Re: Ha'Way the Lads

For original post, see Jon McLeod's Blog

I think this is an interesting object of study as well. We're always so worried, as audience members, about the actors' feelings that we applaud even when every last thing about the show is awful. I'd love to invite audiences to be honest--in an announcement before the show, in the program, at the end, everywhere--and only applaud if they genuinely got something out of it--excluding a good nap. I hypothesize that we'd still get unwarranted applause, even if the show was deliberately shit-tastic.

This makes me wonder if perhaps Forest Fringe's financial scheme was influenced by this mentality--their approach of collecting merit-based donations at the end of the show may derive from the need to make audience members honest. If a show has a full house but makes £5 in a night--provided the audience comes in prepared to pay--it's a far clearer indicator than applause or even a standing ovation that it could use a bit of work.