Like Patti LuPone before him, Benedict Cumberbatch has a real problem with people using their phones while he’s performing on the stage. If Benedict tried to really “pull a Patti” and snatch his fans’ phones, I’m sure nothing would please the Cumberbitches more though – think of the stories they would tell! “Bendy touched my phone, now I’m pregnant!” You see, Benedict is currently in previews with Hamlet and his crazy fans are already making the pilgrimage to the Barbican Theatre in droves to see his performances. And they want a small memento of their time in the same airspace as Bendy, so they’re using their phones to record part of the performances, etc. So this is how Benedict reacted a few nights ago:
He thanks all of them for coming out, then asks them to cut it out with the phone thing:
“I can see red lights in the auditorium, and it may not be any of you here that did that, but it’s blindingly obvious. It’s mortifying, and there’s nothing less supportive or enjoyable as an actor being on stage experiencing that. I can’t give you what I want to give you which is a live performance that you’ll remember — hopefully in your minds and brains whether it’s good, bad, or indifferent — rather than on your phones. What I really want to do is try and enlist you. I don’t use social media and I’d really appreciate it if you did tweet, blog, hashtag the sh-t out of this one for me.”
I feel sorry for him and I feel sorry for all of the actors trying to do great stage work these days with audiences full of morons who think it’s totally cool to take photos, take videos or not turn off their phone during stage performances. It’s gotten really ridiculous. I feel like some Cumberbitches might be hurt by Bendy’s words, but if they’re trying to sneak videos, they deserve to be called out.
Oh, there’s a reason this play is still in previews – there are still a lot of kinks to be worked out. During a Saturday performance, Hamlet screamed “F—K!” in the middle of the play because of a wonky trap door.
Photos courtesy of WENN, Fame/Flynet.
Why would anyone feel the need to whip out a mobile phone or camera and start recording a play? What part of your brain makes you think that’s ok?
Not only is it distracting to the actors but to the other patrons around you.
I guarantee some of the ones doing it were there listening it him and it went in one ear and out the other. He’s being nice about it now but if it continues I doubt he’ll be so gracious.
Applause.
May I add something?
Worse than phone answering or recording a play are people talking to each other in concerts ( Ex: Classic music)
People don’t know etiquette for plays. I’ve seen appalling behavior in the last few years when I’ve attended shows on Broadway and plays here in NYC. People older than me with no sense. It’s terrible.
I grew up going to plays and shows (I’m in my early 20s now) but I guess that’s not common anymore? Idk but there’s no excuse for horrid behavior during a show. It’s distracting and rude.
If it isn’t recorded on a phone, it didn’t happen! (Serious question: who reviews the fifteen hundred photos they take of let’s say fireworks or a beach? It’s nuts, right? Enjoy the moment!)
I know and you’re not enjoying it if you’re more focused on holding up your camera trying to get the shot in. The whole thing is lost on you. That’s the whole point of movies, theatre, concerts. To take you away and out of your life, to make you feel.
Sit, watch, listen and absorb it…and put your bloody phone away.
I went to see Broadway’s Waiting For Godot with BFFs Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen and some idiots forgot to silence their mobiles, which went off multiple times during the play. The cast didn’t blink an eye, but to me at least, it was annoying and distracting. It definitely disturbed the mood of the play.
Some people have more money than common sense.
It is the way too casual attitude people have towards what are our cultural traditions: theatre, opera, orchestra,etc. It was a slow wall slide with how casual people dressed to eating & talking during performances and now with technology rudeness.
I listened to a very interesting interview on NPR’s “On Being” between the late John O’Donohue and Krista Tippett — he said that a culture that loses its traditions is like an individual that loses his or her memory. It is so very true. Perhaps we can all as individuals take our own stands and show our respects to all of our very old human artforms in our own ways by dressing up for them, and communicating with this respect of the arts to everyone around us, and simply treating them with the special patronage they deserve. We can only change ourselves at the end of the day, and hope to lead by example.
Yes. I’m with you. This “cultural/ memory loss” idea makes me of think of how I see people, tourists and locals alike, in fine arts museums dressed like the are spending the day at the beach. There they are gazing at some treasured pieces of art, works of great beauty, flapping around in foam flip flops.
I am by no means wealthy, and don’t dress up for everything, but I make sure I am wearing proper shoes when I visit the museum. I respect the work, and myself. Putting real shoes seems like the least I can do to show it!
I have no problem with people dressing casually to the theater or art museums. Especially tourists, who are likely outside as much as they are in and want to dress comfortably for all the walking they are doing. As long as they are being respectful to to the other people around them who are also there for the art or the show. I don’t think the art or artist cares what type of shoes you’re wearing if you’re engaging with the piece and not disturbing others’ experiences around you.
Dressing down is relatively new, but filming concerts/stage performances is not. There are plenty of videos of Nureyev/Fonteyn, Maria Callas etc shot by people hiding cameras in their scarves/hats, etc.
So they can show off? I remember a few years ago, Clooney said people had gotten crazy, preferring to video him rather than shake his hand and say hi…he and Brad Pitt had approached fans lined up and he said most of them wouldnt tàke their hands and say hi, preferring to continue taking pics. He thought it was bizarre, and so do I – the fake life..always recorded, but never lived.
It’s a reasonable request and it’s sad that he or any performer has to make such a request. Can’t people simply enjoy an experience anymore without having to record and/or photograph everything?
He, himself, apparently, if you look at the top picture has a diffcciculty to enjoy a tennis match without feeling the absolute neccessity to chat over a phone.
Players are not exactly trhrilled about it usually and I’m pretty sure the umpire invited politely people to turn their devices off/not talk during rallies. But if he can’t be bothered to bend to the rule when his butt is on the spectator chair, well he shouldn’t be surprised others do it too.
To be fair, that appears to be before or after the match, not during actual play. There are people standing up behind him so it could have been while people were taking their seats.
Not saying he didn’t use his phone at all during play, but that picture I don’t think confirms he did.
Probably, but it does not compare to being in a dark enclosed space with cell phones lights in front of you (like at the movies) or in concerts where people are blocking your view because they are recording.
Just not the same as you can see there, he is not blocking anyone’s view, and is in broad daylight. So, it is not just the voices talking.
Well done, Bendy. Why are some humans so mind-blowingly rude? They behave as if no one else exists on the planet.
Exactly. People think the rules don’t apply to them, and are oblivious or indifferent to the impact they have on anyone else. It’s sickening.
That was a great way to address the situation without sounding like a prick. Well done, Bendy.
Yes, well done!
Ugh, good for him. It’s not your five year old’s school play. People who film and take photos during live theatre are ignorant and trashy.
Ugh, word.
It must be so distracting to the actors.
Actually, I couldn’t see my 8-year-old’s school program last year for all the idiots filming on their phones, so maybe we could all agree to sit the F down and watch those performances old-school, too.
I don’t think he could have been nicer about it. What blows me away is how rude our society has become – that he even has to say this is the first place.
@GNAT, society has been lowering to a new level of rudeness. I’ve already witnessed people answering phone calls in the middle of a funeral, while the priest was talking.. Can’t think of anything ruder than that… Society is becoming “inhumane”…
They’ve been having to say it long before camera phones were ever around.
Good for him. People are idiots. Watch the play with your eyes and phone. It is sad that he had to say anything in the first place.
they had 2 glitches that night, but worse was the night before when they thought one of the actors was having a heart attack on stage. that cast has to be on edge at this point
and yeah he’s 100% percent on point and that was the politest version of that i’ve ever seen.
It’s an entirely reasonable request.
However, when you cast a play with a fandom idol in the lead role because you know it will sell out the entire run, you are knowingly inviting an audience of EXACTLY the people who will do such things. Thus, you either grin and bear such things or you ensure that you have adequate measures in place to prevent them before the previews and the run itself begin.
You can’t have it both ways.
Getting seriously fed up with this self-serving shiznit.
We’ll have Benny cos he’ll sell out the run and generate endless column inches. But we don’t want to pay for extra security so we’ll ban theatre door. Oh, the crazies can’t have theatre door so they’re going to use cameras during the performance. We’ll get some special phone camera identifying machines (from 007’s Q, presumably) and evict the crazies. Oh, the crazies don’t like being evicted so now they’ll probably create a riot outside and chase our star down the street in the hopes of getting some flakes of his dandruff that they can press between the programme pages for posterity. Never mind: more column inches.
Gah. Not in a good mood today!
I have to agree that it’s the ones that claim to be his fans that bang on about his privacy being invaded by paps etc. are the ones doing this and as you said, have little interest in the content. Like you can even hear them giggling as he’s talking, not taking a word in, just so focused on the fact he’s standing there saying something he shouldn’t have had to say. I’d have loved to see Hamlet live because it’s a play I’ve always wanted to see and am considering getting tickets to my local Vue to see it, but I would have been mortified to be part or even remotely associated with this nonsense.
I’m not tarring them all with that brush but I doubt it was Jim Norton or Ciaran Hinds fans doing it…so, there’s that.
See, I’m a big fan of both Ciaran Hinds and Anastasia Hilles, so I would like to see this production. But I’ve just decided to boycott these fan idol-led affairs. They’re more trouble than they’re worth and while I understand that the theatres are doing it to improve the number of bums on seats, I don’t approve of their total lack of accepting the consequences – particularly for their longstanding audiences.
And I say that as someone who thinks Ben is a good actor, not *just* a fan darling.
don’t underestimate Ciaran Hinds fans… he was the perfect Captain Wentworth
I saw Hinds in a production of Juno and the Paycock here in Dublin, he was fabulous and hung out in the theatre bar afterwards along with the other cast and no one batted and eyelid even when Jeremy Irons came in, his partner Sinead Cusack was also in it.
I think you exaggerate. On opening night everyone was silent and well-behaved. There are always idiots who film, and talk, and eat, whatever the performance and whatever the actor. I have see a lot worse, a LOT.
Well, you did give me the delightful image of Ben Whishaw as Q developing and testing those phone zapping machines so that’s a positive but I do agree with you on all points.
Ha. Well, honestly. Special frickin’ machines. Deary me. If there *are* special frickin’ machines and you’ve pimped your production to the looniest people on the planet, why didn’t you have them there ALREADY?
Cost. Very expensive investment for something they’ll probably never use again and is just gum in the dam. These devices detect phones and can jam signals but don’t prevent photo/video taking or storage. So you’ve still got ushers removing people, which can become disruptive.
Looks like the Barbrican’s past experience is just Richard II with Tennat, but his fans don’t have the same issues.
I could not agree more that the use of phones in the theatre is appallingly rude, not only to the cast and crew but also the other members of the audience who are trying to enjoy the play.
I would question whether this is entirely regular behaviour though – I saw Tom Hiddleston in Coriolanus at the Donmar and David Tennant in Richard II at the Barbican last year and there were no problems at all with fans. Personally I thought it was even more amazing due to the fact that Hiddles was shirtless and took a shower onstage, and literally no one cat called or wolf whistled or anything.
Admittedly, I don’t know if anyone was recording though as it was never mentioned, or perhaps the theatres were less bothered because they know that most theatrical performances are recorded these days, star or no star. Perhaps Benedict is the one gunning for the stricter recording rules – he seems like a very traditional actor who would call out someone for recording.
Also you can’t fault the Barbican for casting Benedict – he is a stellar actor and the security of having a sell out run allows them to produce much more niche projects which would otherwise be dead in the water. All the main London theatres take advantage of stars in this way nowadays.
I’d be inclined to say “good” rather than “stellar” but aside that, you’ll notice I was at pains not to criticise the casting per se: I criticised the casting when coupled with the lack of responsibility at dealing with the inevitable consequences of the casting.
Preach, Sixer!
While I don’t personally care about stage door, I agree that it could be done in a controlled manner if the Barb had an appropriate security plan in place.
I bet you anything that if he decided to do stage door, nothing major would happen, except what usually happens with other famous actors.
It’s like when the papers said the Barbican was invaded by girls wearing deerstalkers on the 5th. I was there and no one had a deerstalker.
hermia – see what I said below about column inches. Already, Benny’s little handwringing performance has been in every national newspaper here in the UK and – to the point where I’m about to throw something at the TV – it’s been on the rolling hourly news report every. freaking. hour. on the BBC since first thing this morning.
Anybody would think it’s all done for a purpose…
@sixer Well you may be right. If they were going for understated production which goes off without a glitch, they have failed spectacularly 🙂
If instead they were trying to whip people into a frenzy, it is a stellar success.
On the 5th, while I was queuing for collection, a chap from the Wall Street Journal (!!!) wanted to interview me. I said no, and he went to another girl instead. When told about queues for returns, he started going “wow”, like it was the biggest scandal ever. Talk about making news where there are none.
There was a lot of really appalling fan behaviour at Coriolanus last year. It was an utter nightmare for the staff. Maybe you were just lucky the night you were in. Someone definitely recorded it.
Richard II, I didn’t hear of anything too bad. Apart from that one woman who waited outside the theatre during almost every single performance so she could video Tennant coming out of the stage door (seriously, she has a YT channel and it’s literally like a hundred identical 2-min videos of Tennant coming out of the stage door, signing an autograph, and moving on). Anyway she grabbed his backside once. I didn’t hear of any bad behaviour inside the auditorium for Richard II.
What do I win? He’s doing stage door tonight and all is going swimmingly. Just as I said: much ado about nothing. No extra security, no mobbing. Just him signing some autographs. There, was that so difficult? 🙂
Phone identifying devices are common. Some movie theaters here use them to cut down on bootlegging.
I kind of agree, Sixer. I don’t think the rest of the cast and crew and audience members should have to grin and bear it. There’s no excuse for that behavior.
What I got was the theater has enough ushers, but many were young and overwhelmed, new hires. The theater just doesn’t seem like it has it together yet. They have warnings everywhere about ejection for it, but with the way people ignore that stuff, it was a good idea to broadcast it before it started so there’s less crying from ejectees.
He’s not behaving any differently from any other actor in his position. Just because he’s famous and has a big fanbase, he shouldn’t expect theatre audiences to abide by normal basic theatre etiquette? Bit unfair on the rest of the cast and the non-fans in the audience!
If fans can’t behave like normal human beings for three whole hours, that’s entirely on them.
Stans need to stop being so damn entitled.
No. I said nothing like that at all. I said, “it’s an entirely reasonable request”.
I’ll try again. If you pitch your production at a group of people you KNOW are likely to behave badly, you put in an appropriate plan for when they behave badly. You don’t wait until after they’ve behaved badly and then send out your star to wring his hands and act as though it wasn’t entirely predictable all along.
In fact, people watching the way you’ve gone about it might reasonably suspect you love it when the people behave badly because it generates more column inches for you.
I honestly don’t know how much clearer I can be.
Being misunderstood does nothing to brighten Sixer’s mood. Filters be clouded, no matter how clearly you state your views.
Here, have a Comet Sophie. I put an extra shot of vodka in for you…
Oh, sorry. I’m in full tooth grinding mode today, ain’t I?!
I think it’s this: I breathe a sigh of relief whenever our twittish posh boys decamp stateside and then get all annoyed by them again when they have the cheek to come back.
Or some other inverted snobbery nonsense – because I am an inverted snob.
I get you Sixer, but I have to say that makes zero sense here. They’ve got more than enough press, it’s sold out, and this drew attention to the tech issues and the theater’s mishandling of things.
Honestly, the idea of not putting in proper measures and stressing out your cast, staff and crew just for press you don’t need is pretty out there for me.
This theater has shown from the start that’s unable to handle a production like this, although I’m sure they made lofty promises back when the contract was signed. Not surprised that they had issues here as well. Hired a rash of ushers who aren’t fully trained (not the employees’ fault) and underestimated the problem.
Having the lead come out and explain that being tossed is a possibility for offenders is a wise move because no one can throw a public fit in the papers and be perceived the victim if they’re shown the door now.
Amen, dude. CTFD, everybody. Well done, Mr. Cumberbatch.
Eh? What makes you think they aren’t perfectly able to handle it?
It’s ludicrous to say this is a production aimed at stans.
All this wank over one single incident of Cumberbatch taking a few seconds at the stage door to ask fans not to record.
He’s doing stage door right now.
I thought a few people here suggested he might would try after some testing the water on another thread, and they were right.
It was moi who suggested it and I knew he would as soon as people started calling him on it. Always works. 🙂
Hey, I’m the one who said he’s testing the waters 😉 He was coming out before people ‘called him out’ on it (if that’s the right wording, I don’t think the stage door is necessary).
If the reaction was poor and/or security was struggling, they wouldn’t have risked it. And he was the guinea pig, the rest of the cast came out a couple days after he started doing it.
But wow the stage door is in a bad spot. It’s right by a main roadway.
I have to agree with him on this – its incredibly annoying and rude. Its sad but a lot of people are only there to see him and nothing else. They are not interested in the play. I really hope ALL theatre’s have these blocking devices installed – means I can actually enjoy a performance. I have an acquaintance who went to a preview on sat eve with her 18yr old niece who was one of those people who sat squealing and taking photo’s/videos with her phone – she paid no attention what so ever to the play and performance and even spent the next day mooning over him and the footage.
TBH – I don’t think it would be so bad if he did stage door as i suspect thats why there is a lot of this behaviour during the performance. The crazy fans are only going to get more determined and they will start stalking all exits. I have witnessed how obsessed some of his fandom are.
BTW – he looks knackered, if this is what he’s like during previews he’s going to be dead before the end of the run. Its a very tough play and he’s on stage a lot so i can see him losing patience very quickly with the ‘fans’. There is a meltdown coming.
I have no doubt this is an exhausting project for him. I know he’s done theatre before, but I don’t know if even the Frankenstein play was at this level.
That being said, don’t they have the cast all come out after the play to do a curtain call?!?
I completely despise anyone who has their phones on and in use during a play, movie etc. But at the same time, I would give anything to see Ben shrieking “F@ck”! at a trap door.
I was there, and he shouted out as he left the stage (he was in the middle of a scene and a stage manager came on to stop the proceedings). I didn’t hear “fuck,” just inarticulate noise, but it was clear he was very frustrated.
i went with my son to a teen boyband concert once and a huge lot of them were having iPads and huge android tablets and such like trying to record the concert. it kind of blocked the view to the stage. even someone wearing a nametag with “OFFICIAL” emblazoned on it.
the organizers actually printed a warning on the tickets not to bring action cameras like gopros or professional cameras to the concert and they reserved the right to confiscate them (returning them after concert). but they couldn’t take everyone’s phones away, i guess.
but i think gopros or even pro cameras are smaller than huge tablets. if i have to choose between two evils, i’d rather someone wear a helmet with a gopro (or even hoist a gopro over their head) rather than a large ipad.
meanwhile, on another occasion, went to a dramedy stageplay starring one actress who is an ex-heartthrob of the yesteryear, during a particularly silent part of a scene, some guy actually yelled a crude proposal to her. it’s rather dark and i couldn’t see the guy. but i hoped he was escorted out. so rude. it’s not as if it’s a panto or something.
I feel bad for him it’s very distracting if people are taking photos and recording his performance.
This is what puts me off going to see his or any Hollywood actors play. I’d rather go see some lesser known actor like Rory kinnear play hamlet and not have to brush shoulders with overzealous fangirls of all ages.
I saw benedict on stage before he blew up by the way. My friend worked on a play he was in. Hes just a regular guy, I don’t get the fuss.
“I saw benedict on stage before he blew up by the way. My friend worked on a play he was in. Hes just a regular guy, I don’t get the fuss”.
Elementary, my dear Hannah this is a case for Sherlock Holmes 🙂
Well Kevin Spacey never had this issue when he took over or performed at the Old Vic – but i guess he’s not young or good looking enough for the teenage market. It can be done if its in a controlled environment – the Barbican could do more to ensure that this doesn’t happen but i guess they can say they were unprepared for the madness of Bendy’s crazies and they have been. The production so for from the Barbicans handling of the fans is coming across as a bit shambolic – this could have been stopped from the get go.
I guess my point was that This guy isn’t anything particular too look at either when I saw him in person. nor is he particularly young, 39 if I remember correctly. I guess it really is a case for Sherlock Holmes. 😃
Spacey did break character for a different issue with a phone not too long ago
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2649338/If-dont-answer-I-Kevin-Spacey-halts-new-play-opening-night-snap-audience-member-phone-went-off.html
@Betti Kevin and Ben did work together on the 24 hour plays at the Old Vic. So it’s a small world this theatre business. Ben should know all about live theatre. He did enough of it in school and after. He even did a full summer season of Regent’s, including the musicals. Those stills are floating around. I see everyone talking like he’s never done theatre except for Frankenstein! LOL He’s a seasoned vetran. Maybe he’s just forgotten? At 39, his memory must be going!
He has intensity and focus, when he works, which are attractive and mesmerizing . He makes his characters truly alive.
I don’t think ther is a single actor or artist who is universally liked, people have different tastes.
DM printed an article and what gets me is how so many people think he is being a diva. And on top of that have sour grapes over him not doing the stage door.
The entitlement is ridiculous. So, Cumberbatch has to do a demanding play and then spend hours signing autographs for hundreds of people? He is a person, not a trained monkey.
Even I the video of him leaving there were what sounded like a hundred of people squealing. He’d get mobbed if he did the stage door.
only someone with zero concept of theaters would think that lol
i try to avoid the fail, but a quick glance says the top rated comments all agree with him
the stage door thing has been hashed to death but ia, it’s not worth the hassle
EN, I agree with you in this case, but I bet you would defend him whatever he did. 🙂 I get it that love is blind, but even BC can be a bit of a diva. And sometimes he is. Even Gatiss has openly joked about this tendency of his.
It is also annoying when fans put on blinkers and decide that whatever their “hero” does, he can only be right.
We are adults and can accept that even if we appreciate someone for their artistry, they can still be less than ideal in many, many other respects. And no, I’m not talking about his personal life (which is his business).
@hermia, nobody is perfect. I am not a sure why the need to take a personal dig at me but I like people who I feel affinity towards while realizing that as humans they all have failings. Cumberbatch is one of them. He is a decent guy from what I can tell and wants to do the right thing. Yes, he takes himself too seriously. It is not a crime, it means he cares about what he does.
Yet I don’t like some other popular people like Idris Elba or Sean Connery , for example. To each their own.
He’s absolutely right.
“Hamlet screamed ‘F–k!”
LOL!
“To be or not to be? That is the fuc@king question” . He’s quite right, it’s bad enough in the cinema when people leave their phones on and text and whatever else can’t wait till they get out of the film, so distracting, but worse when people are on stage trying to act….
I agree. I don’t understand how people think it’s acceptable to have their phones on while watching a stage show. It’s simple courtesy for other patrons and for the actors trying to do their job and do it well.
It’s super rude to be taking photos and recording. But, I can’t talk much considering I’m one who benefits from bootlegs since it’s too expensive for me.
Having watched the video of him speaking to the fans he was very nice about it and from the sounds of things the previews are not going perfectly. Thou if true that he allegedly went off on one off stage after a curtain started coming down at the beginning of his performance is true then that is unprofessional. I know that actors do break character mid performance but i also know that for a pro to swear in a live performance is a big no no. Its easy to lose ur concentration if things happen but i’ve always been taught that if that happens take a moment and start again or just carry on if nothing is wrong (i do amateur dramatics that is run by a professionally trained actor).
Things go wrong – that is the beauty of a live performance, some actors are able to just roll with it, Bendy maybe not so much. It could be that he is struggling with the role, its one of Shakespeare’s most demanding plays/characters and if the reviews are a bit ‘mixed’ then the pressure is on him to step up.
PS I wanna see it for Ciaran Hinds, love him. Mance Rayder is alive and well 🙂 HODOR!!!!
I heard he made a noise, not words. And there were 2 tech problems in the first hour, I think he went offstage during the 2nd one, not the curtain, but they all had to. The carpet was jammed in the trap door and the crew needed to be on stage. BC did come back out and apologize for the tech problem delays.
But after what happened the night before, I don’t blame him or the cast for being a little on edge. They quite literally thought Jim Norton was having a heart attack on the stage. He’s going to be fine, thankfully!
Poor audience behavior has been around probably as long as modern theater has been – talking, excessive fidgeting, candy wrappers, sniffling and coughing, etc. Now that we’re in the digital age, add ringing phones and the glow of camera phones to that list.
I was at a play recently and the mother and daughter in the front row (I was directly behind them) squirmed, whispered, hair flipped and snacked their way through the entire performance. Just when I thought it couldn’t get worse, at the most dramatic moment of the play the mother lifted her arms and put her hands on the top of her head – and left them there, completely blocking me view. I couldn’t take it any more and hissed at her to put her arms down. She turned and shot me the dirtiest look I’ve ever been given – she was completely oblivious to how distracting she was.
@Dara I hate the coughing too. On opening night, that was the most distracting thing. It was like being in a sanatorium. I thought: it is August, and none of these people seemed to be coughing while we were outside. And if one starts, soon there’s a whole chorus of them.
Are we going to start banning all bodily functions at places where people gather now? 😉
@Hermia, I feel so badly for the coughers – I’m sure they’re not doing it on purpose, but hearing someone else cough does seem to cause a ripple effect. I once had an allergy attack in a theater – the woman next to me must have wallowed in the worst perfume on the planet before she left home – and I started sneezing uncontrollably. I was trapped smack in the middle of a row full of people near the front of the theater. It was agony – any choice I made about staying or leaving was going to disturb a great many people.
It wouldn’t hurt to just try and be polite. You know what I meant. 🙂
At a concert last week, five people two rows in front of us stood up (nobody else was up dancing) and held their phones at their eye level and video-recorded the concert. The two people behind them were disabled and couldn’t stand so they saw those four butts all night and we were blinded by their phones. And all four of them were together, yet they needed four recordings of the concert.
He’s such a self serving diva, I’m waiting for the day he starts walking around in full Mr-DeMille-I’m-ready-for-my-close-up attitude. The very same day he preached to his choir the show had to stop several times because of technical f*ck ups, and many people wrote how nobody was using their phone etc. Maybe instead of baiting your fans with the illusion of closeness by telling them to spread your precious message, try to be a professional and don’t ask these people to be your mouthpieces when you have several social media accounts that work on your behalf. Because crying PRIVACYYYYYYYYY everytime someone posts something you don’t like while you play your fans like a fiddle is not cool, to say the least.
*applause*
I thought it was just me. I agree unreservedly with the message, but how he chose to get that message across left me a little cross.
What are you talking about? There were mid-play photos on the web after the first night from fans. I’ve now seen video too, including one from the night of the video.
He warned people they are going to start ejecting for it in a way that may get people to listen, since all the other warnings were ignored. Other actors have addressed this issue themselves too, sometimes mid-play, because it will reach the general media and get to all the people who are going but not crawling associated social media.
Bea – Ben doesn’t have any SM accounts either in his name or being run by his management. Unless you mean his friends who occasionally tweet messages from him under their own accounts. Any sm account under his name is a faker.
FFS, the actor asking you to stop gives people way more pause than a faceless social media account. That’s why so many actors have moved to handling asshat audience behavior themselves when it’s becoming a problem.
He has several sm accounts operated for him, he could have just as easily sent a video himself. It’s hypocritical of him to feign this kind of intimacy, then get mad when people feel entitled to it on other occasions.
Filming and releasing a prepared video would definitely look self-important and cold, the opposite of what you want if you’re trying to appeal to people’s better nature. Off the cuff is the standard here. Not to mention this directly affects his fans…who you think is going to get booted?
Miss me on the rest of it. All actors feign some sort of intimacy with fans; fans are still responsible for their own behavior. It’s not a secret they don’t really know him irl.
I wish theaters had cell phone jammers. If someone needs to call or text, go to the lobby.
That would probably be illegal. Some people do need their phone in case of emergency, but these people usually have the decency to keep them on vibrate and leave if that happens.
Hmmm, wonder how people used to cope with ’emergencies’ before cell phones were widely spread…They probably stayed home just to make sure, near their phone. Or maybe a phone booth when out. Smoke signals? Maybe one of the actors on stage would tell them that the became a dad. Or to call home because little Jimmy refused to go to bed… 😉
See, there were these things called *pagers* before there were cell phones. And before that they had these things that were also called “phones” that plugged into the wall. And you could call people on them *at the places they were at* and an usher could come tell you! True story! Doctors, lawyers, business people. There are some people that really do have actual emergencies where other people need to get in touch with them. It’s crazy, I know.
@Cate – I remember the days @Absolutely describes very well – and not with fondness. Walking for miles late at night looking for a working pay phone when your car broke down, having to look up a phone number in an actual book (gasp!) and then trying to leave a coherent message because ‘little Jimmy’ had a seizure, trying to reach someone on a cross-country road trip to tell them their mother passed away. It was the dark ages. Given the options, I’d much rather deal with a few ringing or buzzing phones and give people the benefit of the doubt.
And it’s not like a jammer would stop people from taking photos – the camera in the phone doesn’t need a cell signal to work. All you can do is spot the photographer and have an usher scold them – which is probably even more distracting.
I am SO tired of rudeness when it comes to phones. For some reason, countless people turn into idiotic jerks when it comes to this particular technology. They seem to lose common sense and manners…it is really bizarre. I have a smartphone, but I try never to let it distract me from people I am with, and I certainly would not whip it out at a play. I don’t blame any performer for being annoyed with the phone users…it would be terribly distracting. 🙁
I agree it is very rude, and I don’t condone it, but the modern experience of watching Shakespeare is nothing like the way it was in Shakespeare’s day. Audiences used to talk through entire performances, eating and drinking and moving around, and the actors had to work hard to capture their attention. It is only in recent centuries that the idea of the theatre as a place to reverently watch a play in silence has emerged.
Does the New Globe still encourage (or at least not frown at) audience interaction? That concept looks so interesting – historical, but not stale. I’d love to see a play there.
Yes it does – the theatre itself is very intimate and if you are a cheapskate you can pay £5 to stand for 3 hours in the yard directly in front of the stage and have the actors perform around you as they come in from the doors and make their way onto the stage. The cast always try and engage with the audience. I recently saw As You Like It and one character started taking the piss out of an audience member after he asked a question and they couldn’t answer. Was funny. I know with Titus Andronicas, some of the audience got covered in fake blood and others got caught up in the ‘battles’ – great fun.
Its a great experience thou take my advice and pay more for a seat – standing for 3 hours is not fun, it gets stuffy and the floor is concrete. Your legs and ankles will sue you for abuse.
I always stand. If you queue early you get to lean against the stage and it’s not as tiring. I enjoy the closeness and the interaction and it makes me really feel the Shakespearean vibe. 🙂
Sort of, but not, like, talking or anything like that. There’s often some direct audience interaction between the cast and the groundlings sometimes, in terms of an actor addressing a groundling. Maybe once in a blue moon an actor will ask a groundling something and invite them to answer. And in general a great feeling of connection. Audience members speaking to or yelling at or touching the cast will still get kicked out. So there’s not really any audience participation in that sense.
Groundlings is much more intimate. The Globe is quite big and the sightlines in some of the cheaper seats is pretty poor. I always go for the back row of the side stalls. Cheap but close. The one time I was in the upper level I was so far away it felt like I could barely see the actors.
Hermia – I always stand, too. I LOVE the Globe. Everyone welcome.
Can I just gloat for a moment? Thanks 🙂
People were saying how impossible it was for him to do stage door, that doom and gloom would happen, that the Barbican would have to call in the cavalry to protect him from the screaming harpies.
Well, he’s been doing it since Monday and nothing has happened, except happy fans and a happy Ben (judging from his smiles).
All’s well that ends well.
Who’da thunk it? I think a lot of the fan frenzy has been over-hyped by the news media. Much ado about nothing. @Hermia, I saw what you did there…