Theatre director of naked play calls for ban on mobile phones
Anthony Biggs said new procedures were required after actors feared they were being filmed by an audience member
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A theatre director has criticised the use of mobile phones during shows after a play was halted because a member of the audience was suspected of filming naked actors on stage.
During a Jermyn Street Theatre performance of Athol Fugard’s Statements, which largely features the two leads actors unclothed, David Judge came out of character after he and actress Jasmine Hyde saw a man in the front row who they believed was using his mobile phone throughout.
According to the London Evening Standard, both were concerned at the length of time the man had been using the device and suspected he was filming the show.
The man told theatre staff he was texting his son who was unwell and upon checking his phone they found no evidence of any footage of the play.
However, Anthony Biggs, the theatre’s artistic director, warned new procedures may now be needed to address the issue of mobile phones in theatres.
Biggs said: “Both actors were very concerned by what was happening.
“Initially they just thought someone was texting, but the phone’s screen stayed on, and the man, who was just four feet away from them, seemed to be pointing it towards the actors.
“It’s a very intimate performance, it’s lit in such a way that it’s very subtle [the nudity].
“They are both attractive people and they were both very conscious of what being filmed could mean.
“Their naked images could have ended up who knows where on the internet.”
Mr Biggs said theatres may have to instruct audience members to leave the performance if their phones go off and then ban them, or ask them to hand over their devices prior to the show starting.
He suggested venues could even use technology to block mobile phone and internet signals.
Statements, written in 1972, directly attacks the apartheid laws of South Africa at that time, when The Immorality Act prohibited sexual relations between white and black people.
In the play a white, female librarian and a black, married man embark on a forbidden love affair in the dark backroom of a library - until they are found out. The actors’ nakedness illuminates their closeness and also serves as a literal “naked statement” against apartheid.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments