'The door's right there': Theatre etiquette fail everyone is sick of

If Madonna can't do it, neither can you!

At any kind of performance or event at the theatre, the rules are fairly straightforward - arrive on time, sit in your allocated seat, and enjoy it without talking or singing too loudly, if at all.

Sydneysiders are calling out one instance of poor behaviour that they think is becoming increasingly common. But, it seems it might not be entirely new after all as one star is being exposed for the same thing.

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Image: Supplied, TikTok / @bravowwhl.

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“PUT YOUR PHONES AWAY!!!!”

A Sydney Reddit user has taken to the platform after noticing some embarrassing behaviour at the Opera House.

The poster said that they were there to see the orchestra - but it very quickly became clear that not everyone was on the same page.

“To anyone going to see a theatre/orchestra/opera performance in Sydney PUT YOUR PHONES AWAY!!!!” they said.

“Was at the opera house last night and both strangers either side of me spent half the show scrolling through social media. They weren’t even filming the show (which is bad too, but somehow more understandable) - just straight up doom scrolling while the orchestra is banging out the most beautiful piece of music ever.”

The poster then asked why this behaviour is becoming more common, as fewer and fewer theatregoers are complying with etiquette rules.

“Has anyone else noticed this becoming more normalised recently?” they asked.

“They looked offended when I asked them to put it away. Have some theatre etiquette and save the phone for half time!”

Who’s to blame?

Commenters on the post were quick to point the finger at all kinds of people, like older people, cruisers, and disgruntled plus ones.

“Especially at the symphony I’ve noticed there seems to be people who come in on a cruise ship and they want to see the Opera House so they just buy a ticket to whatever is on that night. Once they get inside and have taken their selfies they are completely disinterested in whatever is playing and usually are gone after interval,” one person said.

“This happened to me at the theatre. An older couple used their phones throughout the first half. After the interval I said to them ‘phones away now’ like they were children. They both put their phones away and didn’t use them again. lol. My sister thought I was rude. I didn’t care,” another added.

“The worst I have ever encountered at the Opera House was a bloke in front of me who was watching NBA the entire concert. Whole family there to enjoy some music, and Dad just had to keep an eye on some mid-season Spurs game…” said a third.

@bravowwhl

The celebrity that Anthony Ramos spotted on her iPad at Hamilton 👀 WWHL

♬ original sound - BravoWWHL - BravoWWHL

“You know the door’s right there, you ain’t gotta stay here!”

But, a recent interview with Hamilton star Anthony Ramos proved that it can truly be anyone.

The 33-year-old appeared on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, answering some tricky questions - including about some of the high profile audience members at the ever-popular Broadway show.

“Who was the most terrifying celebrity to spot in the audience during your Hamilton days?” Cohen asked.

And, his response was just as shocking.

“The most terrifying was Madonna with her iPad in her face,” he said.

“I was like ‘damn, shorty, if you’re not enjoying that much, you know the door’s right there, you ain’t gotta stay here!’”

While he didn’t elaborate, the answer refers to an incident which occurred back in 2015, when Playbill reported that Madonna was not invited backstage at Hamilton due to her lack of theatre etiquette.

In a now-deleted tweet, the show’s creator Lin-Manuel Miranda said that the night was ‘the first time [he] asked stage management NOT to allow a celebrity (who was texting all through Act 2) backstage’.

Sources told Playbill she showed up late to the performance at The Public Theater, and was using her phone throughout the show's entirety.

Star Jonathan Groff confirmed the story shortly after in an interview with Dot429, saying she wasn’t allowed backstage “because that bitch was on her phone”.

“You couldn’t miss it from the stage,” Groff said.

“It was a black void of the audience in front of us and her face there perfectly lit by the light of her iPhone through three-quarters of the show.”

So, in the future, you might want to put it away - you never know what you might be missing out on.

Originally published as 'The door's right there': Theatre etiquette fail everyone is sick of