Stott's Eviction Request a Bridge Too Far???

An incident last week in which Ken Stott stopped a performance of A View From the Bridge to demand the eviction of a school party has divided opinion among audience members.

Stott stopped the performance at the Duke of York's theatre last Thursday (30 Mar 2009) midway through the first half to request the schoolchildren, who were sitting at the front of the stalls and were reportedly “giggling at a few inappropriate moments”, to leave. According to the Evening Standard, there then followed a “15-minute stand-off” as the supervising teacher sprung to the defence of the children. However, following further protests by Stott, who was supported by chants of “Out! Out! Out!” from other audience members, the teacher eventually escorted the party away.

The event has sparked a heated debate on our Whatsonstage.com discussion board. One member described the “mob mentality” of the audience as “scary”, while a few denounced Stott's actions as “unacceptable”. However, most have come out in staunch support of the actor. “For such an intense role, why should he have to put up with disruption?” writes one, while another concludes: “Since he (Stott) is a professional, it's safe to assume he didn't do that lightly”.

The event followed another incident last week (21 March) in which a couple were evicted from a performance of John Godber's Bouncers at the Lincoln Drill Hall for laughing too much. According to the Lincolnshire Echo, the middle-aged pair were the subject of audience complaints after “laughing at moments that weren't funny, kicking the seats in front and being loud”. It proved an unfortunate irony considering the show was billed as being capable of making you "laugh until they throw you out".

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