Attending a theater performance is a lovely way to spend an evening. For a few hours, you can immerse yourself in the world of the characters on stage and forget everything else around you, until the curtain call, of course. But this only works if the audience understands theater etiquette, as it can be extremely difficult to concentrate when those around you constantly remind you that it’s a performance.

Below, you’ll find a story that was recently shared on the Petty Revenge subreddit, detailing how one man got back at a fellow audience member who wouldn’t allow him to simply enjoy the show.

Poor audience etiquette can quickly ruin a theatrical performance

Image credits: Denise Jans (not the actual photo)

So this woman’s husband decided to teach a lesson to the rude theater-goer sitting in front of him

Image credits: Sunflower971

Image credits: elmizaismagilova (not the actual photo)

“This was one individual; the exception, not the rule”

To gain more insight on this situation, we reached out to the woman who shared this story online, Reddit user Sunflower971. She was kind enough to have a chat with Bored Panda, and shared that she was inspired to tell this story now because she’s relatively new to Reddit and was reminded of it when reading through the Petty Revenge community.

As far as why the woman in this story thought it was appropriate to put her hair on a random stranger, the OP presumes that she was “just an entitled person with zero respect for others,” adding that she’s never had issues with any other theater-goers.

She’s also not sure that the woman actually learned her lesson from this experience. “My husband is the ‘bad guy’ in her version of the story, I am sure,” Sunflower971 noted.

The OP says she was surprised by the responses to her post, as she says she didn’t expect any. “Fairly new to Reddit, posted with zero expectations, maybe a few people might read it? I’ve no idea why this one took off like it did. Maybe because it was a very petty revenge incident posted in that specific subreddit? I did enjoy reading a lot of the comments.”

“I enjoyed others stories, though felt bad for those with really long hair that got lumped in with ‘entitled people,'” Sunflower971 added. “This was one individual; the exception, not the rule.”

It’s important that audience members understand how to behave appropriately in a theater

Theater is escapism, and there’s an unspoken agreement that all audience members make upon entering a theater that they will not disrupt the performance. They will silence or turn off their cell phones, they won’t talk during the show, they will stay seated until the intermission, they’ll avoid eating crunchy snacks, and they’ll give their undivided attention to the performers. But unfortunately, not everyone seems to be up to date with appropriate theater-going etiquette.

According to Emily Post Etiquette, audience members must also remove hats, keep their hair from blocking anyone’s view, sit with good posture, and refrain from taking photos or videos during the show. And if you think the performers won’t notice what’s going on in the audience, think again.

Business Insider spoke with Broadway actors to hear what theater-goer habits annoys them the most, and unsurprisingly, talking and using cell phones during the show are cardinal sins. In fact, Broadway star Patti Lupone has even snatched a cell phone from an audience member during a performance of Shows for Days at the Lincoln Center, without ever breaking character of course.

Image credits: Tamara Bellis (not the actual photo)

Poor audience etiquette seems to be becoming more and more common

Unfortunately, audience members often have a lot more power than they should when it comes to ruining a theater performance for others. Everyone there has likely paid a hefty price to see the show, and this might be their one opportunity to ever see it. It’s disrespectful to keep another theater-goer from having the magical experience they expected.

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Alice Saville at The Guardian dove into what’s been going on with audience etiquette at theaters lately, noting that her hair had been caressed by a drunk woman sitting next to her at a performance of Frozen on the West End. “It feels like every bloody day there’s a new debate coming up on Twitter about theater etiquette,” one theater usher shared. 

Other audience members shared stories of people smoking in a theater’s bar, taking MDMA before going to see Les Misérables, and countless tales of theater-goers becoming belligerently drunk during performances. As far as why these incidents are becoming more common, Saville guesses it might be linked to why bad behavior at concerts has been increasingly common too. The isolation of the pandemic seems to have made many people forget how to share a space with others and left some feeling entitled to act however they like, no matter where they are.

People with long hair should be cognizant of how they’re impacting those sitting behind them in theaters and on flights

Even this specific situation, where long hair was at the crux of the issue, is sadly not too uncommon. Airplane passengers have been complaining about long hair being draped over their seat-back tray tables for years now. It blocks passengers from using or closing their tray tables, it can be outright disgusting when a passenger is trying to eat, and it is simply annoying to have a stranger’s hair dangling in your face while traveling. 

Norwegian TikToker Julie Christensen shared a video online of a passenger’s hair in her face in September 2022, and it quickly went viral, amassing over 6 million views. But while the comments section on the video was flooded with viewers noting how entitled the traveler was, Julie was much more understanding of her fellow passenger. 

“I was tempted to braid it, but I’m not very good at it. I wasn’t going to put anything in her hair or anything, I’m not so evil,” she told Mirror. “There was a lot of weird stuff happening on this particular flight, with people taking their shoes off and sticking their feet on your armrest. I’ve been to 10 countries since April so I’m used to the weird travelling habits people have. Maybe that’s why I didn’t react so much to the hair, I just thought ‘Oh well, another day in the life!'”

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We would love to hear your thoughts on this story in the comments below, pandas. Then, if you’re interested in reading another Bored Panda article discussing petty revenge, look no further than right here!  

Image credits: Vlah Dumitru (not the actual photo)

Amused readers applauded the OP’s husband for his petty revenge

Some even had similar stories of their own to share

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