Hell isn’t other people. It’s an evening at the theatre.
On a lighter note, here’s Dom Joly in The Independent on the horrible experience of going to the theater.
For the same cost as two West End tickets, I can pretty much see every great movie made in the past 100 years in the comfort of my own living room and I don’t have to queue up beforehand to reserve the opportunity to pay £20 for a glass of wine and a packet of cheese and onion crisps. So I genuinely don’t see the point in theatre. It’s all so…hammy.
I totally understand the purpose it served back in the Dark Ages, before TV and film, when people needed entertainment. Back then, it allowed men an avenue to dress up as women, let people learn a bit of history, and gave them a good night out to boot. And they were allowed to shout stuff out and heckle the performers, something that would greatly improve the modern theatregoing experience.
Interestingly, he also calls for reviving the tradition of throwing rotten fruits and vegetables at the actors — which PianoFight has already done.
Tim Bauer 