Leavers and latecomers is a theme of an article on audience behaviour referenced on the Wenger web site. In addition we could add texters and tweeters.
"Controversial aspects of audience behavior – expressing dissatisfaction by walking out early and disrupting performances by arriving late – were recently highlighted in two lengthy articles in The New York Times.
"Walk-outs” vote with their feet and skip the rest of the movie, concert, ballet, etc., for a variety of reasons. A question about their motivation posted on the paper’s Facebook page received nearly 500 responses, evoking common themes. For movies, excessive violence was a frequent complaint. For live performances, the quality of the presentation factored heavily."
The article continues, " At any performance, however, performers have right to be offended by walk-outs only to the degree that other audience members’ experience is compromised by visual or auditory distractions these walk-outs cause. Such disruptions are the primary reason late-arrivals are banned from entering many performances until the intermission.
Performances start on time. Never talk during the music. Never applaud during the music…Do all you can to avoid impeding others’ view of the stage. Above all, if you arrive late, expect to remain outside the auditorium until the intermission."
In West End theatres the practice of sending tweets or text messages has been observed at a number of shows and this should be considered as part of the audience etiquette debate. What are your thoughts?
