London’s West End theatres to appoint bouncers

August 4, 2009

In a bid to stop rowdy or intoxicated audience members from spoiling performances for others, many of the West End’s theatres are appointing bouncers, normally seen in nightclubs or party venues.

The venues are becoming increasingly used to antisocial behaviour, particularly during hen party favourites such Mama Mia! As a result, security staff are already well-versed in dealing with loud, boisterous behaviour on weekend evenings.

However, theatre actors and staff are growing concerned about the amount of bad behaviour among audiences as theatres continue to offer cheap seats to lure in crowds. Theatres need bums on seats and packages are offered to attract groups including hen parties and office parties.

Several other solutions have been considered such as a ban on alcohol in theatres or a ban on alcohol in auditoriums. However, this is generally thought of as unfair to people who simply want to enjoy a drink in the interval.

It seems there may be little theatres can do to prevent determined party girls from downing drinks in the intervals, although security will be on hand to deal with those that take things too far.