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Can you imagine being told off by an actor while watching them perform? That’s exactly what happened to one audience member this week when watching Sarah Jessica Parker in her West End show Plaza Suite.
The play at the Savoy Theatre also stars her husband Matthew Broderick and is already a smash success, extending its run to April 13.
Audience members were quick to take to X, formerly Twitter, cringing over the situation when Parker had had enough of one punter. The eyewitness recounted how the star momentarily diverted from the script mid-performance to ask an audience member to put their camera down.
Stageyrebecca wrote on X: “Well I wouldn’t want to be the person that Sarah Jessica Parker told off during Plaza Suite at The Savoy this evening.”
The post quickly garnered a lot of attention from X users requesting more information from the witness, who shared further painful details.
In response to all the attention, Stageyrebecca commented: “Bloody hell, a lot of interest. She dropped talking, pointed a finger and politely said put your camera down please to someone in the stalls… literally I’d go into hiding indefinitely.”
Many of the replies included those who were wincing at the thought of such an embarrassing faux pas, with one user stating, “You simply wouldn’t see or hear from me for like 7-10 business days, I’d be mortified.”
The consensus was that Parker handled the situation correctly. One said: “Why didn’t people seated near the person say something? I always do.”
Another added, “I certainly don’t blame her. People are always pulling their phones out at shows and concerts distracting the performances and other audience members.”
Tickets for the West End show can reach a hefty £395 price tag, while the lowest still cost a steep £95. The 2024 play is based on the original 1968 work by Neil Simon, and this modern version of the romantic comedy is directed by the award-winning John Benjamin Hickey.
The story centres around three different couples in the same hotel room, all of whom are played by Parker and Broderick. The show was a huge success in New York, breaking several box office records and became the third-highest-earning play revival in Broadway history.
This is not the first time an actor has given an audience member a telling-off while performing on stage. In 2014, Kevin Spacey lost his temper with a fan whose phone wouldn’t stop ringing during a performance of Clarence Darrow at the Old Vic in London.
According to onlookers, the American Beauty actor briefly broke character to remark, “If you don’t answer that, I will.”
Tony Award-winning actress Patti LuPone actually went and snatched an audience member’s phone out of their hand during her performance in Shows for Days at Manhattan’s Lincoln Center in 2015. LuPone also famously ended up screaming at one woman last year for not wearing her Covid mask properly. The actress is now well-known for her hard-nosed attitude towards theatre etiquette.
Plaza Suite is currently playing at the Savoy Theatre, London, until April 13