Ben Elton says theatre audiences should ‘apply their manners’

Comedian Ben Elton has weighed in on the conversation around theatre etiquette, saying audiences should “apply good taste and good manners”.

Discussions around behaviour in theatres reignited when a performance of The Bodyguard musical at the Palace Theatre in Manchester was cut short due to two unruly audience members.

Witnesses said they were “forcibly removed” after they refused to stay seated and stop singing loudly, with reported warnings against singing given at the show.

Elton, 64, who will be appearing in the Queen musical We Will Rock You, told BBC Breakfast: “People should apply good taste and good manners.

“Of course, nobody’s paid to sit next to somebody [singing], nobody wants to hear somebody murdering Queen’s greatest hits right next to me.

“No, we’ve got the best singers in the world on stage. We’ve got a live band, incredible musicians.

“Yes, at the end we can all let rip a bit.

“It’s quite clear at the point at which we’re saying, ‘Hey, come on, we’re all celebrating now’.

“But there’s a story and there’s true art going on.

“So on the whole, I think people should apply their manners and frankly, if they wouldn’t want to sit next to it, then don’t be that person.”