Talking Point: Should theatres ban alcohol during intervals?

Last week, chaos broke out in the auditorium of the Palace Theatre in Manchester after rowdy audience members forced a production of The Bodyguard musical to be cut short.

Police were called to the theatre and two audience members were removed by security personnel after overenthusiastically singing along to the songs.

Amy, who had identified themselves on Twitter as the theatre’s front of house supervisor posted: “The police were not called because of a few patrons singing along, they were called because of the UNPRECEDENTED levels of VIOLENCE asking them to stop caused.”

Such disruptive behaviour has been criticised by actor Christopher Biggins who told the Evening Standard that “the last thing you want is someone singing out of key” in the seat next to you, especially given that tickets these days can be so expensive.

He suggested that theatres could prevent people from drinking too much during performances, including through banning alcohol from being served during intervals.

However, theatres often rely on the sale of beverages during performances. The Evening Standard’s Chief theatre critic, Nick Curtis, said that “even though it will hit profits, venues should stop allowing drinks (and food, FFS) into auditoria.”

Should theatres ban alcohol during intervals? Let us know in the comments for the chance to be featured on the ES website.