Stage Dooring Differences from B'way to the West End

[AHLiebross]

Posted: 6/28/16 at 10:21pm

I am a stage door veteran, especially at Broadway shows. I will be visiting London for the first time ever and hoping to "stage door" after seeing The Phantom of the Opera and Michael Crawford's musical The Go-between.

Are there any West End etiquette rules of which I should be aware?

Audrey

[DramaTeach]

Posted: 6/28/16 at 10:26pm

People don't really go to the stage door in London.  They let the actors go home in peace after the show ends.  There will be a couple of others with you, but it'll be nothing like New York.  

[ArtMan]

Posted: 6/28/16 at 10:55pm

I agree.  I think the biggest group I was part of was maybe 10-15.  That was for Keira Nightley and Damian Lewis.  I think most that stage door in the West End are from the US and other countries.

[_IrisTInkerbell]

Posted: 6/29/16 at 2:31am

I've had the same experience. At some shows, nobody waited at the stage door, it'll have to be a big star and perhaps 10-20 will show up. Even at Wicked there were only maybe 10 people.

Keep in mind also that they don't give out Playbills in the West End, so if you want something to get signed you have to buy the souvenir program or use your ticket stub or bring something like a CD booklet. 

[skylight2]

Posted: 6/29/16 at 2:48am

When I was in London last May there were tons of people waiting for Kit Harington. Same goes for Richard Madden and Lily James. 

[aaaaaa15]

Posted: 6/29/16 at 2:53am

People will wait for TV/film stars but not so much theatre stars.

[ArtMan]

Posted: 6/29/16 at 7:43am

Good point, Iris, about the playbills.  I forgot about that.  I don't collect signatures.  Yes, they will line up for a London premiere of a Hollywood film.  

[AHLiebross]

Posted: 6/29/16 at 7:00pm

Thanks everyone. I'm looking for a photograph rather than an autograph, and I definitely plan to buy the Phantom programme, so at least I'm not being cheap. (I don't know if there's one for The Go-Between).

In Michael Crawford's case, although I'm also dying for a picture with him, I mainly plan to thank him for his work. If he hadn't made such an impression on the audiences, I doubt that the show would have run long enough for me to get obsessed with it -- I saw the live musical only after the 2004 Gerard Butler movie came out. In any event, I'd like to tell him how much I appreciate his contributions to musical theatre. I never thought I'd have the chance to see him live!

Audrey

[Jay Lerner-Z]

Posted: 6/29/16 at 7:07pm

^ Also, it's directly because of Michael Crawford that this very site exists - so you can thank him for that too, I'm sure he'd just love to hear all about BWW... :)

Updated On: 6/29/16 at 07:07 PM

[rodrigo_ca]

Posted: 6/29/16 at 8:01pm

the accents

[_IrisTInkerbell]

Posted: 6/30/16 at 6:01am

Btw, I saw Michael Crawford when he was in the Wizard of Oz in London a few years ago, and he did come out and sign and pose for photos... for the 10 people that were there

[imeldasturn]

Posted: 6/30/16 at 7:26am

Thanks everyone. I'm looking for a photograph rather than an autograph, and I definitely plan to buy the Phantom programme, so at least I'm not being cheap. (I don't know if there's one for The Go-Between).

Yes, every West End show has its programme

 

[Wick3]

Posted: 6/30/16 at 10:59am

_IrisTInkerbell said: "Btw, I saw Michael Crawford when he was in the Wizard of Oz in London a few years ago, and he did come out and sign and pose for photos... for the 10 people that were there "

 

I've only been to West End twice. Thinking more about it, you guys are right that doing stage door is a lot 'easier' than on Bway. Then again, I recall doing stage door with my parents back in the 90s when I was a kid and stage door back then wasn't as crazy as it is nowadways for the hit shows.  

Do any of you guys do a London trip for a week every year just to see West End shows? A friend of mine has done it the past 5 years and I'm thinking of saving my $$$ and perhaps join him depending on which shows are currentyl playing there. Ok I'll admit if Hedwig and/or Hamilton is in West End, I'd definitely go across the pond to see those shows.... and also do stage door of course!

 

[rjm516]

Posted: 6/30/16 at 11:07am

Stage dooring has definitely increased here in London in the past few years. It's never as bad as the crowds can get on Broadway, unless it's for Bradley Cooper (that was nuts) or Kit Harrington or the like, but the crowds are steadily growing. Sure there are some smaller shows that don't get anyone waiting but it's not weird anymore if you want to wait.

 

The real difference, the one I really wish would copy Broadway, is that although the crowds are growing and it happens more, there is still no system at too many shows to handle it. Like there is no barricade and more importantly no security guard (again, unless for a superstar). It can be really annoying when you think you've chosen a good place to stand and then a group stands right in front of you. It would legitimize the whole thing if there were guards, and I think the stars would feel a lot better.

 

Oh one other thing that sucks - a lot of the theatres are located right next to bars and restaurants, so very often the smokers from those places will scout a smoke spot and decide to smoke in front of the stage door, in the small space you are keeping free between the crowd and the actual doors. It's pretty rude and disgusting but it happens a lot. I was at Aladdin a few weeks ago and at the stage door with plenty of children, and I asked these men if they would mind moving (and not smoking mere centimeters from all these children and forcing us to breathe it in), and they told us to piss off. Classy. With no guard there, there was nothing we could do to stop it (and it was blowing right up into their dressing room windows too).

 

And in case you are expecting a reprieve from tough audiences, just bear in mind that audiences here are just as ill-behaved as anywhere else. 

[devonian.t]

Posted: 6/30/16 at 12:56pm

Haha- those people smoking are just as likely to be the crew and chorus- a year or so again there was quite a fuss about Les Mis cast smoking outside stage door in costume!

Michael Crawford does not regularly come out of stage door for his shows.

[slumdogdelaware]

Posted: 6/30/16 at 1:21pm

I studied theatre in London for a little while and saw over a dozen shows while I was there, but only stage door-ed for two. One was The Effect, which was playing at the National Theatre starring Billie Piper. After the show, there was probably around 8-10 of us standing at the back doors of the theatre. (Billie, btw, was amazing and very kind. She took pics with everyone)

The second show was Book of Mormon, and they actually had a pretty good crowd of people at the door, though not comparative to Broadway. And like someone else mentioned, there's no security involved, it's just actors walking out of the theatre that look mildly surprised to see people waiting.

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 6/30/16 at 9:00pm

"Dooring" is not a word.

[_IrisTInkerbell]

Posted: 7/1/16 at 5:16am

Wick3 said: "Do any of you guys do a London trip for a week every year just to see West End shows? A friend of mine has done it the past 5 years and I'm thinking of saving my $$$ and perhaps join him depending on which shows are currentyl playing there. Ok I'll admit if Hedwig and/or Hamilton is in West End, I'd definitely go across the pond to see those shows.... and also do stage door of course!"

My situation is a bit different. I'm from Germany and just come to New York to see Broadway shows about once a year (expect for the past 14 months where I had a job in NY and actually lived there), and of course it's much easier for me to get to London, it's 1.5h flight, instead of 8 to NY.

My "problem" with London is that it never has as many musicals going on the same time, they have many more play it feels like, than Broadway. And many of the shows have rather short, limited runs which makes it tricky to find a time where several of those are playing at once.

 

P.S. "stage dooring" is certainly an expression I have used many times, and have heard just as often.

[Emma MK]

Posted: 7/1/16 at 1:49pm

The biggest difference i have found is the lack of barriers at stage doors in the West End. I saw Disgraced in NY and there was literally 4 of us waiting at the stage door and they still put out a barrier XD There are some shows in the West End that will have barriers, but not too many. I go to the theatre by myself a lot and i dont really stage door any more because i find it so awkward as there are sometimes only 2 or 3 of you standing there and it just feels weird, especially when youre all hoping someone will stop the actors so that you can get an autograph/photo too but then youre all too polite and the actors just walk out lol Ive seen so many shows recently where id love to wait at the stage door but was too shy - i feel better at stage doors in NY as they are so much busier! The only stage door ive done here in the last 6 months was Glenn Close in Sunset Boulevard and there was barriers and soooo many people that they all crowded around her car and she stood on the seat and reached over the top to get to people on the other side XD

[yankeefan7]

Posted: 7/1/16 at 3:23pm

The two times I have been in London (2012 and 2016) there have been very few people doing the stage door thing.

[meyerd584]

Posted: 7/1/16 at 7:48pm

I've only stage doored in London twice. Sunset Boulevard w/ Glenn Close and Elephant Man with Bradley Cooper. Both times were mobbed with fans, but they took time to sign and talk to each person.

[bstoll1]

Posted: 10/23/17 at 7:13pm

Is it true that there are no barricades or security at the stage doors in London?

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 10/23/17 at 8:15pm

Depends who's in the show.

[PepperedShepherd]

Posted: 10/23/17 at 8:44pm

Wick3 said: "Do any of you guys do a London trip for a week every year just to see West End shows? A friend of mine has done it the past 5 years and I'm thinking of saving my $$$ and perhaps join him depending on which shows are currentyl playing there. Ok I'll admit if Hedwig and/or Hamilton is in West End, I'd definitely go across the pond to see those shows.... and also do stage door of course!"

Guilty as charged. I've been going to London yearly for a while now -- not just to see shows, but still averaging one a day.

I haven't done a huge amount of stage-dooring there, but agree with most in this thread.  It tends to be much more low key.  For example, I expected much larger crowds for Imelda Staunton in Gypsy and Virginia Woolf or for Damien Lewis in The Goat.  Instead, there were only a handful of us -- which is great because the actors spent a little time actually talking with those of us there.

Then there were the madhouse scenes for Kit Harington in Doctor Faustus and David Tennant in Don Juan in Hell.  I didn't even wait for Tennant -- huge crowd, held behind barricades, several deep -- but Kit was a fun experience.  He came blasting out of the stage door, grabbing phones right & left, and snapping selfies like a madman.  I almost never have my picture taken, but I handed him my phone anyway; he snapped two and then -- seeing the programme in my hand -- asked if I would like to have it signed. (I also think I was the only person at that stage door to talk to Jenna Russell, who I spotted walking through the crowd without anyone paying attention.)

Biggest surprise was the extremely sparse showing at the stage door for Angels in America this year.  There were maybe 2 dozen of us there, if that. Everyone came out, except Nathan, and spent time chatting &/or taking photos. I guarantee the scene on Broadway next year will be considerably different.

bstoll1 said:  "Is it true that there are no barricades or security at the stage doors in London?"

There is usually a security guard or two, but barricades are rare.  In many cases, there would be nowhere to put them.

 

 

 

[Allegra23]

Posted: 10/24/17 at 10:22am

I don't have any experience in non-celebrity plays in West End, but I once stage doored after a Jude Law play. There were only two other fans besides me waiting, and no security, no barricades, no nothing. This was a few years back though, so maybe things have changed since then. The whole thing was super calm and he was super nice, signed our tickets/programmes and took photos.