Benedict Cumberbatch urges theater fans to stop taking pictures from the audience
Benedict Cumberbatch has begged fans attending his new London play Hamlet not to take photos of him onstage.
The actor stunned devotees outside the Barbican theater when he stepped out after a performance last week (ends07Aug15) and asked them to refrain from taking sneaky shots of their hero as Shakespeare's leading man, insisting the red lights of camera and cellphones he sees from the stage is "mortifying".
In a video clip of his plea, Cumberbatch told fans, "It may not be
any of you here but it's blindingly obvious... I can't give you
what I want to give you which is a live performance that you'll
remember, hopefully, in your minds and brains whether it's good,
bad or indifferent, rather than on your phones. There's nothing
that's less enjoyable or supportive as an actor on stage
experiencing that."
The Sherlock star told his fans that he hoped his plea to them
would encourage them to spread the word, adding, "What I really
want to do is try and enlist you. I don't use social media and I'd
really appreciate it if you did tweet, blog, and hashtag this."
The Brit is the latest star to urge theatergoers to keep their
cellphones in their pockets during London performances - James
McAvoy lost his cool onstage at Trafalgar Studios in 2013 when he
spotted a fan sizing him up for a shot while he was starring in
Macbeth, and Kevin Spacey took aim at an audience member whose
phone started ringing during a performance of Clarence Darrow at
London's Old Vic theater.
And just last month (Jul15), Patti LuPone released a statement
after confiscating an audience member's cellphone after she caught
him texting during her Broadway play Shows for Days.
The stage veteran said the incident made her think about future
stage roles, stating, "We work hard on stage to create a world that
is being totally destroyed by a few, rude, self-absorbed and
inconsiderate audience members who are controlled by their
phones.
"They cannot put them down. When a phone goes off or when a LED
screen can be seen in the dark it ruins the experience for everyone
else - the majority of the audience at that performance and the
actors on stage. I am so defeated by this issue that I seriously
question whether I want to work on stage anymore."
LuPone also halted a performance of her Tony Award-winning show
Gypsy in 2009 and lashed out at an audience member who took a phone
call.