Theatre trip 'spoilt' by others in the audience

Jim Rowe said everyone around them were "annoyed" by the conduct

A man has criticised a theatre after he said audience members disrupted a production of Moulin Rouge.

Jim Rowe from Paignton booked two tickets for him and his wife to see the show at the Piccadilly Theatre in the West End on 11 October, but said the experience was a "great disappointment" after "two girls" in front of them were "talking loudly, videoing and dancing" throughout.

He said before the show "the usher held up a card which said no videoing, no dancing and no talking but they seemed to ignore it".

ATG which runs the theatre, said it had contacted Mr Rowe to discuss the concerns, to explore how it could resolve the matter positively.

Mr Rowe said the tickets cost £65 each but the experience was a disappointment

Mr Rowe said he spoke to a supervisor at the interval but was told there was nothing he could do and "hopefully they'll be quieter in the second half."

He said others complained but said staff failed to address the problem.

"I don't mind people enjoying themselves but this went beyond it," he said.

"It does say at the beginning of the show because the music is so catchy, there is plenty of time at the end of the show to let your hair down, get up and dance but they just went above and beyond to irritate everyone around them."

Mr Rowe said he had cut his holiday short to see the show but said the pair's behaviour "crossed the line" and "spoilt" the evening.

After the show he complained to the theatre who offered him a free programme and a complimentary drink if they were to ever go back which he said was a "bad" response.

ATG said it was unable to comment on the specifics of this complaint but wanted to "reassure our audiences that we are committed to ensuring every customer has the best possible experience when visiting our theatres".

"Instances of poor audience behaviour are thankfully rare, but we fully understand the impact they can have when they do occur," the company added.