Lincoln shoppers on whether audience should be allowed to ‘join in …
Shoppers in Lincoln City Centre gave their verdict on whether the audience should be allowed to sing along at a musical. This comes just days after the Bodyguard musical was halted at Manchester Palace Theatre and police were called following a disturbance on Friday, April 7, Manchester Evening News reports[1].
Footage supplied to Manchester Evening News showed people shouting over the lyrics of the song I Will Always Love You before security staff removed two people.
The Bodyguard star Ayden Callaghan, from Lincoln, slammed the audience’s “disgusting” behaviour”[2] during the performance at the Palace Theatre in Manchester, saying: “Theatre pulled the show at the end tonight because of disgusting behaviour. We wanted to carry on but it had become a major incident. I’m really sorry to what was 99.9% a brilliant audience that a few badly behaved individuals ruined it.”
Poll – Do you support the strikes?[3]
Lincolnshire Live[4] asked shoppers in Lincoln City Centre whether people should be allowed to sing along during a musical performance.
Ken Ballowliff, 73, said: “Yes, why not? They do at pantomimes, why not at musicals? As long as you don’t sing super loud or anything like that, it’s not a problem.”
Kim Exton, 32, said: “I think you should be able to sing along at a musical as audience participants, mainly because of freedom of speech, you should just be able to have a good time, enjoy yourself and if what you want to do is sing along, then you should be able to that.”
Another man, who did not want to be named, said: “You’ve paid your money and you should be able to enjoy it however way you wish to. As long as you’re not being abusive or disruptive, then that’s absolutely fine.”
Alison Hammond took to Twitter with an apology and vowed to “do better in the future” after the popular presenter and her colleagues Dermot O’Leary, and Vanessa Feltz discussed the matter on This Morning. On Sunday (April 9) Alison wrote: ‘After reflection and the comments I made on Wednesday’s show I want to apologise to anyone who I offended especially the incredibly talented theatre performers, who I have the utmost respect for. I had no idea the level of disruption audiences were causing and tried to make light of the topic on Wednesday’s show, and for that I’m truly sorry.”
She added: “I am a great supporter of theatre and the arts and would never sing at the top of my lungs at any performance. I was wrong in what I said and I’ve given this a lot of thought over the past few days and believe I was wrong.”
Dame Arlene Phillips, who has directed and choreographed many hit West End and Broadway musicals, responded to say: “Alison thank you for your apology but I would just like to say, you have no idea what it is really like for those performers in the shows where the songs are popular hits and certain members of the audience feel entitled to join in.”
Danielle Metch, 28, said “I think it’s just fun. It’s nice to get involved. If you’ve spent money to go and see something you like, you should be able to engage with it.
“I think it’s nice for the people who are putting on the performance as well to have audience engagement. I just think it’s a bit silly. I would have thought if it was being disruptive, they would have had their own security people in the actual venue, but I suppose if that’s what they needed, then that’s what they needed to do.”
Greater Manchester Police said they were reviewing the evidence for deciding if any further action should be taken.
A spokesperson for Manchester Palace Theatre said: “We are grateful to our venue teams for dealing with these difficult circumstances in a professional and calm way, and to Greater Manchester police for their assistance. Future performances will continue as planned and we ask that customers are considerate towards the cast, fellow audience members and theatre team so that everyone can enjoy the wonderful entertainment on stage.”
References
- ^ Manchester Evening News reports (www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk)
- ^ The Bodyguard star Ayden Callaghan, from Lincoln, slammed the audience’s “disgusting” behaviour” (www.lincolnshirelive.co.uk)
- ^ Poll – Do you support the strikes? (xd.wayin.com)
- ^ Lincolnshire Live (www.lincolnshirelive.co.uk)