A theatre boss has hit out at abusive customers, while a second venue has urged audiences not to sing along during shows.
Colin Marr said he is “disgusted and angry” with unacceptable behaviour aimed at his team in recent weeks.
He claimed one staff member was punched two weeks ago and just this week another was pushed and spat on.
‘This is not acceptable’
The theatre director at Edinburgh Playhouse declared “enough is enough”.
In a statement posted online, he added: “This is becoming far too regular an occurrence – not just in our theatre but in venues across the UK.
“There is a very small minority of people who come to our theatre and choose to sing, dance and talk throughout the show in a manner that disturbs others.
More on Edinburgh
Related Topics:
“They either don’t know, or don’t care, how much this spoils their fellow audience members’ experience.
“When one of my team asks them politely to stop they become verbally abusive and, in some cases, physical. This is not acceptable.”
Advertisement
The statement comes after a 51-year-old man and 54-year-old woman were arrested and charged in connection with an alleged disturbance during a performance of Jersey Boys at the venue on 28 January.
Police Scotland said a report would be submitted to the Procurator Fiscal.
The King’s Theatre in Glasgow issued a similar appeal during a recent run of The Bodyguard, which features the hit songs of Whitney Houston, with venue bosses urging audiences not to sing along during the show.
The theatre stated anti-social behaviour towards staff and other customers would “not be tolerated”.
A spokesperson said: “We politely ask that you show consideration to your fellow audience members, who have come to enjoy the performances on stage.
“We all have a part to play in making sure the theatre is a fantastic experience for everyone and you can help by ensuring the professionals on stage are the only people entertaining us with their performances.”
‘It was a good atmosphere’
Theatre-goer Claire Roberts, who went along to one of The Bodyguard shows in Glasgow, told Sky News that a few people were singing during I Will Always Love You, but overall the audience was “great”.
She added: “It was a good atmosphere. It was mentioned by a few about the statement on behaviour but nobody seemed offended by it.
“There were still a few whistles and heckles at points. But there was also a part where they encouraged people to get up.”
‘You will be asked to leave’
The Bodyguard, starring Pussycat Doll Melody Thornton as Rachel Marron and soap star Ayden Callaghan as Frank Farmer, begins a six-day run at the Edinburgh Playhouse later this month.
Mr Marr asked all those attending the venue’s shows to be “considerate” towards the other audience members and staff so everyone “can all enjoy the wonderful entertainment on the stage”.
He added: “Please be in no doubt that if you are abusive towards our staff you will be asked to leave, and if you are threatening, intimidating or physically abusive we will call the police and you will be banned from our theatre and all ATG venues.”
Adele has bid a tearful farewell to her Las Vegas residency show, as the Someone Like You star admitted she doesn’t know when she’ll perform again next.
The British singer-songwriter, 36, launched Weekends with Adele at Caesars Palace in November 2022 and performed her 100th show there on Saturday.
Her mammoth run of sell-out shows at the venue, which seats around 4,000 people, has been a success but has taken its toll.
John David Washington says he felt like he had to conceal his desire to act because of the external expectations of him being the child of Denzel and Pauletta Washington.
He tells Sky News it took some time for him to pursue an acting career, choosing football instead to assert his “independence” and create his own “identity” separate from his famous family.
“I’ve been wanting to do this my whole life… but I was hiding it,” he said.
“I had to conceal that passion based on my relationship to the world and more specifically, my folks being in the industry, so I chose ball.
“I loved ball, but I was sort of hiding my love for the arts under a helmet – literally an American football helmet – and so when I wanted to become an actor, when I decided to pursue it, that was a big shock to some people.”
The 40-year-old actor says when he decided to pursue an acting career, he kept the decision quiet.
“Some people didn’t know I was even pursuing it professionally until I got a job,” he said.
More on Netflix
Related Topics:
Since switching to acting, John David has starred in a number of notable roles including the protagonist in Christopher Nolan’s Tenet, Ron Stallworth in BlacKkKlansman and Joshua in The Creator.
He also led the stage revival of the 2022 Tony-nominated play The Piano Lesson on Broadway alongside Samuel L Jackson.
Advertisement
“He [Jackson] originated the role [I play] in 1987 at Yale with Lloyd Richards and August Wilson,” John David said.
“So it was of great importance for us to learn from both he and Michael Potts about August Wilson. It was a great blessing for me, I think, for all of us to have him present on set.”
The Piano Lesson is the third August Wilson play to be adapted for the screen by Denzel Washington’s production company Mundy Lane Entertainment.
It is part of a pledge made by the Gladiator II actor to make all 10 of the playwright’s works into films.
The Netflixproject is directed by another Washington family member, Malcolm, and stars most of the cast from the Broadway revival.
Set in 1936 Pittsburgh in the aftermath of the Great Depression, the film centres on a family heirloom, a piano, that is etched with the carvings of their family history made by their enslaved ancestor.
Malcolm says he started reading the play for the first time during the pandemic and immediately wanted to be involved in the film adaptation.
“I think with this movie, reclamation of story and identity is so central to the theme and it’s something that’s central to my life where I both acknowledge the fertile ground that I was raised on and who I am today.
“That’s what Wining Boy [played by Michael Potts] really is trying to do, he’s trying to build on that legacy, so that’s a story that really resonated with me.”
The filmmaker added: “I take all the gifts that my ancestors laid in front of me, and I’m trying to build something for the next generation to pass down – all of their gifts, plus mine to the next generation and let them build on it.”
Malcolm says his goal was to put family at the forefront of the production. By dedicating his feature debut to “Mama”, he is acknowledging the dedication and sacrifices that mothers make for the growth of their families.
“There’s so much pointing to my mother in particular, who inspired this adaptation so much. I see so much of her life in Berniece’s character [played by Danielle Deadwyler] – and that became a guiding light for me in this adaptation,” he said.
“As we made this thing and started reconnecting with our ancestors, my mum became like a kind of representative of them.
“She’s the matriarch of our family. She tells me about my grandparents and great-grandparents and the line that I come from, and I see them in her.
“And when the movie ends, I want people to kind of have that moment of reflection for their own lives. So in dedicating it to her, I was trying to dedicate it to all mums everywhere.”
Blockbuster Wicked has landed the largest opening weekend of 2024 at Vue International.
The film, starring Oscar-nominated actress Cynthia Erivo and Grammy-winning pop star Ariana Grande as Elphaba and Glinda, surpassed both Gladiator II and Paddington In Peru.
It has also had the largest opening weekend for a stage musical adaptation in the cinema chain’s history.
A boss for Vue International said it had seen a “sea of pink and green” over the weekend.
Released on Friday, Wicked is up 60% on Les Miserables’ opening weekend in 2012 and three times larger than the 2022 film adaptation of Matilda.
Founder and chief executive of Vue International Tim Richards said: “Vue has seen a sea of pink and green over the opening weekend of Wicked, which has shown continued high demand for the big screen experience.
“We saw record-breaking pre-sales for Wicked, followed by a chart-topping opening weekend – the biggest for 2024.”
More on Cinema
Related Topics:
The film is the first of two parts, with the second expected in November next year.
Wicked and Gladiator II – known together as Glicked – have reportedly failed to beat out Barbenheimer, Barbie and Oppenheimer, in its own opening weekend last summer.