West End theatres now employing bouncers

[morosco]

Posted: 8/2/09 at 9:01pm

From U.K. Times Online

A number of West End theatres are now employing bouncers to cope with intoxicated patrons who fight, fondle one another and even urinate in the auditorium.

The yobbish behaviour has led to theatregoers being ejected during performances and police being called to some of London?s most successful shows.

One production was interrupted after a woman was caught ?pleasuring? her partner in the stalls. And the cast of Stephen Sondheim?s A Little Night Music were stunned to see an audience member walk over to the side of the stage and relieve himself.

Mind your step: it?s a yobs? night at the theatre Updated On: 8/2/09 at 09:01 PM

[binau]

Posted: 8/2/09 at 9:12pm

Liaisons!
What's happened to them?
Liaisons today.
Disgraceful!

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 8/2/09 at 9:18pm

A number of West End theatres are now employing bouncers to cope with intoxicated patrons who fight, fondle one another and even urinate in the auditorium.

Not to be rude, but what the fu*k is going on over there?!

[blaxx]

Posted: 8/2/09 at 9:25pm

When I saw Avenue Q at the Noel Coward, after the intermission one of the balconies was occupied by two men and a woman, obviously drunk and very loud. Each was holding a bottle of liquor. After a few minutes they started their own show, making out with each other (yes, like a threesome) and laughing very loud, and ignoring there was a show going on.

One man in the front row tried to "shh" them, and one of the guys threw a bottle at him and they all left a few minutes after.

I was like WTF?! Never saw an usher trying to stop them.

[timote316]

Posted: 8/2/09 at 9:28pm

Theatres using bouncers? Don't tell Nick Adams.

[Marianne2]

Posted: 8/2/09 at 9:37pm

Seriously? What goes on in these theatres?

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 8/2/09 at 9:41pm

Yeah. If anything, they should be peeing on the walls of the Marquis with its current tenant.

[CapnHook]

Posted: 8/2/09 at 9:48pm

@Yankeefan ROFL/Yikes!

[AndAllThatJazz22]

Posted: 8/2/09 at 9:50pm

Well, at least they don't stand at the end of every show

[wafflehouse2005]

Posted: 8/2/09 at 9:51pm

I love how some of the British theatregoers critique US audiences because we give entrance applause, and standing ovations, all the while they are having threesomes during the show and pissing on the stage.

[AndAllThatJazz22]

Posted: 8/2/09 at 9:54pm

America has had a handful of 'incidents', like the couple that had sex in one of the boxes during 'Legally Blonde'. There was also a dude that touched himself during one of Cheno's songs in YAGMCB.

[Just_John]

Posted: 8/2/09 at 9:59pm

I saw four shows in London two months ago and three of the shows (Little Night, La Cage and Sister Act) recieved full standing ovations during the curtain call. I also saw a matinee of Oliver! and I would say about 40% of the stalls were standing at curtain call. So I wouldn't say London doesn't give standing ovations easily.

[wafflehouse2005]

Posted: 8/2/09 at 9:59pm

Oh, I'm sure we have. I guess it just hasnt reached the point that it has over there.

Although it wasn't really an 'incident', when I saw Ave. Q for my first time there in New York, everytime the man next to me would laugh, the side of my face got a little more preserved due to the amount of alcohol on his breath. I had to hold mine just so I wouldnt become intoxicated.

[BroadwayBound062]

Posted: 8/2/09 at 10:08pm

I love this because I know people who think American theatre goers are rude but honestly has this happened in NYC

[Scarywarhol]

Posted: 8/2/09 at 10:09pm

Hahaha, and yet there's still the completely unfounded stereotype that they're somehow substantially more sophisticated over there.

[BroadwayBound062]

Posted: 8/2/09 at 10:17pm

My thoughts exactly Scarywarhol...

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 8/2/09 at 10:26pm

Fondling and drinking are passable.
Pissing during A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC is passe.

[AndAllThatJazz22]

Posted: 8/2/09 at 10:28pm

Maybe the reason why british theatre goers don't 'respond' as much is because they're passed out from excessive alcohol use.

[TimesSquareRegular]

Posted: 8/2/09 at 10:30pm

Guess sending ROCK OF AGES to the West End might not be such a good idea ....

[MariusPontmercy]

Posted: 8/3/09 at 11:03am

As awful as this stuff is, it's not as if its something that happens all the time in the UK! In many years of going to the West End several times a month, I have never seen any behaviour like those things mentioned in the article. Maybe I'm just going to the "wrong" shows...!

[madbrian]

Posted: 8/3/09 at 11:14am

Isn't the obvious solution to send Patti over there?

[uncageg]

Posted: 8/3/09 at 11:34am

How many times did you pee on that wall? Three!! Three times!!!

[dramamama611]

Posted: 8/3/09 at 12:00pm

I'm sure it's not an every performance type of behavior. We have our share....and we've heard of fondling experiences here....onstage at SA one night there was a couple that couldn't keep their hands off each other and were not trying ot hide it...at all.


Still....oy.

[winston89]

Posted: 8/3/09 at 12:02pm

There's always the popular story of someone jerking off during a show. Such as the guy who did so during one of Cheno's songs in You're A Good Man Charlie Brown.

[boyfromoz2]

Posted: 8/3/09 at 12:38pm

Just because it is not reported does not mean it doesn't occur in the US.

I attend London theatre four, maybe five, times a month and the worst I've ever seen is someone answering a phone call during Waiting For Godot ... boy, did Ian McKellen tell that guy where to shove his phone. Never have I encountered people pissing on walls, or anything that bad. However, I haven't seen Mamma Mia, Thriller, Dirty Dancing or We Will Rock You, all of which are notorious for roudy audience behaviour.

Re standing ovations - at shows which are marketed equally for Brits and tourists (Sister Act, Oliver, Dirty Dancing) there is sadly a mandatory standing o.
Example 1 - at Michael Ball's last performance in Hairspray, the audience gave Leanne Jones (who played her last performace as Tracy on the same night) a standing ovation in the middle of the show.
Example 2 - at La Cage last Saturday, only a handful of the stalls gave Roger Allam and Phillip Quast a standing ovation, and after they realised no one else was standing, they all sat down.