37 replies to this topic

[saintgeorge]

DURING A WW2 PLAY A GROUP FROM A BOARDING SCHOOL IN EDINBURGH WERE TEXTING AND SHOUTING AND TALKING AT THE END WE CONFRONTED THE TEACHER WHO ADMITTED HE HAD LET THEM MOVE A T THE INTEVAL SO HE COULD GET SOME PEACE AND WATCH WE FORMERLY COMPLAINED TO THE HEAD THE FOLLOWING DAY WHO ADMITTED HIS STAFF HAD NOT TOLD HIM OF ANY PROBLEMS
ALSO ONCE A MOTHER TOTALLY IGNORED HER DAUGHTER AND FRIND AGED ABOUT 12 WHO WERE TALKING AND SWAPPING SEATS IN FRONT OF US AT THE INTERVAL WHEN THEY WENT FOR ICE CREAMS I ASKED THE MOTHER IS SHE COULD ASK THEM TO SIT STILL AND BE QUIET SHE TOLD ME IT WAS UNLIKLEY THEY WOULD DO SO!  I POINTED OUT THAT I HAD MY 7 YEAR OLD WITH ME WHO HAD NEVER MOVED APART FROM WHEN SHE WAS TRYING TO SEE SO SHE MUST TAKE CONTROL, SHE SHOOK HER HEAD
WHEN WE TRETUNED AFTER THE INTERVAL THE MOTHER AND GRANDMOTHER HAD SWAPPED SEATS WITHT HE LARGER ONE SITTING IMMEDOIATELY INFRONT OF MY 7 YEAR OLD, WE GATHERED OUR COATS AND APOLOGISED LOUDLY TO THE REST OF THE ROW THAT WE WERE MOVING AS WERE WERE UNWILLING TO SIT BEHIND THESE PEOPLE, OTHERS AGREED AND OFFERED TO SWAP SEATS BUT WE MOVED TO THE BACK STALLS TO GET AWAY ALL TOGETHER!

[Duncan]

Isn't bad behaviour among school parties a symptom of the force-feeding of Shakespeare to children at an age when they find soaps like Hollyoaks compelling and grown-up drama?

[teaboy]

I don't believe that children ARE force-fed Shakespeare from an early age - Most will know (or at least know of) Romeo and Juliet, but that's about it - and usually because of the Leonardo DiCaprio film version.

If kids are taken to the theatre from an early age (and not just Panto - so no audience participation!) they'll learn how to behave when confronted with more challenging material later in life.

Hell, they might even ENJOY it.

[Matthew Winn]

I don't believe that children ARE force-fed Shakespeare from an early age - Most will know (or at least know of) Romeo and Juliet, but that's about it - and usually because of the Leonardo DiCaprio film version.

I was force-fed Shakespeare at school (or at least some of his plays; being force-fed what remains of the man himself would be weird*), but I had a good teacher who was able to make it interesting. If the kids of today think otherwise, blame the mediocrity of the current schooling system. (I worry about the state of schools today. Not long ago I was in a shop and bought three items at £4 each, and the girl behind the till came up with a total of £8 and had no idea why that couldn't be right.)

* Although some of the school dinners we endured were nearly as old.

[teaboy]

From re-reading the thread it seems the major problem is with musicals. Is this because there isn't enough substance to engage the 'younger' audience sufficiently, or because they're so damn loud you have to raise your voice to make yourself heard to anyone more than millimetres from your tongue?

I do appear to have turned into a grumpy old man. Ho hum...

[richard]

   The worst thing is when some buffoon gets out a wrapped sweet and then unwraps it very slowy disrupting the performance with its crackly noise.

[Blue]

   The worst thing is when some buffoon gets out a wrapped sweet and then unwraps it very slowy disrupting the performance with its crackly noise.

That's because they think it creates less noise by doing it slowly.  

If only they would unwrap all sweets before the curtain up or even just wait for the interval we would all be a lot happier.

[David]

In a tenuously connected incident, (re: sweets), an actor friend of mine told me about a performance he was in in the 80s when he made an entrance up the central aisle. Unfortunately, a woman on the end of a row had been eating some sweets, and had chanced upon one (in the dark) that she didn't like; she took a bite, then threw the offending sweet into the aisle. So, walking up the aisle to the stage, the actor picked up this pre-chewed, sticky brown lump on the sole of his shoe, and when he arrived onstage, it squelched and stuck and left marks all over the stage. As the other actors realised that he had what was seemingly dog poo on his shoes, corpsing began, and although they managed to regain composure, he recalls that they nearly had to stop the performance, such was the state of the actors. Height of professionalism (:sarcasm:) I know, but it is an example of a performance adversely affected by sweet-eaters!