Entertainment

An Independent article caused drama by suggesting theatre etiquette has gone too far – 17 one-star reviews

Oonagh Keating. Updated January 5th, 2024

During an interview with the Happy Sad Confused podcast, actor Andrew Scott revealed that he’d paused a 2017 performance of Hamlet – during the famous soliloquy, no less – because an audience member was using his laptop.

The Arts Editor of The Independent, Jessie Thompson, was inspired to share her hot take on the etiquette of theatre audiences – and it took a turn.

CultureTheatre & DanceFeatures STATE OF THE ARTS Sending emails during Hamlet: Obsession with ‘theatre etiquette’ could turn audiences away This week Andrew Scott revealed he stopped performing Hamlet’s most famous soliloquy on stage when he spotted an audience member doing his emails. But is the relentless debate on ‘audience etiquette’ in danger of making theatre seem like a place with too many rules, asks Jessie Thompson

She wrote –

“I, too, find myself not liking the thought of being hemmed into the stalls with a stuffy crowd, where you might be shamed for saying or doing the wrong thing. I could be lounging around lost in a novel, stuffing my face in front of a big screen, or dancing in a crowd at a concert.”

Her depiction of etiquette as a restriction on freedoms, rather than respect for actors and the rest of the audience, went down like someone yelling “Macbeth” backstage at a rehearsal.

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