Maybe this post makes an official curmugeon but come
on, folks, can’t you disconnect for the duration of a play? In her
Guardian.co.uk column, Ruth Jamieson discusses whether it’s OK to Twitter (that
is, send a brief text message to people who are “following” you on the internet
service called Twitter) during a theatrical performance.
Here’s part of the article:
@ianedgar says: "No. Interval." Which seems fair enough. But I'm an all-or-nothing kinda gal and if my friends can send me, and everyone else, instant micro-reviews then I want them now, not in half an hour.
…Dusty old traditionalists are predictably against it on grounds of rudeness to fellow audience members and to the actors. And I'm almost inclined to agree... Twittering in that sense is a bit like whispering in class. It's disloyal to the other people in the room. But it's also what the cool kids do. How can I justify it? Well, what about the people out of the room? Not twittering is so rude to them. There's more of them. Our relationship is more permanent. So they are my priority.
Imagine I have tickets to see David Tennant do the Hamlet of the century. You're eagerly waiting by Tweetdeck to hear if he lives up to the hype. Is he doing the "O, that this too too solid flesh" bit yet? Is it spine-tingling? Is he up to the fight scene? And, most importantly, does he look as roguishly sexy in real life? You hit refresh. You hit refresh again. Nothing. I don't tweet about it, so you miss out. Normally we tweet all day, but now I'm at the theatre suddenly I'm too good to speak to you? Tsk. What snobbery.
At first I thought the article was totally tongue-in-cheek, but she actually ends it with rules for how to twitter during a performance (silent mode and hand over the bright screen)—as though that will not distract your neighbours.
For my sake, I hope she never sits next to me. And for her sake, she should hope I never sit next to her. But if she does and things happen, I’m telling my lawyer to make sure all the members of the jury are over 35.
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