Southampton theatre campaign over audience behaviour concerns

The personalised posters urge audiences to show respect to front of house staff

A theatre has launched a poster campaign to combat "worsening" audience behaviour.

Mayflower Theatre in Southampton said conflicts had arisen over bar queues, phone calls during shows and audience members singing along with performers.

Chief executive Michael Ockwell said problems had escalated since the Covid pandemic.

The posters urge respect towards front-of-house staff by portraying them as ordinary members of society.

The theatre's chief executive Michael Ockwell said audience behaviour was getting worse

Under the banner "Sister, cyclist", one notice shows a box office worker, along with the tag line: "There's no excuse for abuse."

Mr Ockwell said half a dozen people had had to be removed from the theatre in the last year, although there had been no major incidents.

He said: "We all came out of the pandemic and said let's be kinder to each other, let's be nicer to each other but as a society we're much more divided than ever.

"You have to balance enjoyment with sharing the space with 2,000 other people."

The Mayflower Theatre has trained two staff in security techniques

Mr Ockwell said two front of house staff were trained in security in 2022 and the theatre regularly employs security firms for weekend shows.

He said people "jostling for space" for prams before children's shows had caused altercations at the theatre's other venue, Mast Mayflower Studios.

Tasha Finch, the theatre's head of customer operations, said: "Customer behaviour not only within our industry, but in all walks of life is getting more and more challenging.

"The messaging in the campaign is to enjoy your visit to our venues but be considerate and kind to the people who are there to help you."

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