It’s time to retire the term ‘theatre etiquette’ 

It’s clear that, for whatever reasons, discussions around audience behaviour have reached a new intensity in recent weeks.

It’s a bit strange that “theatre etiquette” seems to have become this red-hot topic in the way that “restaurant etiquette”, “cinema etiquette” or even “concert etiquette” never seems to be. Articles have flooded various news channels as reports of incidents emerge. Errant audience behaviour is not unusual, and is not a new phenomenon – despite the tracked recent rise in altercations. A lot of it is inevitably swaddled in elitist language that, oftentimes, strays much too far away from the key issue at hand.

It is important that punters aren’t branded unruly to the point that it puts the public off attending theatres – especially given, as was highlighted by The Bodyguard lead Ayden Callaghan, more than 99.9 per cent of audience members are attentive, supportive and respectful.

A “respectful” audience can manifest itself in many different ways – some shows may well be quiet, whereas in others, cheering, whooping and celebrating, interrupting the silence, even commenting on the action, can all be a manifestly positive experience. There’s no cookie-cutter audience.

One cast member from an award-winning musical told us a few years ago that she enjoys it when audiences sing along, proving that, on one level, they’re showing they’ve found a connection to the events on stage. Sometimes, singing along is the sort of brilliant, communal celebration that makes theatre magic – the ongoing production of Mother Goose delivers that in spades.

But singing audibly over the top of a world class performer, at a show when you’ve been asked not to, is just objectively rude. As another Bodyguard star Emily-Mae pointed out: “I wouldn’t go to a Michelin star restaurant and start chopping onions.”

What we can’t lose sight of in this debate, as has often happened in the mania around riots, violence and foul language, is the experiences of front-of-house staff. Ultimately, they’re the ones who, in almost every instance, have to both provide the stipulations to the audience from the outset, and then deal with problems.

They are also incredibly competent and, almost always, sort out any issues swiftly, smoothly and quietly, with minimum disruptions to the rest of the house. Quietly keeping shows ticking over, making patrons feel welcome and accommodated, they’re the lifeblood of our industry. In a similar vein, BECTU has launched a brand-new “Anything Doesn’t Go” campaign to help prevent anti-social behaviour.

It feels that bundling everything into the word ‘etiquette’ feels reductive and antiquated – this is simply about general empathy, understanding and respect for the environment you’re in.