Fights, vomiting and abuse: Theatregoers have forgotten how to behave, staff say
Front-of-house workers at leading West End theatres have told Sky News audiences have “forgotten how to behave” – claiming assaults and abuse are a common occurrence.
Agreeing to talk to us anonymously, we heard accounts of drunk audience members projectile vomiting in the auditorium, used condoms being found in the stalls, and ambulances being called to treat bleeding audience members after fights.
One theatre worker – who was fearful speaking out could cost him his job – said he was concerned that top management at some venues are putting “profit over safety”.
He told us how, despite a life-long love of theatre, his job has become intolerable after the COVID pandemic.
“I had a friend who is barely 5ft 2in punched in the face by a man who was 6ft 9in. She’s in her 20s.”
He said he was assaulted by a man who had arrived late and wouldn’t accept that he had to wait for an appropriate moment in the show to take his seat.
“I’d moved myself in front of the doors and he basically slammed me against the wall and then walked in, calling me a f****** w***** for doing my job… security pulled him out and he was made to apologise… but he was allowed to watch the show. I’ve just been assaulted and I’m shaken but that’s a common experience in the West End.”
As well as hearing countless examples of how audience members are routinely drunk and disrespectful, another worker even showed Sky News one theatre group’s internal incident reports.
Analysis:
Audiences behaving badly: An epidemic of anti-social behaviour
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Theatregoers thrown out as crowd boos
“We have to ask people to leave probably at least once a week,” they explained.
“There’s a huge amount of people that come to the theatre and it’s just a magical experience for them” we were told – “but there is this small minority of people that have forgotten how to behave”.
Workers told us how incidents are more frequent at jukebox musicals that clearly pitch their tickets at stag and hen dos – advertising “a raucous night out”.
“They bring in the crowds and the crowds spend money… there are offers at the bar and it’s money after a lockdown… we’ve got to do bag checks, ticket checks, get them to their seats before the show starts and they all want to go to the bar. I’ve had bar staff being shouted at… some horrible abuse goes on.”
London’s Shaftsbury Avenue
As an example of how little audience members seem to care, one theatre worker recounted: “I brought the person into the foyer and explained that we had received complaints about them being noisy, that they’d been vaping, to which they replied ‘So what?'”
Speaking to Sky News back in October, musical composer Stephen Schwartz – who has worked in theatre for over five decades on countless Broadway and West End hits from Godspell to Wicked – spoke of how mobile phones are becoming a real problem.
“What’s exasperating is the cell phones, people being on their phones and you want to say to them, you know, just go out in the lobby and text on your phone and let everybody else get on and watch the show!”
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Composer Stephen Schwartz. Pic: AP
Theatre union BECTU recently surveyed its members about this. Some 90% of the 15,000 theatre staff who responded said they regularly witnessed bad behaviour – with half saying they were thinking about quitting as a result.
Head of BECTU, Philippa Childs, said some of the stories they heard were “quite incredible”.
“People being threatened with violence, people being told somebody would be waiting for them outside of the theatre at the end of the night… the results were really shocking and what we’ve been saying to theatres is that they need to take some action to make sure their staff are protected.”
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Audience members kicked out of theatre
While Ms Childs says it’s understandable that theatres want to make up for the earnings they lost during COVID lockdowns, she wants to “make sure theatres aren’t encouraging people to arrive tanked-up”.
She adds: “Theatres were the last to open so it’s inevitable that they want to try to claw back some of that lost revenue by selling more alcohol, but I think that is a contributing factor.”
None of the theatre owners Sky News approached wanted to comment for this piece.
Entertainment
Cara Delevingne reveals how Topshop inspired her fashion sense – as brand relaunches in London
Fashion brand Topshop celebrated its relaunch with its first catwalk in seven years.
The company’s website promised everyone was invited as models strutted down a runway on Trafalgar Square in front of noughties fashion icons Cara Delevingne and Adwoa Aboah and the London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan.
The label has been operating on the online fashion platform ASOS after ceasing to operate as a standalone business in 2020.
Topshop held a catwalk in Trafalgar Square. Pic: PA
A model on the catwalk
Its previous owner, Sir Philip Green’s Arcadia group, collapsed into administration and all of Topshop’s physical stores – including the Oxford Circus flagship in London’s West End – closed soon after.
Delevingne told Sky News she was “totally blown away” by the relaunch event.
“It was like nostalgia mixed with something eclectic but also something brand new,” she said.
“For me, it really brings back a time of exploration of my own fashion sense because I think for me at Topshop I got to discover so much.”
The model, who is working on a capsule collection for next year, has already unveiled a choice edit in this year’s show and said her relationship with Topshop precedes her fame.
She said: “I would go in and my friends would be like ‘you would look good in that’ and I would go ‘no, that’s not really me’, and then you’d try it on and be like ‘oh maybe I can explore more’.
“They really have everything for everyone, and I feel like they brought that back.”
The runway showcased highlights from its Autumn-Winter 2025 collection, as well as an early preview of pieces set to drop later this season, including showstopper gowns, the classic white tee, and an aloe vera-coloured faux fur coat that surely should not have been on display – to prevent just about everyone rushing to buy it.
Topshop’s relaunch was staged at Trafalgar Square
Models in front of the National Gallery in London’s Trafalgar Square. Pic: PA
Reclaiming the high street
But sharp tailoring and statement outerwear suggest the brand is ready to reclaim the high street.
Must-have denim pieces completed the womenswear line-up while the Topman collection screamed modern utility by blending refined formal wear with sharp new silhouettes.
Casual pieces are grounded by authentic denim in deep indigos, which stood out on Trafalgar Square’s magnificent stone steps.
Topshop’s relaunch comes as the high street continues to struggle and as the UK operation of Chinese fashion giant Shein announced pre-tax profits of £38.3m for the year, up some £14m from 2023.
‘Top end of the market’
Moses Rashid, global marketing director at Topshop/Topman said they are competing in a different space.
Topshop has been operating on the online fashion platform ASOS after ceasing to operate as a standalone business in 2020
“We’re at the top end of the market. We’re about elevation. We pride ourselves on the quality of the product,” he said.
Those products are being designed in north London, and managing director Michelle Wilson said the aim is to stay that way.
“We are a British brand, we want to be a positive force for fashion. We want to bring London to the world. It’s fundamental to who we are as a brand, our style is very much London-driven.”
The majority Danish-owned company has suggested it will slow fashion down by opening physical stores where customers can touch the products, browse collections and try things on, though the flagship on Oxford Circus is unlikely to return because a Swedish fast furniture brand has since occupied the space.
Designer Wayne Hemingway has previously collaborated with Topshop and said the relaunch must be more than nostalgia.
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“They can’t rely on their old customers because their old customers have now got kids of their own to spend their money on, and they’ve got mortgages and all of those things of what being an adult means.
“They’ve got to have designers, marketeers, people who understand – who are on the pulse – who understood, number one, what was a success back then, and also a young generation of people who are there saying, ‘this is what our generation needs’, and who are bright and can help deliver that. They can’t rely on the past.”
Taylor Swift has revealed the release date for her new album, The Life Of A Showgirl.
The pop megastar announced her 12th studio album earlier this week but didn’t give many details.
Now, in social media posts and an appearance on boyfriend Travis Kelce’s sports podcast, Swift revealed just what fans can expect from the new album.
Taylor Swift and boyfriend Travis Kelce on the New Heights podcast. Pic: New Heights
The Life of Showgirl, written during the European leg of her record-breaking Eras tour, will be released on 3 October.
It consists of 12 songs, including the title track that features pop star Sabrina Carpenter.
The full track list is:
1. The Fate Of Ophelia
2. Elizabeth Taylor
3. Opalite
4. Father Figure
5. Eldest Daughter
6. Ruin The Friendship
7. Actually Romantic
8. Wi$h Li$t
9. Wood
10. Cancelled!
11. Honey
12. The Life Of A Showgirl (featuring Sabrina Carpenter)
Long-time collaborators Max Martin and Shellback, two Swedish producers who worked with Swift on some of her biggest hits, joined the pop star for this album.
Within four hours of posting the full podcast episode on YouTube, it had already gathered 4.7m views.
The cover of Taylor Swift’s newly announced album. Pic: Republic Records
The back cover of Taylor Swift’s 12th studio album The Life Of A Showgirl. Pic: Republic Records
‘The hardest-working star in pop’
The album follows last year’s The Tortured Poets Department, which was released during the Eras tour.
That tour, with shows on five continents and in 51 cities, raked in more than $2.2bn (£1.62bn) and was the highest-grossing tour of all time.
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“This album is about what was going on behind the scenes in my inner life during this tour, which was so exuberant and electric and vibrant,” Swift said during her podcast appearance.
Sky News culture and entertainment reporter Gemma Peplow said after her globe-trotting tour and a swathe of re-releases over recent years, the new album cemented Swift’s reputation “as the hardest-working star in pop”.
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