhaps fortunately, I was there on a work-related trip, and therefore was determined to quell my Inner Schoolmarm. I was really struggling to keep her down, though - she was fighting to get out and she wanted me to get to my feet and say something along the lines of,
"Would the owners of that annoying child take him OUT please and stop ruining the play for the rest of us, before I come up and throw him over the balcony?"
I did manage to keep quiet, though - it has not always been so, believe me. A few people made "sssssh" noises. The child's parents did nothing. The theatre did nothing. The actors kept their concentration superbly, though I spoke to one of them afterwards and she said it was really difficult.
Of course, it wasn't entirely the child's fault: nobody told him to stop, or not in any way that was effective, anyway. We're British. We put up with such things. I wish we wouldn't.
The Stage newspaper had given it an excellent review: however, you can't always tell from The Stage, which is perhaps better known for listing all the actors' names and saying "they were very good" than for its incisive criticism.
This production, however, was extremely enjoyable, and the actors excellent.
Of course, it was a family show, so there were lots of small children in the audience, most of whom were very well-behaved.
In the second half, however, a small child in the balcony decided to repeat every line each actor said, immediately after the actor had said it, as a kind of shouted echo.
It became Very Annoying very very quickly. The child's parents, or whoever he was with, made no attempt to stop it.
Perhaps fortunately, I was there on a work-related trip, and therefore was determined to quell my Inner Schoolmarm. I was really struggling to keep her down, though - she was fighting to get out and she wanted me to get to my feet and say something along the lines of,
"Would the owners of that annoying child take him OUT please and stop ruining the play for the rest of us, before I come up and throw him over the balcony?"
I did manage to keep quiet, though - it has not always been so, believe me. A few people made "sssssh" noises. The child's parents did nothing. The theatre did nothing. The actors kept their concentration superbly, though I spoke to one of them afterwards and she said it was really difficult.
Of course, it wasn't entirely the child's fault: nobody told him to stop, or not in any way that was effective, anyway. We're British. We put up with such things. I wish we wouldn't.
posted by Daphne at 4:16 pm
6 Comments:
Your restraint was remarkable, Daffy.
I've no problem clouting a distruptive child in passing - seemingly by accident of course - and that's when we're all somewhere that is free.
In a theatre, where I've actually paid to enjoy a performance, I'd have been up into that balcony faster than Johnny Weissmuller and ensured that if the brat was that keen on acting, he joined them on the stage forthwith and headfirst.
Maybe that's why I'm childless - and single come to that!!
V. Meldrew.
sniper rifle in the stalls would do it
I once succeeded in getting a whole group of disruptive teenagers to leave the cinema before they became too troublesome during 'Good Night and Good Luck'. The situation had come to a head when one of them indignantly declaimed "it's in black and white!" at the beginning. I went over, quietly told them what the film was about and gave them the choice as to whether to stay and be quiet, leave of their own accord or be thrown out. They went.
Mind you, I was scared that they might be waiting outside to beat me up after the film. I don't think the very appreciative other members of the audience would have stretched their appreciation so far as to protect me. I blame the cinema for selling them the tickets.
You might have enjoyed the film, Daphne, I can lend it to you on DVD.
You're right that it's not the child's fault. The theatre management were very wrong not to intervene; it's their job to make sure that their customers can use their product.
I question the usefulness of clouting a disruptive child without even explaining that it's a consequence of disruptive behaviour. There's some justification for physical assault as a method of discipline but if you're not even going to make it disciplinary, it's just hitting.
Today I told Linnea that if she didn't sit down I'd cut her into tiny little pieces and feed her to the birds. She laughed at me.
Awful that a lone brat can spoil a performance like that. I went to see Macbeth the other day and it was coughers that were the bane of the performance. Of course, you can't blame them, but I still found it horribly off-putting.
He was probably home schooled.
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