Actors in a musical have expressed their outrage after audience members watched England’s nail-biting penalty shootout with Colombia on their phones during a show.
Niall Sheehy and Stephen Webb, who performed in Titanic the Musical in Nottingham on Tuesday, criticised two women for celebrating penalties as they were scored during the show, with one describing them as “the most ignorant audience members I have ever had the misfortune to perform in front of”.
In a social media post, Sheehy said that when a cast member signalled to the women in the front row to put their phones away during the bows at the end, both smiled, gave a thumbs-up and said, “I know – we won”.
To the two women in the front row tonight who not only followed the penalty shootout on their phone, but also said “yesss” on each goal scored, you are the most ignorant audience members I have ever had the misfortune to perform in front of.
— Niall Sheehy (@niallsheehy) July 3, 2018
The complaints from the actors, which have been widely shared on social media, have received support from some members of the public, but others have predictably replied, “It’s coming home”.
Titanic the Musical was not the only show disrupted by Tuesday’s dramatic penalty shootout. The grime star Stormzy stopped a live performance in Ibiza and watched the drama unfold on his knees on stage, which was followed by wild celebrations from the audience when Eric Dier scored the winning penalty.
If England progress in the World Cup, further clashes between football games and other events are expected. Saturday’s quarter-final against Sweden clashes with Pride in London, leaving some LGBT football fans torn.
The British Summer Time (BST) festival in Hyde Park also clashes with the fixture and organisers have said they will try to find a “happy medium” between the World Cup action and musical performances.
Only Stormzy could stop his #MerkyFestival headline set at @ibizarocks to watch England win the penalty shoot out and then go straight into ‘Big For Your Boots’ 🔥💥🔥💥 pic.twitter.com/MwqBadFzMQ
— Ben Anderson (@IAmBenAnderson) July 3, 2018
In a statement about the disturbances on Tuesday, the Theatre Royal in Nottingham said people watching Titanic were instructed to turn off their phone during the performance.
“It would seem that these two audience members seated on the front row, only a few feet away from the stage, perhaps had not realised that their actions could be both seen and heard,” the statement says.
“Even if audience members feel that they are being quiet or discreet in checking their phones during a performance, it is both disrespectful and distracting to the actors on stage and to the other people around them.
“Our staff are vigilant in stopping this kind of behaviour, where it is practical to do so without further distracting from the action on stage, but we do also rely on people using courtesy and respect to those around them when they come to see a live theatre performance.”
