Booing at the theatre

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 9/5/06 at 4:50pm

I've never booed at a show ....... but I've thought about it once or twice .......

From the Guardian (UK):

"To boo or not to boo? That is the question. Is it better for an audience to show its disapproval at the end of a show or are they entitled to make abusive remarks while it's in progress? After a nasty experience at Edinburgh's King's Theatre on Tuesday night during a performance of Three Sisters, I've decided that terminal boos are better than a drizzle of derision.

I must first explain what happened on one of the most bizarre nights of my theatregoing life. It began when, during an obviously sotto voce prelude, a loud voice from the stalls trumpeted "We can't hear you." Even when the volume was turned up, people sidled out, ostentatiously snored or muttered darkly during an admittedly interminable first half.

But it was during Chekhov's wonderful last act that disaster struck. Almost every line became a potential minefield. Masha only had to say "Isn't it awful?" or "I'm going out of my mind" for a torrent of jeering, derisive, mocking laughter to issue from the stalls.

Obviously spectators have a right to protest. They have, after all, paid their money. And Krystian Lupa's production was so provocatively slow as to test the patience of even the most dedicated theatregoer.

But what should a dissatisfied customer do? A friend of mine who loathed the current RSC Tempest sat down and wrote a letter of instant protest to the company boss, Michael Boyd. That's one answer. Another solution is to leave at the interval. A third possibility, constantly deployed in opera houses, is to save your anger till the curtain call and boo your heart out. Any of those options seems to me preferable to that of sending up the actors on every line, which is what happened in Edinburgh.

The argument against that is simple. The actors are simply carrying out a concept determined by the director. To jeer at the performers themselves strikes me as rude and cruel; which is why I always dislike the courtly mockery of coarse actors at the end of A Midsummer Night's Dream and Love's Labour's Lost. As one of the victims says in the latter play, "This is not gentle, this is not humble." And the sound I heard in Edinburgh on Tuesday night was similarly that of contemptuous arrogance.

Which is why I think booing is the best bet. Even that isn't a pleasant sound. And there is something depressing about the way any production at the Coliseum or Covent Garden that mildly deviates from the norm is always greeted on the first night by a torrent of booing. But at least booing focuses the discontent.

Artists have even been known to retaliate. There's a famous story of Adrienne Corri, on the disastrous first night of John Osborne's The World of Paul Slickey, responding to the avalanche of curtain-call booing by raising two fingers to the audience and shouting "Go, f**k yourselves." Which is certainly telling them.

But how should playgoers protest? If you think a show stinks, do you catcall during the show, boo at the end or write a dignified protest to the theatre manager? Critics are lucky because they can simply write a sharp notice. But what is the dissatisifed punter to do? You tell me.

http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/culturevulture/archives/2006/09/01/sounding_off_1.html#more

[folkyboy]

Posted: 9/5/06 at 4:53pm

talk about uncouth! i would be too embarassed for myself to boo someone on stage

[Craig]

Posted: 9/5/06 at 4:55pm

Whatever one chooses to do, I think interrupting the performance while it's going one is rude not only to the performers but also other audience members (who may or may not be enjoying the show) but deserve the right to see the show THEY paid to see.

Personally, I'd never boo any show at the end.

[SorryGrateful]

Posted: 9/5/06 at 4:57pm

I can't imagine booing. I think that if a show were bad enough, a significant lack of applause would be noticeable to those involved with the show. Booing seems awful because what if the show is bad, but not the actors? They would have to take the brunt of the booing, even if it wasn't really their faults.

[Calvin]

Posted: 9/5/06 at 4:57pm

The actors are simply carrying out a concept determined by the director. To jeer at the performers themselves strikes me as rude and cruel;

While I would LOVE to tell a STORY about a certain ACTRESS about whom this might not apply, I won't mention any names.

But -- yeah, sometimes booing the actors is akin to yelling at the ticket agent when your flight isn't on time. Even so, uncouth is an understatement.

Critics are lucky because they can simply write a sharp notice. But what is the dissatisifed punter to do?

Come here.
Updated On: 9/5/06 at 04:57 PM

[James885]

Posted: 9/5/06 at 5:00pm

I've never booed or been at any performance where cast members have been booed. My personal belief is that all performers, even if they are the worst actors to ever set foot on a stage, deserve a fundamental level of respect while on stage. Booing and jeering at a performance just goes beyond disrespectful.

[Producer2]

Posted: 9/5/06 at 5:08pm

Gaston sometimes get booooed when he takes his bow because his character is a bad guy. (Not because the actor sucked.)

[EganFan2]

Posted: 9/5/06 at 5:13pm

Booing at the end, maybe. Making noise during the show is out of line. Get up and leave if you hate the show, but to ridicule people on stage during the show is a no-no for me.

[Calvin]

Posted: 9/5/06 at 5:15pm

Especially considering some people might actually be enjoying the show.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 9/5/06 at 5:21pm

90% of the time when I've seen a show that was truly dreadful, it was clear that the fault lied more with the direction or the writing, not the actors, so booing them would have been unfair. Occasionally, I've seen an actor who was clearly miscast and trying his or her best, but again, that's the director's fault for casting the person, not the actor's.

For me, withholding applause is my preferred form of expressing my displeasure at a bad show. While the silence of one or a few persons may not necessarily communicate that there was a level of displeasure in the audience, for me it's the most civilized form of protest -- and I've done it on more than one occasion.

[Bruce Memblagh!]

Posted: 9/5/06 at 5:26pm

Booing is surely as inappropriate as screaming with delight incessesantly at shows

[jimnysf]

Posted: 9/5/06 at 6:09pm

What about throwing tomatoes?

Anyway, I would never boo the actors. It's not their fault that they were in an awful show like "Lestat".

[SNLMedia]

Posted: 9/5/06 at 7:11pm

Booing is completely uncalled for. Mooing, on the other hand, is perfectly acceptable.

[myManCape]

Posted: 9/5/06 at 7:12pm

Producer> The villain is often booed at kids shows. Kevin Cahoon was booed loudly each and every night at Chitty. In a situation like that I think its a sign of respect toward the actor, that they played the part so well that the audience (mainly the kids) hated their character. In Cahoon's case his portrayal of the Childcatcher truly was dark and scary.

But on point I could never imagine booing at a show. The actors give it their all and put their heart and sole into the show. And even if you think an actor, and not the material was bad, just imagine all the other people who didnt get cast in that role, and know that what you saw was the best you could have.

[bwayondabrain]

Posted: 9/5/06 at 7:18pm

i dont boo anywhere, and especially not at a show.
i think it is rude, obnoxious, and immature.

[gettinhep]

Posted: 9/5/06 at 7:24pm

I have never heard booing at a play or musical. Ic ould never do that to a hard-working cast. However, I was in the audience for a rather bizarre recital by Kathleen Battle. There was a ripple of boos from one or two sections of the audience. It was a sell out that evening and the booing was strangely obvious. The cheering for Ms Battle's accompanist was palpable.

[Horton]

Posted: 9/5/06 at 7:25pm

When I saw Chitty all the little kids booed at the Child Catcher, and I agree that was a sign of respect towards Kevin Cahoon because it prooves that as an actor he played his part so well that the little kids were convinced.

[ActingAndy]

Posted: 9/5/06 at 7:36pm

booing during or after the show is very rude... because even if the show wasnt good people still put alot of time money and effort into the show... even if it didnt show

[bwayondabrain]

Posted: 9/5/06 at 7:38pm

and as someone mentioned before, it is also customary to "boo" Gaston after B&TB...
do kids boo Scar, too?

[Mattbrain]

Posted: 9/5/06 at 7:40pm

They booed at all the villains when I saw Chitty and they booed at Ms. Andrews when I saw Mary Poppins.

I saw a production of The Taming of the Shrew that I wish I HAD booed. It overstressed the "Italian-ness" of the play and there were multiple ad-libs. One character even said, "Who's your daddy?"!!!!!!!!!! The bard must have been rolling in his grave!'

Had I seen In My Life, I would have booed long and hard.

[blaxx]

Posted: 9/5/06 at 7:59pm

I don't know about all being the director's fault. Sometimes actor's can be the ones to blame by not believing in the director or not following his instructions as he wanted... I've seen that happen many times, and I think the actor's can be at fault for low energy, or not being committed enough to the material - and one can cast the best actor, and he/she can simply not be in the best disposition.

Booing examples - Sherie Renee Scott in Rent. This was mostly because she was Idina's replacement and a big change from her take as Maureen. Instead of "mooing" with her, the "rentheads "booed".

[OOTI2004]

Posted: 9/5/06 at 8:14pm

Even the thought of someone booing at the theater disgusts me. I find that to be extremely immature and distasteful. I think it is perfectly acceptable to leave a show if you are dissatisfied or to not give applause when you feel it was not deserved, but booing is just cruel and hurtful. If someone near me in a theater booed, I don't know what I would do, but I probably would flip out.

I can't even believe that someone would boo at a professional performance. At my high school, the musical would be performed for the entire school the day before opening, sort of a preview. Now this was performed in front of people who had no desire to be there and had strong opinions against anything "artsy", yet no disrespect was shown. Anyone that found it uninteresting, simply did not applaud. Now I find that sad that audiences at a professional production would be more disrespectful than a bunch of high schoolers who were forced to sit through a play.

Sorry about my rant, but I'm done now.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 9/5/06 at 8:20pm

I was at one of the handful of previews that BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S gave before David Merrick closed down the show. Yes, there was plenty of booing, but there was also a certain section of the audience that was talking back to the actors. I recall Mary Tyler Moore had a line about how bad she'd been and several people blurted out, "Ain't that the truth!"

I must admit, I joined in the booing at curtain calls. The show was a mess.

[WiiCKED x3]

Posted: 9/5/06 at 8:24pm

When I saw DRS for the third time, back in May. When Muriel says her: "Well, it's all accordian to how you look at it" line. A lady next to me booed. I wanted to throw something very hard at her. Like... I don't really know, but something hard.
Even though she seemed about 50 years old, it was still immature.
And obnoxious.

[Calvin]

Posted: 9/5/06 at 8:32pm

When I saw Jackie Mason's latest show (my first and only experience with him, and yes, it was an excrutiating snooze-fest), one lady shouted out to him after one of his prayer/songs: "You're singing is a lot better than your jokes."

He called her a "f*cking yenta." Her shoutback was inappropriate, but honestly, it was my only laugh all night.