Dame Kristin Scott Thomas expressed frustration with poor theatre etiquette during a performance of Anton Chekhov’s "The Cherry Orchard" at London's Gielgud Theatre. She told the Press Association that she often has to restrain herself from addressing disruptive audience members but praised London audiences for being attentive and respectful overall. Her co-star, Mangan, echoed similar sentiments, noting that while they haven't encountered any issues yet, it shows people care about maintaining good theatre etiquette.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-13,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Dame Kristin Scott Thomas recently expressed her frustration with poor theatre etiquette during a performance in London. The acclaimed actress stated she "can't stand" disruptive audience behavior, such as texting or filming, and admitted to having difficulty controlling herself from addressing these issues directly. This sentiment echoes similar concerns raised by other actors like Cate Blanchett and Rosamund Pike over recent months. Scott Thomas stars in a play about aristocrat Ranevskaya, who returns to Russia after five years in Paris to face financial troubles threatening her home and cherry orchard. Despite her frustrations, she praised London audiences for being "particularly brilliant" listeners overall.
Written for “Theatre Etiquette Complaints” on 2026-10-13,
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Kristin Scott Thomas says she ‘can’t stand’ poor theatre etiquette
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journalism → say → readers
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we → purchase → commission
Dame Kristin Scott Thomas has said “can’t stand” poor theatre etiquette and has to “really control” herself from calling out disruptive audience members.
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Thomas → say → members
The play follows aristocrat Ranevskaya (Dame Kristin) as she returns to Russia after living in Paris for five years to find that her home and cherry orchard is under threat as the son of a serf, Lopakhin (Mangan), tries to convince her to sell it off to manage her debts.
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son → follow → debts
Over the past few months there have been a number of actors who have called out audience members for texting or filming during their performances, including Cate Blanchett and Rosamund Pike.
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who → call → Blanchett
When asked if she would say something herself, Dame Kristin told the Press Association: “Probably not because that would interrupt what I’m doing.
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I → ask → what
“It’s really hard sometimes.
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It → ’ → ?
“I can’t stand it.
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I → stand → it
“I have to really control myself.”
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I → have → myself
Despite this, the actress praised London audiences overall for being “particularly brilliant”.
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actress → praise → audiences
She said: “They listen.
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They → say → ?
I think it’s part of the culture.
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it → think → culture
“I’ve done plays in other places as well but the London audiences are particularly brilliant.”
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audiences → do → places
The production continues to resonate with audiences because Chekhov wrote characters that people care about, Dame Kristin added, describing the Russian playwright as being a “master of character and master of human behaviour”.
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Kristin → continue → behaviour
“Because it was his last play, it feels to me like he had so much to say still.
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he → feel → much
He just tried to say it all in one play,” she said.
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she → try → play
“He certainly felt that he was responsible for a lot of people because there were a lot of people who relied on him for money, for shelter, for succour in some way.
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who → feel → way
“I think that is something that is very strong in the play about who is responsible for who.”
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who → think → who
Her co-star, Mangan, known for The Split and Green Wing, said that every night on stage “is a treat” and that the conversation around bad audience behaviour shows that “people care”.
He said: “We’re no different from other people.
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We → know → people
We find it annoying if people aren’t paying attention.
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people → find → attention
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“I think the fact that there’s been a fuss about it shows that people care about it.
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people → read → it
So far we haven’t had a problem at all so I hope that continues.”
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that → have → problem
Despite the play being more than a century old, Mangan said it “feels completely modern” and that his character’s story resonated in many ways with his own family.
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story → say → family
He said: “My character is the son of a peasant who was very poorly educated.
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who → say → peasant
That’s my dad’s story.
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That → ’ → ?
“He was a very bright man, and my mum, both very bright, but left school at 14 and sort of fought their way through the world in a world that often could look on them with certain amount of snobbery or disdain
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that → leave → snobbery
“There’s actually very little that’s not relevant today – the younger generation struggling to come through, trying to find their place in the world, wanting to get rid of the older people who’ve gobbled up all the wealth and property.
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who → ’ → wealth
People falling in love with the wrong people.”
The Cherry Orchard opens on Tuesday at the Harold Pinter Theatre and will run until January 9.
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Orchard → fall → January
The Aporia
