Theatre Etiquette: Writing the Unwritten Rules

Illustrations by Grace McKenna

What on earth has happened to theatre etiquette? I have come away from almost every single theatre show I have been to in the past few years with a funny, shocking, or downright incredulous story regarding my fellow theatregoers’ behaviour. During a performance of Cabaret, I witnessed two men over-enthusiastically singing along, only to be violently thumped by an enraged old woman and her handbag. While watching The Hunger Games: On Stage, a loud-and-proud Texan sat next to me provided an annoying and frankly inappropriate running commentary of the show. And at a performance of An Inspector Calls a large school group chattered and shouted over most of the performance, much to the annoyance of their teachers and everyone sat around them. I’m not the only one to have stories like this – speaking to my friends, they have all experienced attending the theatre only to be surrounded by chatting voices or people on their phones. It feels like no one observes theatre etiquette anymore!

There have been discussions online about the worsening standards of theatre etiquette that many people have noticed following the COVID-19 pandemic. Some have speculated that perhaps the extended time at home during lockdown meant that people forgot how to act in public spaces. This may be an explanation, but certainly not an excuse – and this change is not for the better. 

And yet, I am aware that this entire conversation may sound extremely out of touch. Going to the theatre in the first place is a privilege and having been frequently enough to know the ins-and-outs of theatre etiquette is even more of a privilege. In criticising theatre etiquette, you run the inevitable risk of sounding stuck up, posh, and completely out of touch, but that is not my intention. 

The mystifying and seemingly secretive code of theatre etiquette that is magically known by ‘true’ theatregoers is one of the large barriers to accessibility in the theatre. It can feel daunting to be entering a space where the rules are not explicitly stated, and accidentally breaking one will earn you at best dirty looks or – at worse – banishment. No wonder the theatre earns a reputation for being exclusive. 

This is not to say that we should scrap theatre etiquette entirely. Not only is it necessary as a show of respect to the performers and fellow audience members, but it helps the theatre retain a special, hallowed atmosphere. Therefore, in order to preserve theatre etiquette while making it accessible to newcomers, venues and shows need to take actions to ensure everyone has the opportunity to learn what is expected. In other words: we must make the unwritten rules of the theatre written. 

Clear signs around venues and polite reminders from ushers would certainly help people to feel that they know what is expected of them, and that they are welcome in the theatre space. This would be a huge help for all audience members, not just newcomers. Different shows have different rules – some encourage you to sing, dance, and even film portions (usually the bows), but some have very strict bans on this sort of behaviour. It is of no benefit to anyone to obscure which category a certain performance falls under.

These rules of the theatre should not be secretive; they need to be readily available to learn in order to make the theatre experience enjoyable for everyone. Knowing theatre etiquette is indeed a privilege, but this does not mean it must be exclusive. We must break down these barriers to accessibility and make the theatre welcoming for all.