Beverly Knight hits out at ‘rat a***d’ theatre goers after two were escorted out of West End show
Beverly Knight hits out at ‘rat a***d’ theatre goers after two people had to be escorted out of the singer’s West End show
Soul singer-turned-stage-actress Beverley Knight hit out at audience membersWrote on Twitter that it was the second night in a row the show was disruptedDisruption came at the Garrick Theatre during performance of The Drifter’s GirlsOn Thursday, two audience members had to be escorted out of the theatre
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West End actress Beverley Knight has told ‘rat-a***d’ theatre goers to stay at home after a second performance of a musical she is starring in was disrupted.
The soul singer-turned-stage-actress criticised members of the audience watching Thursday evening’s performance of The Drifter’s Girl at London‘s Garrick Theatre.
Taking to Twitter to complain about a show-stopping interruption that saw two escorted out, she wrote: ‘Ok. If your intention is to come to the theatre, get rat-a***d, make a scene, disrupt the show thus causing a show-stop?
West End actress and soul singer Beverley Knight criticised members of the audience watching Thursday evening’s performance of The Drifter’s Girl at London’s Garrick Theatre. Pictured: Ms Knight at the curtain call during the press night performance of ‘The Drifters Girl’ at the Garrick Theatre on November 25, 2021 in London
‘My advice is stay at home. People pay to come to the theatre to be entertained, not to endure your foolishness. Done.’
She added that she had been ‘fuming’, with the incident being the second night in a row a member of the audience had disrupted show.
Replying to Knight’s post, a person saying they were in the audience wrote: ‘people were drinking throughout, so by the second half they were joining in with the singing & drowning the cast out.
‘There was a lot of lurching in the interval. Perhaps limit the amount of drinks sold & not allow people to bring bottles in from outside?’
Another person tweeted: ‘I went to the show and wasn’t too far from the person that disrupted the show which she should be ashamed of.
‘I didn’t think the audience drowned out the cast at all some people sang along and was just enjoying the brilliant show.’
Taking to Twitter to complain about a show-stopping interruption, Beverley Knight wrote: ‘Ok. If your intention is to come to the theatre, get rat-a***d, make a scene, disrupt the show thus causing a show-stop? ‘My advice is stay at home. People pay to come to the theatre to be entertained, not to endure your foolishness. Done.’
A spokesperson for the production said two members of the audience had to be escorted out of the Garrick theatre by staff for ‘loud and abusive behaviour during the performance.
‘The cast left the stage whilst this happened, before resuming and completing the performance,’ the spokesperson said.
‘This is an isolated incident, however both The Drifters Girl and Nimax Theatres would ask all patrons to behave in a responsible, respectful manner when attending a performance.’
Beverley Knight (pictured) said she had been ‘fuming’, with the incident being the second night in a row a member of the audience had disrupted show
Replying to suggestions that alcohol sales should be restricted at performances, Ms Knight said the issue was ‘tricky’ because theatres rely on bar revenue.
‘Most folk who come along are not utter idiots,’ she added.
Tickets to see Ms Knight and her fellow performers in The Drifters Girl are selling for upwards of £20. The musical centres around the ‘formidable businesswoman’ Faye Treadwell, played by Knight, and her management of R&B soul group The Drifters.
Melissa Phillips, an actress known for Gangs of London, responded to Ms Knight’s post saying that the ‘same scenario’ happened at another West End show she attended recently.
‘The person had to be removed by 6 security staff. The show stopped temporarily. It was distressing!’ she wrote on Twitter.
Issues with audience members in theatres is not unheard of. Loud chatting, eating and the use of mobile phones can all get in the way of a performance.
Drunk audience members in particular can pose a safety risk to other theatre goers, and in such scenarios often have to be removed from the venue.
But not everyone share’s Ms Knight’s view. In 2018, actor Mark Rylance said disruptive audiences were the result of actors ‘not telling the story well enough.’
‘Surely they [audiences] should be allowed to do what they want – if they’re making noise then you’re not holding them. You’re not telling the story well enough. But to complain about them, that can’t be right,’ the actor said in a speech.
