This disturbing fresh craze is the phenomenon of audiences applauding wildly when a big-name actor makes his or her first appearance onstage, thus derailing the gathering momentum of the piece and tearing a fatal hole in the delicate fabric of the suspension of disbelief.
Gary Oldman in ‘Krapp’s Last Tape’ at York Theatre Royal (Photo: Gisele Schmidt)
No such signs pleading for restraint were in evidence at Wyndham’s Theatre this weekend when I saw My Master Builder, which features Ewan McGregor’s return to the London stage after years of absence. Warm whoops and applause greeted him when he came on and all the cast had to work hard to reconstitute the play’s atmosphere of nervy anticipation.
I can already hear the objections to this argument. People will ask, “does it really matter?” Paying punters are not required to have the cool detachment of theatre critics, so if they want to clap their heroes, what is the problem? Yet I see this latest development as another example of sometimes unsettling behaviour by audiences, who too often seem to feel that if they shell out ever more astronomical prices for tickets, they are entitled to do whatever they want once they are inside a theatre.
Ewan McGregor with Kate Fleetwood in ‘My Master Builder’ (Photo: Johan Persson) square THEATRE REVIEWS The Brightening Air is the finest play of the year
Read More
All of this is part of a much wider cultural trend, one that was accelerated dizzyingly by the isolation of lockdowns during the pandemic. Watching stars on screens in the privacy of our own homes whenever and however we wanted turned into the norm overnight. This meant that spectators became unshackled from the concept of “decent” audience behaviour, the tacit understanding that the experience of the collective, rather than any individual, took precedence. When at last theatres re-opened, the legacy of such self-centred – in every sense of the phrase – behaviour made the move from the private space to the public and the repercussions of this continue to be felt today.
Now, I fear that where the incidents of Oldman and McGregor lead, many others will follow.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Clap-happy audiences are ruining theatre )
Also on site :
- Rodney Hinton Jr., whose 18-year-old son was shot dead by police, denied bond in killing of sheriff’s deputy
- Rodney Hinton Jr., whose son was shot dead by police, denied bond in killing of sheriff’s deputy after disturbance in court
- Doechii flips out on her team as she attempts to hide her Met Gala 2025 look: ‘I need more f–king umbrellas’