After Richard Griffiths’ well-documented run-ins with UK theatregoers during the runs of both The History Boys at the National Theatre and Heroes in the West End when their mobile phones rang, it has now happened on Broadway, too.
As reported on the US theatre gossip bulletin board Talkin’ Broadway posted on Wednesday evening, Richard Griffiths stopped that day’s matinee’s performance of The History Boys there. According to BeenThereBrad, within the first hour or so, “THREE different cellphones went off ringing loudly, each about 5-7 times and then ANSWERED. Not to mention the woman behind me whose cell phone vibrate in her bag went off twice and literally shook my seat.”
He went on, “When the third phone rang its 4th ring, Richard Griffiths in the middle of a crucial confrontational scene with the headmaster, turns to the audience and I paraphrase: ‘Ok, I am not going to compete with these electronic devices. You were told to turn them off by the stage manager, you were told it was against the law and you heard two phones go off already before this. You should be ashamed of yourself. Now I’m going to exit and we’re going to start this scene again, so tech stand by… and I assure you if we hear one more phone go off we’ll be in our right mind to quit this afternoon’s performance… you have been warned.”
Griffiths, he went on, exited to rousing applause, and re-entered – for the scene where the headmaster quizzes his character, Hector, about why he teaches with his door locked. “I hate to be interrupted”, Griffiths/Hector replied – and another round of applause duly stopped the show. The headmaster came back with, “You do realize I’m very angry”, which got yet more applause.
Of course, the American habit of applauding individual line readings (not to mention the obligatory star entrance applause, a fashion that has more or less died out in the West End, thank goodness) is itself an irritation, as I previously blogged here about when I saw a new musical Grey Gardens. But Griffiths’ crusade against the mobile seems to have become a mission.
It’s certainly discombobulating, however, when actors step beyond the 4th wall to address audiences directly. I remember once seeing John Wood as King Lear for the RSC, and stop in the middle of an early scene and say to the audience, “Would you please stop coughing!” And then he added, rather sheepishly, “I’m terribly sorry,” before continuing. Of course, for the rest of the play I was on tenterhooks every time anyone so much as cleared their throat.
But on another more memorably mischievous occasion, I noticed that Michael Gambon was repeating audience’s coughs back to them, as they did so, in the middle of his speeches during the final performance of Volpone at the National a few years ago. And at one point he riffed away from his scripted speech into a flight of fancy of his own that had co-star Simon Russell Beale so convulsed with laughter that he had to leave the stage. Of such occasions are theatrical memories made; but at the same time, was he serving the play?
The worst example I ever saw of a mobile phone interruption was during Pacific Overtures at the Donmar.
I was on the front row in the stalls which is extremely close to the actors but for this production they had put a row of seats actually on the stage to make the piece in the round. Those temporary seats were within touching distance of the actors.
During one long speach from an actor inches away from her a woman sat on the front row of that new block had her mobile phone ring... and she answered it..."YES I AM AT THE THEATRE, YES... YES.... "
But surely the best dialogue is from Michael Simkins (in The Guardian). Punter answering the phone: "I can't talk, I'm watching a play. ... No, not very."
(http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,,1648745,00.html)