Monday, August 28, 2023
London theatregoers escorted from Grease the Musical by police
London | The Guardian: Theatregoers were escorted from a London performance of Grease the Musical by police on Saturday night, to cheers of approval from the rest of the audience.
Footage posted online shows eight police officers and staff from the Dominion theatre lining the stairway in the balcony as audience members chant “out, out, out!”.
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3 comments:
This article was very intriguing to me when I was scrolling through the site and reading the headlines, probably because violence piques most people's interest. It also grabbed my attention because it was very surprising to me that people so violent and disruptive would be the type of people to go to a theatrical performance. I found it funny that the article chose to include that one of the police officers gave a royal wave to the crowd and was applauded for doing so. It was an interesting choice for the author of the article to include all of the details about how some of the actors and actresses left the theater that night, just because it felt off-topic for the article and wasn’t interesting or pertinent information. Overall, it was fascinating to see that the type of people who start public violence and arguments also happen to be theatergoers, or maybe that is just in London.
What the hell is going on in London. And even beyond that what is going on in the UK proper. And even beyond THAT what is going on in live performance all over the world. It seriously seems like people have lost their minds and forgotten how to be an audience and act when at the theatre. Not every performance is Rocky Horror Picture Show. The world is not your personal Mystery Science Theatre 3000. Just because you paid for your ticket does not mean that you are allowed to destroy the experiences of everyone else who bought a ticket. It does not mean that you are allowed to disrespect the people who put so much money and time into making a show for you. It is fun and it is entertainment but it is also people’s livelihoods and the way people pay bills for them and their family. Show some damn respect.
I was a bit disappointed that the article didn’t give more information on the incident. I would be interested to know the what severity of a disturbance it was, especially as it merited this response, from both the police and the fellow audience members. It’s highly upsetting when people don’t respect the theater space and especially the performers and crew members who work so hard to produce a show every night. People are meant to go to enjoy themselves, to immerse themselves in the work and escape for a bit, not to instigate trouble. I wish the public was a bit more respectful when it came to consuming media, though everyone does have their own situation going on. I only hope the people causing this disturbance realized how they were affecting everyone else’s night. It makes me think of theater from centuries ago, and of their attendance etiquette. If it was the same as hours, or if any disturbance was merited. If our process of consuming theater has really changed much, and if human behaviors have evolved that much. It’s interesting to think about at least, though I am sure many have discussed this idea of our evolution for quite a while.
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