Second Nature

I distinctly remember my first encounter with a regular mobile phone user. It was in 1999 in a cafe on the livelier side of Covent Garden. The actor I was having lunch with was bewailing some tragic dating crisis and I began to realise that every time he referred to the conversation with his date, his thumb mimicked a texting motion.  Of course, when I asked him if he realised he was doing it, he denied it but for me, it was the first instance of how communications technology was surreptitiously embedding itself into our natural lives.

 

When I moved to London in 1996, mobile phones were still fairly alien to me. Sitting on a bus and suddenly hearing the woman three seats behind burst into conversation still gave rise to universal tutting from other commuters. Oh how things have changed! And boy, have we changed with them? Smart phones are now ubiquitous and access to email and social-networks 24/7 has become an invaluable work-tool for any on-the-go professional. Can you imagine any one of your theatre colleagues - backstage or onstage -  not owning a mobile phone? 

 

And yet thankfully, some will say, the use of this device is still proscribed in theatres. Rightly so, perhaps, but the truth of the matter is that the use of mobile phones is rapidly becoming second nature. In a theatre interval, the rush for a quick fag has almost been superseded by the rush for a signal to check email or deliver an #intervaltweet.

 

If this is the case, how long will it be before an enterprising producer spots a gap in the market and creates theatre where use of mobile phones is allowed or even encouraged? Where people don't have to unplug from their social network in order to engage with others?

 

Kerry Michael over at TRSE pioneered a Twitter-zone in the venue, reserving seats specifically for those who wanted to tweet during a show. At the time, it was a brave move and whatever the results of such a practice, it had to be considered a step forward in the evolution of the theatre-goer. 

 

Some people will undoubtedly see this as a slippery slope, but every time I hear a story about mobile phone use in an auditorium, I think back to Edinburgh last year. During a particularly precarious piece of circus theatre, an usher surreptitiously stepped-up to stop a woman from filming the event on her phone. The woman was gripped and ignored the usher's hissed instruction to cease and desist. Suddenly she realised that the usher was trying to attract her attention and she turned to reveal not a mobile phone, but a glass of wine in her hand. 

 

More recently at the Theatre 2016 conference, Ian Strickland of Charcoalblue dared to stick his head above the parapet and suggest that Smartphones could be integrated into the theatregoing experience. Why not? Let's face it, there was a time when women actors, naturalistic acting, artificial light and perspective were all considered daring innovations in theatre production. Is there no way Smartphones could help people engage in theatre too? #justsaying

 

Paul Vale

The Landor

As is so often the way on the fringes of journalism, the news of the Landor's closure came as no surprise. Not because I am some economist with insight but because I'd heard reliable gossip, off the record, and digested the information accordingly. Amid the venues obituaries that have since sprung up over social media, I personally can't help but feel less than nostalgic about the building. It is, after all, a function room above a pub and if the brewery who run it lack the foresight to include a theatre in that space, then it's their loss. I refuse to mourn the space and shall loose no sleep over the fact that I'll probably never set foot in the over-priced boozer again in my life. I have no reason to and even less inclination. 

For me theatre has always been more about people than buildings. Had somebody told me that Rob McWhir, Rob Cook or Andrew Keates were retiring from theatre, that would be cause for misery and mourning. Had somebody asserted that Richard Lambert had decided not to produce his annual Lambco Festival, then that would be a shame. Good god, I had some wonderful times at the Landor but it had very little, if anything to do with the building.

What I witnessed there - laughter, tears and talent will continue to be provided by the same people who generated such emotions. I'll just experience them in a different environment. 

Grief and Support

It's been a busy time and in many ways very distressing. At an international level, the horrific events in Orlando almost seemed too surreal to comprehend. Homophobia and historic gun laws combining to devastate the lives of, not just the victims, but their families and loved ones. The outpouring of grief and support, not least from London, re-affirmed my belief in the human spirit. Anyone who opposes gun control legislation in the US has blood on their hands. End of. 

Then just as the world is reeling from these senseless deaths on the other side of the Atlantic, this ridiculous EU Referendum took an unexpected and mortifying turn, as MP Jo Cox was shot and stabbed by a right-wing extremist outside the library in Birstall, West Yorkshire. Amid one of the filthiest, scare-mongering, mud-slinging campaigns I have witnessed in my adult life, it left me and most of UK in shock. Never mind the suspects mental health, his comments have established a political motive for her murder, rendering the act an assassination. This is the sort of fuck-wit behaviour that happens in other countries, not in the UK. There are politicians out there with blood on their hands in the UK too, it seems.