Women cheered England goals on phone during theatre show

A theatre manager has branded audience members who watched England’s World Cup penaltyshoot-outagainstColombia on their phones while seated in the front row of the show as “disrespectful and distracting”.

Cast members were horrified when two women at the front of the audience for Titanic The Musical at the Theatre Royal in Nottingham audibly celebrated each goal during the nail-biting conclusion to the game, while the production was going on.

Jonathan Saville, interim venue director of the Theatre Royal and Royal Concert Hall Nottingham, said: “On Tuesday evening our front of house team informed every member of the audience on entering the auditorium that they should turn off their mobile phone.

“Our duty manager was present in the stalls throughout Act 2 of the performance.

“The audience were extremely quiet and she was not aware of any audible or visual disturbance until the company alerted her to it. It would seem that these two audience members seated on the front row, only a few feet away from the stage, perhaps had not realised that their actions could be both seen and heard.

“Even if audience members feel that they are being quiet or discreet in checking their phones during a performance, it is both disrespectful and distracting to the actors on stage and to the other people around them.

“Our staff are vigilant in stopping this kind of behaviour, where it is practical to do so without further distracting from the action on stage, but we do also rely on people using courtesy and respect to those around them when they come to see a live theatre performance.”