Cate Blanchett has asked audience members at her new play to stop filming the performance, saying it “spoils it for the next group” of people coming to see the show.
The Australian actress is currently starring in Benedict Andrews' Electra/Persona at London's National Theatre.
Cate Blanchett. Photo credit: Lev Radin, Shutterstock
After a recent performance at the Lyttelton Theatre, Blanchett addressed the audience during the curtain call and asked anyone who had been recording the show to put their phones away.
“There are few places on this planet where we can simply be together and be present,” she told the crowd.
Cate Blanchett. Photo credit: DFree, Shutterstock
She acknowledged that people may want to film the curtain call, saying it was “kind of flattering”, but asked them not to record the actual performance.
“For anyone who is filming the show, please don’t, because it spoils it for the next group of people who come in and are present with us. So thank you very much,” she said.
Blanchett's comments come amid a growing debate around mobile phones and filming in theatres, with several high-profile actors speaking out about audience behaviour in recent months.
Rosamund Pike made headlines earlier this year after confronting an audience member who was texting during a performance of her West End play Inter Alia.
Pike addressed the audience after the show, explaining that performers can see and feel distractions in the auditorium.
Rosamund Pike. Photo credit: Photon Ine Street, Shutterstock
“I am trying to tell you a story, and I’m feeling you, and I hope you’re feeling me too,” she said.
She then acknowledged the person who had been texting, joking that perhaps they were a doctor dealing with an emergency, before explaining that the use of a phone had been noticeable from the stage.
The incident came during a key scene in the play, and Pike's comments were met with applause from the audience.
Cynthia Erivo has also had her own experience with phones during a performance.
While starring in the one-woman West End production of Dracula earlier this year, Erivo stopped the performance after noticing an audience member filming.
Cynthia Erivo. Photo credit: Loredana Sangiuliano, Shutterstock
Erivo played 23 different characters in the production, which ran in London from February to May, making it a particularly demanding live performance.
Her intervention was part of a wider series of incidents that have seen actors ask audiences to put their phones away during shows.
The issue isn't just about the distraction caused to performers.
Theatre audiences can also have their experience affected by glowing phone screens, people holding devices above their heads or recordings appearing online before other people have had the chance to see the production themselves.
For Blanchett, however, the main point appears to be the importance of being fully present during a live performance.
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Electra/Persona combines Sophocles' Greek tragedy Electra with Ingmar Bergman's film Persona. Blanchett stars alongside Nina Hoss, with the pair alternating between different roles during the run.
The production is currently playing at the National Theatre's Lyttelton Theatre in London.
