Last Friday Paul and I went to see Philip Glass's gargantuan minimalist classic Einstein on the Beach at the Barbican Theatre. We loved it. Agreeing with most of the critics. However... well, let my letter to the Barbican do the talking.
From: Jonathan Green
Sent: 06 May 2012 11:50
To: feedback@barbican.org.uk
Subject: Production Staff Behaviour at Barbican Theatre
Sent: 06 May 2012 11:50
To: feedback@barbican.org.uk
Subject: Production Staff Behaviour at Barbican Theatre
I am writing to complain about the behaviour of
production staff during the Philip Glass's Einstein on the Beach
performance last Friday night 4th May 2012 at the
Barbican Theatre.
My friend and I sat in row S in seats 11 and 12 and
directly behind us in row T were four men and one woman who talked loudly
throughout the whole show. Initially we believed that they were customers
like us - it then became apparent they were actually production staff. We asked
them to be quiet. They ignored us. This behaviour continued throughout the
whole performance - all five hours of it. Other patrons were also affects
by this and moved away. Others asked them to be quiet - again these requests
were ignored.
There was no member of Barbican staff that we could
find to complain to on the night. This was very frustrating.
Here is a small snap shot of the ceaseless chatter that
started from the beginning:-
"That's wrong. Too slow. Too slow. Where's the dry
ice? Dry ice. DRY ICE! She's late. Where is
she? No. NO! To the left. LEFT. Lighting cue all wrong. That's it.
Slowly, slowly. What we need to do is bring that one on quicker. What's
that? NO! NO!" etc etc etc etc
I understand that technical issues
do need to be addressed during performances but not at the expense of paying
customers.
My friend and I had waited 27
years to see such a landmark cultural show, we had been looking forward to
the great music, ambitious staging and were happy to pay £100 for each ticket. However
this performance was ruined for us due to the production staff talking
throughout the show.
I am a Red Member , attend
events at the Barbican frequently and have never had cause to complain about
any aspect of the Barbican's usual excellent service. However on this occasion
we both felt severely let down by the Barbican.
I feel the need to draw this to
your attention so other patrons don't experience similar incidents.
Jonathan Green
Member: xxxxxxx
Booking ref: xxxxxxx
There's a sort of happy ending. The Barbican called me to apologise explaining that it was actually the director Robert Wilson behind us. They have offered me two free tickets for this Friday so I'm going again. To enjoy the opera in the way I imagine Mr Wilson intended. In peace.

Did you read/hear about Theatre Critic Mark Shenton's spat with a member of the audience for taking flash photographs during the performance?
ReplyDeleteTurned out the audience member was none other than Bianca Jagger, who did the 'Don't you know who I am?' thing
Yes, you just can't get the audience members these days!
ReplyDeleteThese have a bad status but even if you might find the odd calamity they are often preferable to most portaloos. This is since there are because they are used faster. They are uncovered to the open air and consequently smell is less of an issue. They are also in general lit.
Deletehttp://www.onthebroadway.com/cheap-broadway-tickets/Einstein-On-The-Beach.php