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.

@pinknews Before #AndrewScott was known as Fleabag‘s Hot Priest, the Irish actor wowed everyone with his one-man production of #Hamlet. Well, almost everyone. The Irish actor has big-screen, stage and TV successes to his name, but the pinnacle of his thespian career possibly came when he appeared in Robert Icke’s adaptation of #Shakespeare’s tragedy Hamlet at the Almeida Theatre in 2017. The powerhouse performance secured Scott an Olivier Award nomination, critical praise and audience adoration. But, it wasn’t all smooth sailing, as he recalled during an appearance on the Happy Sad Confused film podcast with #JoshHorowitz. After the host asked whether he had ever been thrown by someone in the audience, the BAFTA-winning actor laughingly recalled one memorable performance where a man pulled out a laptop during the play. “I was in the middle of ‘To be or f**king not to be’,” Scott said. “I was pausing and [the stage team] were like ‘get on with it’ and I was like ‘there’s no way’ and he [the audience member] didn’t realise.” Scott re-enacted the threatening glare he shot at the unsuspecting theatre-goer. Eventually, after lots of nudging from the woman beside him, the laptop owner snapped the lid shut. #Sherlock star Scott appeared on the film podcast alongside Claire Foy, his co-star in the upcoming Andrew Haigh film #AllofUsStrangers, a queer adaptation of Taichi Yamada’s novel Strangers. The critically acclaimed film follows the devastating love story between screenwriter Adam (Scott) and his lonely tower-block neighbour Harry, played by Paul Mescal. #lgbtq #lgbtnews ♬ original sound – PinkNews ️‍️‍⚧️

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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