The UK’s largest reviewer of live arts performance, Broadway Baby, has come out in support of the Theatre Charter – a campaign for good behaviour in UK theatres.
The Theatre Charter is a campaign worth supporting
Hugh Jackman, Alfie Bow and Kevin Spacey are some of the more notable names who have had their performances interrupted by a mobile phone. The late Richard Griffiths even ordered a woman out of the Wyndham’s Theatre in 2005 when her phone went off three times during a show.
The Theatre Charter seeks commitment from audience members to be “fully aware of other audience members and their right to uninhibited enjoyment of any production” and also “to respect those on stage.” The main focus of the Charter is mobile phone use, but also highlights good behaviour such as simply being punctual for the performance and not rustling sweet wrappers or chatting throughout the show.
Broadway Baby has now adopted the principles of the Theatre Charter and incorporated them into its Reviewer Guidelines – the ‘bible’ for the reviewing team at the publication.
Publisher, Pete Shaw, said “Broadway Baby has always asked its reviewing team to be punctual and not do things in an auditorium that may be distracting, such as taking notes from the front row. The Theatre Charter is a campaign worth supporting.”
