Cate Blanchett Asks Theatre Audience to Stop Filming — SkimNews
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- Cate Blanchett asked the audience at London's National Theatre to stop filming during her play Electra/Persona on Friday, telling the crowd "for anyone who is filming the show, please don't, because it spoils it for the next group of people who come in" — her words were met with cheers and applause
- An audience member clarified on Instagram that the filming actually took place between acts while the cast was doing makeup on stage, not during the performance itself; Blanchett first gestured "no, no, no" from the stage during the interval, then raised the issue again at curtain call
- The theatre-goer noted people film during that break "quite often" and staff usually don't intervene — Friday was reportedly the first time Blanchett personally noticed and responded
- Electra/Persona, written and directed by Benedict Andrews, blends Sophocles' Electra with Ingmar Bergman's film Persona and runs at the National Theatre until 10 October
- Blanchett and co-star Nina Hoss split the roles of Electra/Elisabeth and Clytemnestra/Alma, with the casting decided by a coin toss live on stage each night
- Blanchett is the latest in a string of A-list actors to publicly call out audiences for phone use during live performances, following similar interventions by Rosamund Pike, Cynthia Erivo, Andrew Scott, Daniel Craig, Hugh Jackman, Patti LuPone and Lesley Manville
Why it matters: Blanchett joins at least seven other major actors — including Rosamund Pike, Cynthia Erivo, Andrew Scott, Hugh Jackman and Patti LuPone — who have publicly confronted audiences over phone use mid-show, making this a now-established pattern of high-profile performers breaking the fourth wall to enforce etiquette.
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