Broadway Vs The West End

There are many notable differences in the experience of seeing a show on Broadway and the West End - with everything from Playbills to the names of the different sections (did you know that in America the Stalls are called the Orchestra?). Nowhere is any difference more marked than with audience reactions, with Broadway audiences tending to be much louder and more lively. Everyone on their feet is pretty much the norm on the Great White Way, while London audiences are still harder to get out of their seats.

If you managed to catch Sutton Foster in Anything Goes at the Barbican in 2021, you may've been caught up in the minutes-long mid-show standing ovations - Foster couldn't utter her first line for a couple of minutes at her first few performances due to the cheering. This is far from the status quo for London audiences, who perhaps need the right performer to get them out of their seats.

Performer Reactions

In 2012 Miriam Margolyes openly chastised a woman in the front row for not standing at the end of her Dickens show in Vancouver, such has this become the norm across the pond.
 
And there’s the story of Dustin Hoffman, who when appearing in London in the Merchant of Venice, constantly bemoaned the lack of a standing ovation. The run happened to coincide with the day Sir Laurence Olivier died and director Peter Hall suggested it might be appropriate if he said a few words. When the cast had taken their bows, Hoffman stepped forward and as soon Olivier’s name was uttered the audience rose as one. After the show Hoffman reputedly turned to co-star Leigh Lawson and said, “Now I get it. To get a standing ovation in this country, first you have to f****** die”.

Where Do You Stand On Standing?

How many of us have been shamed into standing because those around us are? Or stood up just so that we can get a better view due to people on the row in front being among a handful standing? And we’ve all witnessed that embarrassing scenario of the little bippity bobbity jig when a person realises they are the only one on their feet and become stuck in a should-I-go-or-should-I-stay? no-man’s land.

It’s easy to get caught up in special one-off moments, of course. If you're at the 40th Gala Performance of Les Misérables, then staying sat would surely make you the odd one out.

And probably the more recent phenomenon - are you standing to be able to film the curtain call? No shame, we'd do exactly the same...

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