Badly behaved theatregoers: ‘A woman urinated in a stairwell adjacent to where we were sitting’

Sep 30, 2023

Guardian readers share their experiences of appalling audience antics, including heckling, eating sushi and being sick in the seats

The thorny issue of theatre etiquette has come under the spotlight after a number of recent incidents that have seen shows halted or even cancelled. In one instance police were called to a Manchester performance of The Bodyguard due to "unprecedented levels of violence", leaving the cast unable to finish the show.

We asked to hear your stories of theatregoers behaving badly …

"While sitting in the slips with family at a performance of Dirty Dancing, a rather intoxicated guest urinated in a stairwell adjacent to where we were sitting. We heard dripping, couldn't quite work it out, then saw her squatting legs akimbo on cream carpet. She and her guest, after creating havoc throughout the first half, were escorted out in the interval."Liza, 53, HR administrator, from Ipswich

"The Full Monty at Liverpool Empire: five minutes into the show, the leading man entered, and a large group of people in the stalls (I assume women as I couldn't see them) started chanting "get ’em off" repeatedly. We could not hear the actors for their chanting."Margaret Lomas, 72, retired teacher, from west Lancashire

"During a performance of Come from Away, there was a lady in the section next to me causing disruption. I think she had probably had a bit to drink before arriving at the performance. She was shouting out at various points and got up to dance.

"After this happened a couple of times, she was warned by an usher. Almost immediately she started again, and she was warned again. After getting up to dance during Screech In, she was removed by security and a number of ushers."Ryan, 49, technical lead, from Southampton

"I was at The Ocean at the End of the Lane at the Liverpool Empire. I’d been waiting to see this show for years and was sitting in really good seats in the stalls. At the start of act two, a couple who had spotted the seats behind us were empty (and better than the seats they had) jumped into them. They would not stop talking.

"I politely asked: ‘Can you please stop talking?’ and they responded: ‘Shut the fuck up, you fucking gobshite.’"Jim Bentley, 45, tutor, from the Wirral

"At a showing of Jersey Boys at the Bristol Hippodrome, a few drunk women in the row behind sang along loudly with the songs, and talked over or back to the cast (it's not a call-and-response show like, say, Rocky Horror!), which was offputting.

"They only shut up near the end when the woman next to me summoned the courage to point out she’d paid to see the show and not them (my tickets had been cheap and I wasn't interested in a fight, so I confined myself to some very British loud huffs and icy glares)."Holly, 46, works in finance, from Bristol

"A friend and I went to see The Bodyguard at the Palace theatre in Manchester. It was a week after that incident where police were called. We thought everyone would be on their very best behaviour after what had happened. But it was like people didn't know how to behave in a theatre.

"There were audience members filming on their phones, rustling sweet wrappers loudly, talking, getting up to go to the loos constantly (probably too many wines), coming in late, etc. It was like people were on a wild night out. Someone even shouted ‘mime!’ when Melody Thornton hit that top note at the end. It was so cringe."Polly Wade, 33, mental health social worker, from Manchester

"My wife and I went to the ENO to see its production of Die Tote Stadt, and the family in the row behind us was having a full-on picnic. They had a large shopping bag, neatly arranged on the empty seat next to them, from which they kept sourcing all sorts of goodies – fruit, crisps, drinks, sandwiches – with all the accompanying wrapping, unwrapping and ‘pass us the fizz’ noises.

"Whilst they didn't disturb the majority of the audience, as they kept their volume relatively low, those directly around them were certainly affected."Edoardo, 35, civil servant, from London

"I can confidently say that I experience bad behaviour every single time I go to the theatre (twice a month) and things have definitely worsened since the pandemic. There's always someone unwrapping snacks and eating crisps/nuts during the performance, chewing gum, squashing their plastic water bottle, constantly sipping a drink with noisy ice in it. There's always someone chatting, which even if during a musical interlude is distracting and, like all the above, can wait until the interval."Julia Palasinska, 46, pathway coordinator, from Wimbledon

"Often seen bad behaviour with people using mobile phones or talking, but worse experience was at Les Misérables last December. Couple sat next to me, and every character that came on there was a running commentary about who they were and what they were doing – even during some of the quieter ballads.

"Eventually a woman in front turned around and asked them to be quiet. In the interval I turned to the woman and asked her if they could keep it down during the second act. She got abusive with me so I said I was going to complain. I am diabetic and can do without stress as it affects my blood sugar."Paul Holgate, 53, from Doncaster

"I went with some colleagues on a Thursday evening to see The Tina Turner Musical. There were a group of couples behind us who’d clearly been drinking all day and were quite loudly imitating the performers. Then out of nowhere two of the men fell out, with one of them repeatedly telling the other to ‘Brush your teeth, you c**t.’ It was a bit intimidating, but also the insult had us (quietly) laughing with the ridiculousness of it and just how quickly it had escalated."Hannah Henton, 36, supply chain manager, from High Wycombe

"In the last couple of years, drunkenness has been a major issue, with one time people actually being sick in the seats! The most recent incident was at The Tina Turner Musical, in the grand circle. Lots of lovely announcements about how to behave at the start, then two women rock up almost 30 minutes late and are allowed to go to their seats despite tickets and signs warning late entry won't be admitted, laughing all the way that they are disturbing half the row and everyone behind them as they are seated right in the middle.

"Not exactly life threatening, but at the National a family group behind us began sharing a full sushi platter. Don't get me wrong, I love sushi, but it can be smelly! Luckily they had also sat in the wrong seats so were moved before the performance began."Peter Brooks, 63, retired designer, from Derbyshire

"I was attending press night of the tour of White Christmas at Nottingham Theatre Royal when a female in the row in front was standing up to take photos of the musical numbers. I politely leaned forward and asked her to stop doing so.

"At the interval she approached me (alcohol was clearly again a factor) and loudly and smugly informed me that she had been asked to take photos by a relative, who was connected to the show. She was oblivious to the disruption to other audience members and to the cast, as, sadly, are most audience members."Lizz Brain, theatre critic , from Leicester

"I was at Shirley Valentine. Sheridan Smith performs with no microphone so the auditorium needed to be quiet. I had two sets of two ladies behind me with wine bottles in buckets and glasses. A bottle in the first half, another in the second. The noise they made clinking glasses, bottle on metal and general unnecessary movement made it incredibly difficult to hear."Becky, 54, customer service manager, from Hertfordshire

"Went to see Blood Brothers in Tunbridge Wells. Second half a couple were drunk, chatting loudly throughout performance and singing. I asked them to be quiet. They ignored me. Afterwards I thanked them for being selfish and spoiling it for everyone. To which they approached me, swore, shouted and told me to mind my own business."Clair Dillon, 43, cafe manager, from Tonbridge

"I went to see Grease in the Dominion theatre. There were a group of young people who were shouting to each other over the music so they could communicate. It went on until the interval, when several people including myself complained. It was the worst behaviour I have ever witnessed in a theatre."Ian, 52, from London

"I went to see Let the Right One In at the Royal Exchange in Manchester. It's a reasonably small venue and in the round – and as my friend and I took our seats I could already see the four women sat in front of us could be trouble, posing suggestively for selfies with bottles of prosecco. "Giving them the benefit of the doubt, I hoped that during the serious, dark show they would act accordingly. However, after more prosecco during the interval and into the second half, they were starting to get lairy and making various comments about the performance, which was tantamount to heckling the cast. In a venue of that size the performers could easily hear them."Dean Russell, 38, graphic designer, from Liverpool