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Post by fclou on Dec 5, 2024 16:57:46 GMT
Lady Bracknell did it for Importance of Being Earnest - I think it is a good thing.
Much to my chagrin, my teenager refuses to put his phone away until the house lights start dimming but he did when Lady Bracknell told him to.
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Post by A.Ham on Dec 5, 2024 17:12:15 GMT
Given the seeming success of character-led ‘warnings’ from Prada, Mincemeat and Lady Bracknell, perhaps the answer is to do it that way, if it’s more effective at getting the audience’s attention than just ushers holding up signs.
People assume it’s the start of the show, look up from their phones or pause their conversation, and hey presto, warning heard and (hopefully) acknowledged.
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Post by bee on Dec 5, 2024 19:25:02 GMT
A few years ago I saw Electra at the Old Vic with Kristin Scott Thomas. Just before it was due to start an understudy came on stage and said "Ladies an Gentleman, I regret to inform you that Jack Lowden.....(long pause).......remains in perfect health and will play the part of Orestes this evening. Hence why they sent me out here to ask you all to remember to switch off your phones....Thank you!". It was very funny and and got the message across with everyone paying rapt attention.
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Post by SilverFox on Dec 5, 2024 19:48:26 GMT
Back in the 90s and 00s, the Royal Exchange in Manchester would always have the most recognisable voice in the cast giving a humorous, in character, announcement pre-show. Seemed to work - but audiences were better behaved (in general) back then!
I am old-school, and will not tolerate phone use - but I wait until a suitable point before using stage voice to reach the corners of the auditorium with "Will you turn that phone off please" - last used at the cinema this week (only 7, including us, in the auditorium), but done during the opening credits after the initial scene. It worked.
My friends usually try and disappear into the seat at this point ..........
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Post by mockturtle on Dec 5, 2024 20:19:58 GMT
Back in the 90s and 00s, the Royal Exchange in Manchester would always have the most recognisable voice in the cast giving a humorous, in character, announcement pre-show. Seemed to work - but audiences were better behaved (in general) back then! I am old-school, and will not tolerate phone use - but I wait until a suitable point before using stage voice to reach the corners of the auditorium with "Will you turn that phone off please" - last used at the cinema this week (only 7, including us, in the auditorium), but done during the opening credits after the initial scene. It worked. My friends usually try and disappear into the seat at this point .......... Ha! Yes, my friends tend to get a bit embarrassed as I've been known to do similar. |
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Post by lynette on Dec 5, 2024 21:13:53 GMT
A few years ago I saw Electra at the Old Vic with Kristin Scott Thomas. Just before it was due to start an understudy came on stage and said "Ladies an Gentleman, I regret to inform you that Jack Lowden.....(long pause).......remains in perfect health and will play the part of Orestes this evening. Hence why they sent me out here to ask you all to remember to switch off your phones....Thank you!". It was very funny and and got the message across with everyone paying rapt attention. I don't know why they don't do witty stuff like this now. Back in the day they had one of the characters on the stage,RSC, a soldier in opening tableau, have to answer his phone and make the point. Hilarious. And then we’ve had the tannoy with one of the ‘stars’. Those silly placards are useless. Recently at Othello RSC one of the ushers admitted they have a phone every performance and we did at both the shows we attended. He had the silly placard. |
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Post by jake on Dec 5, 2024 21:34:42 GMT
A few years ago I saw Electra at the Old Vic with Kristin Scott Thomas. Just before it was due to start an understudy came on stage and said "Ladies an Gentleman, I regret to inform you that Jack Lowden.....(long pause).......remains in perfect health and will play the part of Orestes this evening. Hence why they sent me out here to ask you all to remember to switch off your phones....Thank you!". It was very funny and and got the message across with everyone paying rapt attention. I don't know why they don't do witty stuff like this now. Back in the day they had one of the characters on the stage,RSC, a soldier in opening tableau, have to answer his phone and make the point. Hilarious. And then we’ve had the tannoy with one of the ‘stars’. Those silly placards are useless. Recently at Othello RSC one of the ushers admitted they have a phone every performance and we did at both the shows we attended. He had the silly placard. This came up here only a couple of weeks ago. I know because I remember pointing out the futility of expecting cellphone addicts to be looking at the placards. It's almost as if the theatres don't want the message to register. Obviously the announcements are more likely to be noticed but they still don't have the desired effect because there is almost literally no attempt at enforcement. As I also remember saying, even when people are told at the ticket check to switch their phones off, there is no follow up. The ship might already have sailed, but if venues were to challenge patrons along the lines of what did you think 'switch off your phones' means? Do it now people might pay attention. Even better, when the lights go down they could delay the start and and make an announcement along the lines of if you're wondering what's going on, we'll make start after everyone has switched their phone off - that means you in D7...and you in the front row of the dress circle. Drastic, perhaps - but better than what we currently have; because what we currently have sends the message that the request to switch off is not really serious. |
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Post by Jon on Dec 5, 2024 21:39:11 GMT
I don't know why they don't do witty stuff like this now. Back in the day they had one of the characters on the stage,RSC, a soldier in opening tableau, have to answer his phone and make the point. Hilarious. And then we’ve had the tannoy with one of the ‘stars’. Those silly placards are useless. Recently at Othello RSC one of the ushers admitted they have a phone every performance and we did at both the shows we attended. He had the silly placard. This came up here only a couple of weeks ago. I know because I remember pointing out the futility of expecting cellphone addicts to be looking at the placards. It's almost as if the theatres don't want the message to register. Obviously the announcements are more likely to be noticed but they still don't have the desired effect because there is almost literally no attempt at enforcement. As I also remember saying, even when people are told at the ticket check to switch their phones off, there is no follow up. The ship might already have sailed, but if venues were to challenge patrons along the lines of what did you think 'switch off your phones' means? Do it now people might pay attention. Even better, when the lights go down they could delay the start and and make an announcement along the lines of if you're wondering what's going on, we'll make start after everyone has switched their phone off - that means you in D7...and you in the front row of the dress circle. Drastic, perhaps - but better than what we currently have; because what we currently have sends the message that the request to switch off is not really serious. The theatre is meant to be a nice experience, picking on people is not the way to go! |
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Post by jake on Dec 5, 2024 21:55:11 GMT
This came up here only a couple of weeks ago. I know because I remember pointing out the futility of expecting cellphone addicts to be looking at the placards. It's almost as if the theatres don't want the message to register. Obviously the announcements are more likely to be noticed but they still don't have the desired effect because there is almost literally no attempt at enforcement. As I also remember saying, even when people are told at the ticket check to switch their phones off, there is no follow up. The ship might already have sailed, but if venues were to challenge patrons along the lines of what did you think 'switch off your phones' means? Do it now people might pay attention. Even better, when the lights go down they could delay the start and and make an announcement along the lines of if you're wondering what's going on, we'll make start after everyone has switched their phone off - that means you in D7...and you in the front row of the dress circle. Drastic, perhaps - but better than what we currently have; because what we currently have sends the message that the request to switch off is not really serious. The theatre is meant to be a nice experience, picking on people is not the way to go! Personally, I've been finding it a decreasingly 'nice experience' for a good ten years now. Either we want to share the space with people who'd rather be on their phones (as people like Kwame Kwei-Armah have seriously suggested) or we do something about it. And collective requests are clearly not getting through to the kinds of people who think rules are for other people. I'm under no illusions that this battle is currently being lost and if it's 'picking on' people to remind them that rules apply to them, too, I think that makes more sense than risking losing audiences who don't do any wrong but simply tire of spending their time and attention in an environment that's no longer fit for purpose. If the decline continues I don't see me sticking with public performances for more than another couple of years. |
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Post by ceebee on Dec 5, 2024 22:58:08 GMT
Woman filming intro to A Christmas Carol at the Old Vic, then taking a flash photo just before the interval in the Tiny Tim death scene then another one after the interval in the scene between Scrooge and Belle in the doorway.
Such audience members should be booted out on the spot. The production photography is better than any cack phone shot plus won't spoil the moment for a few hundred people.
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Post by nancycunard on Dec 5, 2024 23:05:15 GMT
Back in the 90s and 00s, the Royal Exchange in Manchester would always have the most recognisable voice in the cast giving a humorous, in character, announcement pre-show. Seemed to work - but audiences were better behaved (in general) back then! I am old-school, and will not tolerate phone use - but I wait until a suitable point before using stage voice to reach the corners of the auditorium with "Will you turn that phone off please" - last used at the cinema this week (only 7, including us, in the auditorium), but done during the opening credits after the initial scene. It worked. My friends usually try and disappear into the seat at this point .......... Ha! Yes, my friends tend to get a bit embarrassed as I've been known to do similar. The thing is that as a rule I find that when confronted phone users are largely mortified to be pulled up on it. It’s different if they’re filming, or if they’re drunk, but the more casual ones do put it away if you ask nicely. When I was at Roots at the Almeida a couple of months back I had a girl next to me about my age (mid 20s) taking photos of the first scene and I leant over, asked her to stop, and she immediately did so and looked incredibly embarrassed. Unfortunately, and certainly with people my age, it’s a reflex. When they’re pulled up on it, they will stop. |
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Post by emsworthian on Dec 6, 2024 10:05:32 GMT
There was a witty announcement before "Rock Follies" at the Minerva, Chichester, a few years ago on the lines that we are going back to the Seventies so mobile phones will be an anarchronism and should not be seen. I don't usually take my phone to the theatre but on that occasion I had and I realised I had not switched it off. However, for some reason I struggled to switch it off. The show started and I was sitting in the front row with my phone in my hand and the cast dancing away just yeards from me. I was getting increasingly red, expecting to be lauled out of my seat by an usher, until mercifully it went off.
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Post by fiyerorocher on Dec 6, 2024 10:29:25 GMT
Kinky Boots used to have a good one with a cast member coming out on stage before the show started and doing a little skit.
Cursed Child used to have one by a different character each time before each act (so four in total), but I think they've cut some of them now so it's only one per part?
If it feels in character and almost part of the show, people are definitely more inclined to listen. And it's better received as it feels more entertaining and less preachy (annoyingly defiant people are probably more inclined to just ignore direct orders).
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Post by A.Ham on Dec 6, 2024 10:34:56 GMT
I’m struggling to remember the wording exactly, but Les Mis has an announcement reminding the audience that mobile phones weren’t around in 19th century Paris and very few people had cameras, so to make sure they’re off.
And of course they had the Boris-parody one when the Staged concert re-opened post-Covid. Not sure it was particularly funny but it was a good way to get people’s attention.
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Post by paulbrownsey on Dec 6, 2024 11:28:54 GMT
The theatre is meant to be a nice experience, picking on people is not the way to go! Personally, I've been finding it a decreasingly 'nice experience' for a good ten years now. Either we want to share the space with people who'd rather be on their phones (as people like Kwame Kwei-Armah have seriously suggested) or we do something about it. And collective requests are clearly not getting through to the kinds of people who think rules are for other people. I'm under no illusions that this battle is currently being lost and if it's 'picking on' people to remind them that rules apply to them, too, I think that makes more sense than risking losing audiences who don't do any wrong but simply tire of spending their time and attention in an environment that's no longer fit for purpose. If the decline continues I don't see me sticking with public performances for more than another couple of years. Yes. It's meant to be a nice experience for *everyone*, and if those on their phones are ensuring that theatre is NOT a nice experience for those around them, then by all means let them be picked on in this way. Though one hopes the staff get the right people: I remember being dazzled and alarmed by having a torch thrust towards my eyes by an attendant in the Playhouse, Edinburgh, when the culprit was two seats along from me. |
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Post by sph on Dec 6, 2024 13:48:18 GMT
"Character" announcements are more common in musicals, especially comedies, but it's rare to hear any announcements before a play. I think producers and directors probably find them jarring right before the show starts. Like they clash or break the tension before what's about to happen on stage. Maybe producers also find them unwelcoming?
I don't know. I'm in favour of announcements, but it's the production who decides, not the theatre.
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Post by Peter on Dec 6, 2024 14:27:54 GMT
I liked the one for Spamalot - from memory: “Please feel free to let your mobile phones ring willy nilly but be warned, there are heavily armed knights on stage so you may get dragged up and impaled” or something similar…
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Post by Deal J on Dec 6, 2024 16:02:42 GMT
At 'Here & Now - The Steps Musical' they had a pre-recorded announcement read by the members of Steps, which made everyone pay attention!
They said something along the lines of "we know you'll all want to get up to sing and dance along, but instead please save your energy for the finale, you're going to need it!"
It certainly worked for the performance I attended - I'd been anxious beforehand about potential bad behaviour, but the audience behaved perfectly. Thanks, Steps!
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Post by max on Dec 6, 2024 17:10:08 GMT
Personally, I've been finding it a decreasingly 'nice experience' for a good ten years now. Either we want to share the space with people who'd rather be on their phones (as people like Kwame Kwei-Armah have seriously suggested) or we do something about it. And collective requests are clearly not getting through to the kinds of people who think rules are for other people. I'm under no illusions that this battle is currently being lost and if it's 'picking on' people to remind them that rules apply to them, too, I think that makes more sense than risking losing audiences who don't do any wrong but simply tire of spending their time and attention in an environment that's no longer fit for purpose. If the decline continues I don't see me sticking with public performances for more than another couple of years. Yes. It's meant to be a nice experience for *everyone*, and if those on their phones are ensuring that theatre is NOT a nice experience for those around them, then by all means let them be picked on in this way. Though one hopes the staff get the right people: I remember being dazzled and alarmed by having a torch thrust towards my eyes by an attendant in the Playhouse, Edinburgh, when the culprit was two seats along from me. At the National Theatre (Dorfman) an usher went up to an aisle seat patron just as the play started, due to a shining light. I'm not certain, but I think it was 'just' his smartwatch shining - he wasn't using a mobile, and may well have been fully engaged in the play, but scratching his ear. Still quite annoying if that light distracts people sitting behind - and confusing for the usher. I don't have a smartwatch - do they have a sleep mode for the watch face lighting up? I guess they must or they wouldn't be very smart. So many ways for things to be difficult, eh? |
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Post by lynette on Dec 6, 2024 17:17:49 GMT
I don't know why they don't do witty stuff like this now. Back in the day they had one of the characters on the stage,RSC, a soldier in opening tableau, have to answer his phone and make the point. Hilarious. And then we’ve had the tannoy with one of the ‘stars’. Those silly placards are useless. Recently at Othello RSC one of the ushers admitted they have a phone every performance and we did at both the shows we attended. He had the silly placard. This came up here only a couple of weeks ago. I know because I remember pointing out the futility of expecting cellphone addicts to be looking at the placards. It's almost as if the theatres don't want the message to register. Obviously the announcements are more likely to be noticed but they still don't have the desired effect because there is almost literally no attempt at enforcement. As I also remember saying, even when people are told at the ticket check to switch their phones off, there is no follow up. The ship might already have sailed, but if venues were to challenge patrons along the lines of what did you think 'switch off your phones' means? Do it now people might pay attention. Even better, when the lights go down they could delay the start and and make an announcement along the lines of if you're wondering what's going on, we'll make start after everyone has switched their phone off - that means you in D7...and you in the front row of the dress circle. Drastic, perhaps - but better than what we currently have; because what we currently have sends the message that the request to switch off is not really serious. Love this. |
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Post by Deal J on Dec 6, 2024 17:18:03 GMT
I don't have a smartwatch - do they have a sleep mode for the watch face lighting up? I guess they must or they wouldn't be very smart. So many ways for things to be difficult, eh? Yes - the Apple Watch has a mode which silences it and stops it from lighting up when you raise your wrist. Interestingly the icon for the feature is the comedy/tragedy theatre masks. |
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Post by max on Dec 6, 2024 17:24:14 GMT
I don't have a smartwatch - do they have a sleep mode for the watch face lighting up? I guess they must or they wouldn't be very smart. So many ways for things to be difficult, eh? Yes - the Apple Watch has a mode which silences it and stops it from lighting up when you raise your wrist. Interestingly the icon for the feature is the comedy/tragedy theatre masks. Nice touch, Apple - usefully specific! Take the hint, people. |
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Post by A.Ham on Dec 6, 2024 17:25:14 GMT
I don't have a smartwatch - do they have a sleep mode for the watch face lighting up? I guess they must or they wouldn't be very smart. So many ways for things to be difficult, eh? Yes - the Apple Watch has a mode which silences it and stops it from lighting up when you raise your wrist. Interestingly the icon for the feature is the comedy/tragedy theatre masks. If only smart watch wearers were more familiar with this feature. It could be really useful when they’re at the cinema or theatre… |
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Post by lt on Dec 6, 2024 17:29:32 GMT
Yes - the Apple Watch has a mode which silences it and stops it from lighting up when you raise your wrist. Interestingly the icon for the feature is the comedy/tragedy theatre masks. If only smart watch wearers were more familiar with this feature. It could be really useful when they’re at the cinema or theatre… I spoke to a woman several months ago at the Orange Tree who had a smart watch, every time she moved her arm the theatre lit up. She was very nice when I spoke to her in the interval and explained the problem, but she had no idea how to stop it lighting up, so took it off. |
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Post by n1david on Dec 6, 2024 17:39:45 GMT
If only smart watch wearers were more familiar with this feature. It could be really useful when they’re at the cinema or theatre… I regret that I suspect many people would not think that their watch would prove a distraction to another customer. It's not exactly a hidden feature, so I suspect that miscreants don't actually care. After all, smartwatches are barely new these days, and Theatre Mode has been on Apple Watches for years. Another useful tip is that if you absolutely, absolutely have to check the time when the screen is blank, you can turn the digital crown and it will fade up gently so that you can light it up to the barest minimum to read the time, rather than tapping the screen and it going full brightness. |
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