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The following incidents of infuriating behaviour have been reported in the British and Irish media.

In 2005, Richard Griffiths, the corpulent British actor well known for his work on stage, TV and films, stopped a theatre performance to chastise a woman in the stalls when her mobile phone interrupted the show no less than three times. In the closing five minutes of 'Heroes', a drama at Wyndham's Theatre, he was repeatedly interrupted.

Griffiths reported he first tried a "long cool look" in the woman's direction. But when he tried to start his speech for the third time and the phone bleeped again, he addressed her directly from the stage and asked her to switch it off or leave.
He told BBC News that people talking on mobiles in public places was "tacky" and showed disrespect for performers. "I have never heard it when the BBC televises snooker tournaments, for example", he added.
It was not the first time Griffiths's temper had snapped over a ringing mobile. The year before, he ordered a man out of the National Theatre when his phone went off six times during a performance Alan Bennett's 'The History Boys'.
Griffiths was reassured that the rest of the audience was on his side. Since the incident at the National he reported, "I have had such a lot of feedback from people - it really irritates them". At Wyndham's, the audience left Griffiths in no doubt as their approval of his reprimand. He commented, "The audience just erupted and thought it was wonderful! I was astonished, quite taken aback".

Griffiths is not the first distinguished thespian to be driven to stopping the action to give the audience a slap on the wrist. Even serious swots can madden the dramatic artist at work. I recall Sir Ian McKellan on a TV interview admitting that he felt no shame for admonishing someone for following a Shakespeare performance, by discreet torchlight, with the open text in their lap.

Beware, however. Theatres are full of tricks, as this story from the 'Telegraph' reveals. In May 2006 at a performance of the musical 'Saturday Night Fever', an unseemly exchange took place between a middle-aged woman and the Irish actress, Pauline McLynn, who is famous for playing the hard-pressed housekeeper in a popular sitcom, 'Father Ted'.
McLynn stood up among the audience at Dublin's Gaiety Theatre to reprimand the woman, who delayed the start of the show by holding a loud conversation on her mobile phone.
However, the audience's frustration was short-lived as they soon realised that the contretemps was a stage-managed gag. They were in fact witnessing the premiere of the world's first living, generic theatre advert.
The 3-minute skit was commissioned by the tourist organisation 'Visit London', as part of a promotional campaign.
After its night in Dublin, 'Visit London' took the living advert to shows in Hamburg, New York and Pittsburg. The script for each performance was adapted to include local references and local cameo appearances.
So be careful before you slam a fellow audience member whose bad manners seem over-the-top. You just might be part of the show!

Learn more about this author, Beverley Davies.
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