Tweet Seats

[looksgoodinred]

Call me old-fashioned, but I think it's rude to not pay attention to the performance on stage.

What do you think about "tweet sections" at live theatre/musical events? A good idea or no?

 

Some theatres in the States are introducing dedicated seating for people who like to use their mobile devices to Tweet during live performances. The so-called "tweet seats" are areas where audience members are encouraged to use their phones to discuss the show over social media.

 

The idea of using a glowing screen to communicate the experience of attending a theatre or musical production seems in many ways to run counter to accepted etiquette. It's a well-established point of behaviour - at least it's supposed to be - that patrons should think to turn off their phones and handheld devices once they take their seats. This is mostly to avoid having a performance interrupted by the sudden outburst of someone's poorly chosen Rihanna ringtone, but the light emitted by users' screens can also be a distraction to fellow audience members -- which is why theatres such as Connecticut's Goodspeed Opera House are putting their tweet seats in the back row.

 

Most reviews of the idea seem positive, with theatre companies citing the increased appeal to younger theatre-goers as a definite plus, and many tweet-seaters describing a higher level of engagement with the performance.

[Ke1t]

Theaters are fucking great if you happen to live in 18th century Europe, and the only source of entertainment is going to see some syphilitic drunk ham acting his way through a cardboard cutout version of Merchant of Venice.... I'll wait till it's downloadable on Netflix.

 

What's that?

 

I can choose from five different versions of that particular play while I'm sitting in my underoos on my own couch, drinking JD and able to hit the pause button any time I need to go for a piss?

 

Well then, let's do that.

 

Fuck having someone sitting next to me on their phone tweeting and getting their shit all up in ma bitness

[Dandyesque]

Nah, to fuck with that.

 

I enjoy going to the theatre, half of the magic of it is that you have a captive audience being entertained by the performance on stage. Not a bunch of fannies pissing about on their iPhones.

 

I agree

 

Perhaps they should be encouraged to buy the special tickets, taken though the special door and off the edge of a fucking cliff.

 

Cunts