Friday 2 June 2023

Chomping and slurping

Since when did it become normal for people to eat and drink in theatres and cinemas with absolutely no consider-ation for those around them who're trying to concentrate on the film or play?

When I was younger people might eat the odd packet of popcorn or chocolate bar or have the odd drink, but they did it as discreetly as possible and without disturbing their neighbours.

Now it's seen as normal by some to chomp and slurp and rustle as noisily and blatantly as they like, sometimes so conspicuously that the play or film has to be halted and the offending individuals told to be quiet or leave.

And often when someone asks the people concerned to keep the noise down, they're met with a torrent of abuse and anger and told to mind their own business, as if the person complaining is the guilty party.

There are also the chatterers - those people who just chatter to each other continuously, and you wonder why on earth they paid good money to be there when they must be missing so much of what's going on.

Quite often heavy drinking seems to be involved, with the resulting indifference to other people's annoyance. And again, if you're drunk you'll be missing half of what's going on, so why not stay sober?

I can only sympathise with the actors trying to deliver a major speech to an audience that finds stuffing their mouths more important than what's happening on stage.

28 comments:

  1. Luckily that phenomenon has not yet struck here....

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    1. Glad to hear it. It must be infuriating if you're sitting near such people.

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  2. I have not seen food being allowed in live theatres here, but movie theatres are a whole other ballgame. I don’t go to movies, but I’ve heard the seats fully recline and people are eating hot dogs, sushi, etc. It sounds gross to me.

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    1. Bijoux: There's a new cinema in Belfast city centre that offers exactly that - full meals at your reclining seat. Needless to say, I haven't been there. Is it a cinema or a restaurant?

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  3. Only saw it once back in Ireland where four people in front, at a play, were entertaining themselves with what was happening on their cellphones and laughing. What I couldn't get over were the people beside me who laughed along with them. The play stopped and the actor lectured them. It was awful to be taken away from the drama on stage. It wrecked the night.
    XO
    WWW

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    1. www: That sounds dreadful. Good for the actor, giving them a telling-off. But as you say, the night was already wrecked.

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    2. thecontemplativecat here. That is rude. Cell phones + lack of respect for others is never a good mix.

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    3. contemplativecat: People using cell phones can be rude but I think most people are careful to switch their cell phones off during a performance.

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  4. No eating allowed in theatres here and we only go to Arthouse cinemas ,where the public comes for the films and not to eat and drink which I would consider being an awful.behaviour.
    Hannah

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    1. Hannah: No eating allowed in theatres - very sensible. We also go an arthouse cinema where people are generally well-behaved.

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  5. One of my major embarrassments was the time I got a cough during a concert and had to unwrap a hard candy to soothe my throat. I never knew candy wrappers were so LOUD.
    Linda

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    1. Linda: Jenny has been in the same situation, as she is prone to bouts of coughing and sometimes needs to dig out a cough sweet.

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  6. Switzerland is more polite in movies. More expensive, but better manners.

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    1. Anon: Good to know that people are better-mannered in Switzerland.

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  7. I haven't been to the movies since before Covid shut them down. And I haven't been since theaters have reopened.

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    1. Joanne: So all this fuss about audience behaviour will have passed you by!

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  8. I went to the theatre just last week, the first time in probably 10 years. The crowd was well behaved except we were in the middle of the row and I'm not graceful in tight spaces and people were saying we should have chosen better seats.

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    1. Kylie: We like to sit at the end of a row so we can get out easily if we need to, and not disturb too many people.

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    2. I usually get a disabled seat but my sister had spare tickets and I got what I was given.

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    3. Kylie: I understand. An awkward situation.

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  9. I'd rather stay home and watch what I want to watch. I haven't been back to the theatre since Covid either. I kind of miss it.
    Sx

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    1. Ms Scarlet: I don't go to the theatre very often, but when I do thankfully there is no "audience participation".

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  10. I thought you were talking about movie theaters, Nick, and in those places eating and drinking is encouraged because snacks are costly and money makers. Most live performances I have attended did not allow food into the venue, but sometimes it could be bought and enjoyed at an intermission. We go to movies and live venues very infrequently now, but if we did and people were noisily chomping down, it would be an unwanted annoyance.

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    1. Beatrice: In many of our cinemas and theatres, people are allowed to take food and drink into the auditorium. As you say, that's because snacks are money-makers so they don't want to deter people from buying them.

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  11. In the old days you had to take your own sweets or buy from a small selection. Nowadays you can buy huge tubs of popcorn or full cooked dinners!

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    1. Liz: The newest cinema in Belfast city centre sells cooked food and is happy for you to eat it in the auditorium. No way am I giving them my custom.

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  12. I stopped going to the theatre a long time ago. People are just rude. They will kick the back of your seat, and the crunch and munch of eating is just too annoying for me.

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    1. Mary: People kicking the back of your seat are infuriating. But I don't mind a bit of crunching and munching as long as it's kept to a minimum.

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