zxDaveM Posted May 16, 2016 Share Posted May 16, 2016 a cunning plan - you can spend the whole of act 1 making your selections! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacqueline Posted May 16, 2016 Share Posted May 16, 2016 a cunning plan - you can spend the whole of act 1 making your selections! Indeed and if you are with friends, you can whisper all through Act l about what's on offer and who is going to have what! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLOSS Posted May 16, 2016 Share Posted May 16, 2016 (edited) Take it one step further and you don't need to enter the auditorium at all. Surely the ROH could devise an even better scheme for those who merely want the "ROH experience" without the bother of sitting in the dark unable to eat or drink alcohol for thirty or forty minutes at a time. There is clearly a market among those who want the freedom to booze as at most performances there are people who try to take glasses of drink into the performance and seem most put out when they can't. I am not suggesting that the ROH should lower its standards and follow the lead given by Sadler's Wells and the Coli, merely that it should make provision for such people by giving them a room where they can drink and talk to their heart's content and watch as much or as little as they want to on a big screen. The ROH equivalent of one of those annexes that the CE introduced to a number of their churches in the 1970's so that church goers would not be distracted by babies and toddlers during the service. Edited May 16, 2016 by FLOSS 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taxi4ballet Posted May 16, 2016 Share Posted May 16, 2016 Maybe this is a cunning plan by the ROH and the app will lock the phone and switch it off during the performance?!! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacqueline Posted May 16, 2016 Share Posted May 16, 2016 Maybe this is a cunning plan by the ROH and the app will lock the phone and switch it off during the performance?!! Then people will whisper that their phone's not working 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cavycapers Posted May 16, 2016 Share Posted May 16, 2016 Am I the only one who holds their breath as 'Dance of the Knights' begins in R and J and a whisper of, 'It's the Appentice' goes all round the audience like a Mexican wave? Grrr! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balletfanp Posted May 17, 2016 Share Posted May 17, 2016 No you're not! So annoying..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacqueline Posted May 17, 2016 Share Posted May 17, 2016 Am I the only one who holds their breath as 'Dance of the Knights' begins in R and J and a whisper of, 'It's the Appentice' goes all round the audience like a Mexican wave? Grrr! No, I've heard that whisper and others when a piece of music cranks up, along the lines of ooh, isn't that from the ad with the cute kids, ugly but fast car, dancing sheep, holiday destination etc. I admit I have had such product recognition moments myself with some of the more obscure ditties, but manage to keep the excitement internalised. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted May 17, 2016 Author Share Posted May 17, 2016 I always think of Sunderland FC when I hear the Dance of the Knights. What about "Everyone's a Fruit and Nutcase"??? 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuthE Posted May 17, 2016 Share Posted May 17, 2016 What about "Everyone's a Fruit and Nutcase"??? I must confess I still have this thought. Leading straight into a woman waltzing around a black & white tiled floor with Flash Liquid and a mop, of course... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacqueline Posted May 17, 2016 Share Posted May 17, 2016 On a slightly different note, so to speak, I can never see Swan Lake's dance of the Cygnets, without remembering that Morecambe and Wise film, where, dressed as ancient Egyptians for some reason, Eric and Ernie are trying to escape from a genuinely homicidal Rothbart and have no alternative but to join the cygnets on stage. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bridiem Posted May 17, 2016 Share Posted May 17, 2016 When I first saw Swan Lake I was amazed to hear music that I completely associated with the opening of old horror films - took a while for that association to be overridden by balletic ones! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnneMarriott Posted May 17, 2016 Share Posted May 17, 2016 Isn't it supposed to be the definition of an aesthete to be able to hear the William tell Overture without thinking of the Lone Ranger, or is it Spartcus without thinking of the Onedin Line? 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trog Posted May 17, 2016 Share Posted May 17, 2016 I've been known to snigger during the Arabian segment of The Nutcracker. Whenever I hear it, immediately "I say Holmes, what was that?" leaps into my mind. Why you ask? Spike Jones! His version of The Nutcracker Suite is by far the best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuthE Posted May 17, 2016 Share Posted May 17, 2016 Isn't it supposed to be the definition of an aesthete to be able to hear the William tell Overture without thinking of the Lone Ranger, or is it Spartcus without thinking of the Onedin Line? Apparently so, although in my case I grew up without a TV until the age of 14, and therefore never had such associations! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MargaretN7 Posted May 17, 2016 Share Posted May 17, 2016 "Who's got a head like a pingpong ball?" (Sung round a scout/guide campfire) And anyone else know "Oh father, look at Uncle Jim, diving in the bathtub, learning how to swim" ? That's the one that really gets me. (Perhaps these misplaced earworms need their own section, so people don't alight on them unexpectedly and get caught!!!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trog Posted May 17, 2016 Share Posted May 17, 2016 Misplaced ear worms thread Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuthE Posted May 17, 2016 Share Posted May 17, 2016 "Who's got a head like a pingpong ball?" (Sung round a scout/guide campfire) And anyone else know "Oh father, look at Uncle Jim, diving in the bathtub, learning how to swim" ? That's the one that really gets me. Except I know the latter as "Oh Jemima, look at your Uncle Jim/He's in the duck pond learning how to swim"... it took me quite by surprise when I discovered what the tune actually was, while rehearsing for an opera-choruses concert in my teens. What's "Who's got a head like a pingpong ball?" (Educated guess: Galop from William Tell overture?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Posted May 17, 2016 Share Posted May 17, 2016 "Who's got a head like a pingpong ball?" (Sung round a scout/guide campfire) And anyone else know "Oh father, look at Uncle Jim, diving in the bathtub, learning how to swim" ? That's the one that really gets me. (Perhaps these misplaced earworms need their own section, so people don't alight on them unexpectedly and get caught!!!) I remember the Uncle Jim song, although my mother always sang "...diving in the duck pond". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zxDaveM Posted May 18, 2016 Share Posted May 18, 2016 I was out walking with my uncle Jim People were throwing tomates at him Now, tomatoes are soft when they come in their skin But ones were 'ard cos they came in a tin (sorry, coudn't resist) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scheherezade Posted May 22, 2016 Share Posted May 22, 2016 Isn't it supposed to be the definition of an aesthete to be able to hear the William tell Overture without thinking of the Lone Ranger, or is it Spartcus without thinking of the Onedin Line? I think it's more a definition of when you were born. Am I the only one who can't hear the adagietto from Mahler's 5th without recalling the hair dye running down Dirk Bogarde's face in Visconti's Death in Venice? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinMM Posted May 22, 2016 Share Posted May 22, 2016 (edited) God that film was so intense! And always associate the Mahler music with it. Edited May 22, 2016 by LinMM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHazell2 Posted May 22, 2016 Share Posted May 22, 2016 God that film was so intense! And always associate the Mahler music with it. Me too, I love that film - one of my firm favourites. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nottsballetlover Posted July 2, 2016 Share Posted July 2, 2016 (edited) My word. Today takes theatre in-seat dining to a new level. Young lady sat next to me in front row at Bristol Hippodrome calmly tucked into smoked salmon salad. The smell of smoked fish was overwhelming. She then proceeded to crack open bag a smelly bag of popcorn. At this point I gave her a withering glare.... popcorn ceased. Aghhh..... Edited July 2, 2016 by nottsballetlover Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coated Posted July 2, 2016 Share Posted July 2, 2016 (edited) Not sure whether it's bad behaviour, but it certainly falls into the category of entitled. Anyone who has ever booked the second row of the upper slips will find a little note on their ticket about other patrons blocking the view, after having been given copious warnings when booking. We often go for the front row of upper slips for opera and take reasonable care to block as little stage view for the 'hearing seats' as possible, but not to the exclusion of seeing only 5% of the stage ourselves. The not leaning at all rule doesn't apply in the slips in the usual fashion due to extreme restrictions otherwise. A rather entitled patron asked my friend to sit back during the performance to not interfere with her view. This was a few minutes before the performance had even started. Anyway, she was informed that that is a bit of an unreasonable request and we left it at that, but that type of entitlement does spoil things a little, particularly when one normally leaves those seats with backache in the attempt to block as little viewing space as possible. Edited July 2, 2016 by Coated Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinMM Posted July 2, 2016 Share Posted July 2, 2016 Which is why I never sit there any more!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Posted July 7, 2016 Share Posted July 7, 2016 A double first for us tonight, sitting in the front row of the Royal Circle for the Ayckbourne which has just transferred to the Duke of Yorks in the West End:- * A party of four - also in the front row - noisily shared a large bucket of popcorn until eventually shushed by someone sitting behind them (actually, does popcorn come with a quiet option?) * And right next to us a man was checking emails, exchanging texts and searching the internet on his phone during much of the performance. What seemed astonishing to us was, given the size and design of the theatre, there is no way the cast could not see both of these activities, indeed hear one of them. As (massive name drop coming up, sorry) Shelley Winters, sitting in front of me during a rehearsal at the Actor's Studio in New York, said when I made a noise with my nails, "Please, there are people trying to work here". 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Posted July 8, 2016 Share Posted July 8, 2016 A double first for us tonight, sitting in the front row of the Royal Circle for the Ayckbourne which has just transferred to the Duke of Yorks in the West End:- * A party of four - also in the front row - noisily shared a large bucket of popcorn until eventually shushed by someone sitting behind them (actually, does popcorn come with a quiet option?). Correction, seems like I have failed to move with the times. I have just examined a piece of card I found in my programme: the food is supplied by the theatre management "delivered to your seat". The menu includes, not only two litres of popcorn (which explains where they got it), but boxes of crisps, bottles of wine and cocktails. There is an ATG (a company which presumably hates actors) app for it. So. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trog Posted July 8, 2016 Share Posted July 8, 2016 Ah ATG, the company that charged me an extra £6.90 for the privilege of booking a ticket at the Bristol Hippodrome recently. £4 booking fee and £2.90 admin fee. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted July 8, 2016 Author Share Posted July 8, 2016 Our local ATG company fortunately seems to have stopped selling popcorn now. When you are booking tickets you get a lot of options for pre-booking snacks and drinks packages. I've got to admit that, because I go to several ATG theatres, I gave in and got an ATG card. You don't pay the fees and they have some good card holders offers on tickets. I've saved over £100 pa for the last 4 years since I have had one. But you have to work out if it is worth it for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fonty Posted July 8, 2016 Share Posted July 8, 2016 Correction, seems like I have failed to move with the times. I have just examined a piece of card I found in my programme: the food is supplied by the theatre management "delivered to your seat". The menu includes, not only two litres of popcorn (which explains where they got it), but boxes of crisps, bottles of wine and cocktails. There is an ATG (a company which presumably hates actors) app for it. So. Oh for goodness sake. You know you are getting old when you can remember a time when people went to the theatre to watch the performers. And either ate before, and waited until afterwards for their food and drink. 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alice Shortcake Posted July 8, 2016 Share Posted July 8, 2016 For the love of Thespis, why do people eat CRISPS at the theatre? And why do theatre managements allow them in the auditorium? 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melody Posted July 8, 2016 Share Posted July 8, 2016 I was wondering the same thing. Surely they could restrict their menu to things that are less noisy than crisps. I mean, what next? Celery sticks and ice cubes? 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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