Actor Orlando Bloom stops play because of audience member just holding an iPad

Posted:
in iPad edited July 2018
Orlando Bloom, from the "Lord of the Rings" movies, stopped a London production two different times due a theater-goer using their iPad -- but one witness claimed the iPad was off and merely being used as a fan.

The 2017 iPad


Bloom was performing a "Killer Joe" at Trafalgar Studios in London's West End on Thursday. He abruptly broke character, twice, when he saw an audience member with an iPad in hand.

According to London theater critic Mark Shenton, citing an "eyewitness account," actor Orlando Bloom was performing in Tracy Letts' play Killer Joe when he suddenly looked towards the audience and, out of character, shouted "I need YOU to put iPad AWAY NOW!" Later, he again interrupted the play to tell the audience member to ""PUT that f-- ing IPad away now, and I will wait."

However, according to Variety, another audience member was sitting near the woman with the iPad and stated that she had merely been using the tablet to hold up a fan before the show:

I was sat behind and although it would have looked bad, in her defence she was only using it for her fan as the auditorium was roasting! #preshowpic pic.twitter.com/TAwSWLRT4b

-- Harry Edwin (@HarryEdwin_UK)


The age of smartphones and tablets has led to new challenges in live theater performances, although those usually involve ringing phones and the occasional incident of surreptitious recording of the performance. In 2015, at a performance of "Hand to God" in New York, a theatergoer saw it fit to jump on stage and plug his phone charger into an electrical outlet that was part of the set, as a Facebook witness reported at the time.

"There was an incident at yesterday's matinee of Killer Joe' that was dealt with swiftly and efficiently by the Front of House team,"a spokesman for the theater said in a statement to media outlets. "The Trafalgar Studios is a very intimate performance space, which can make the use of electronic devices by any audience member extremely distracting for the Company. The Trafalgar Studios' team [does] a great job of making sure everyone at the Theatre can enjoy the live experience."

Killer Joe, the story of a cop who moonlights as a hitman, was first performed in 1993. It was later made into a 2011 movie starring Matthew McConaughey.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 34
    mknelsonmknelson Posts: 1,118member
    Actors! Drama!

    That fan is handy though!
    grifmx
  • Reply 2 of 34
    hmurchisonhmurchison Posts: 12,419member
    Not surprised. That’s elfish behavior. #Rivendell
    grifmx1983anton zuykovGeorgeBMachammeroftruthxamaxviclauyycwatto_cobra
  • Reply 3 of 34
    claire1claire1 Posts: 510unconfirmed, member
    I thought "wow, Apple really has made the iPad thinner and lighter" when I read she was using it as a fan!
    maltzdws-2xamaxjbdragonsphericAlex1Nwatto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 34
    But he's a professional, so the show must go on! What a diva. Or maybe he's just anti-Apple.
    maltzsupremedesigneranton zuykov[Deleted User]
  • Reply 5 of 34
    Thereʻs a great tag line. The Apple iPad is a "Real Show Stopper"
    SpamSandwichclaire1anton zuykovGeorgeBMacxamaxviclauyycAlex1Nwatto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 34
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    Thereʻs a great tag line. The Apple iPad is a "Real Show Stopper"
    Look for Bloom to appear in the next Samsung ad.
    claire1watto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 34
    fastasleepfastasleep Posts: 6,408member
    But he's a professional, so the show must go on! What a diva. Or maybe he's just anti-Apple.
    From the pic, it's pretty clear that from the stage it would seem that she's filming the performance, in a tiny theater, which of course is prohibited.
    GeorgeBMacemig647Alex1Nchasm
  • Reply 8 of 34
    Hope he apologizes, she wasn’t on it.
  • Reply 9 of 34
    mac_dogmac_dog Posts: 1,069member
    Incredible! Lots of people riding Orlando. So it has now become acceptable to be doing something with your mobile device when watching a production. Fucking perfect. I have people approach me at work when they are on their phones and I refuse to help them till they get off. Sometimes I have to tell them that I won’t serve them till they do or even telling them, “you probably wouldn’t like it if I was on my phone when I was helping you...” sure, I’ve gotten a slap on the wrist, but people are really fucking clueless about what is acceptable behavior when interacting with the public. 

    I say say good for him!
    pscooter63newBelieverGeorgeBMacgatorguyAlex1N
  • Reply 10 of 34
    dws-2dws-2 Posts: 276member
    Frankly, I can see his point. Just because it wasn't what he thought doesn't mean it wasn't a reasonable assumption.
    backstabSolimuthuk_vanalingamAlex1Nwatto_cobrachasm
  • Reply 11 of 34
    I would think that the theater would have ushers to attend to matters like this.
    grifmxfred1anton zuykovnewBelieverGeorgeBMacAlex1N
  • Reply 12 of 34
    FranculesFrancules Posts: 122member
    Lol oh gosh
    grifmx
  • Reply 13 of 34
    fastasleepfastasleep Posts: 6,408member
    I would think that the theater would have ushers to attend to matters like this.
    FTFA: "was dealt with swiftly and efficiently by the Front of House team"
  • Reply 14 of 34
    seanismorrisseanismorris Posts: 1,624member
    I had to look him up... looks kind of familiar.

    Lord of the Rings? The books were better.  I missed the last few movies, but they were forgettable obviously.

    The trouble maker might want to use an iPhone in the future...  It’s hard not to notice an iPad.
  • Reply 15 of 34
    AF_HittAF_Hitt Posts: 143member
    I had to look him up... looks kind of familiar.

    Lord of the Rings? The books were better.  I missed the last few movies, but they were forgettable obviously.

    The trouble maker might want to use an iPhone in the future...  It’s hard not to notice an iPad.
    Unless you just don't watch movies, which is understandable then, I have a hard time believing you haven't seen a number of films he's been in. You already mentioned Lord of the Rings, he was also in Pirates of the Caribbean, Kingdom of Heaven. Looks like he's been doing more indie and stage stuff these days, but these were all very big movies and/or franchises.
    GeorgeBMacAlex1Nwatto_cobra
  • Reply 16 of 34
    I would think that the theater would have ushers to attend to matters like this.
    FTFA: "was dealt with swiftly and efficiently by the Front of House team"
    But not swiftly enough to prevent it from interfering with the show. The staff should notice something like that quicker than an actor onstage.
    fred1
  • Reply 17 of 34
    larryjwlarryjw Posts: 1,031member
    We were at Aladdin on Broadway last month, and I can't tell which was more annoying -- patrons trying to record the actions on stage or the ushers running down the aisles shining flashlights on the miscreants. 
    GeorgeBMacAlex1Nwatto_cobra
  • Reply 18 of 34
    asciiascii Posts: 5,936member
    I would think that the theater would have ushers to attend to matters like this.
    I agree. I understand that people using their electronic devices can ruin the experience for other audience members, but an actor going out of character could ruin it more. They need to have ushers that police that kind of thing.
    GeorgeBMacelijahgAlex1Nwatto_cobra
  • Reply 19 of 34
    19831983 Posts: 1,225member
    I perfectly understand the guy! How many times have you been at the cinema when some selfish bloody oik takes out their smartphone and starts messaging or talking with it? It’s a pain in the ass!
    viclauyycAlex1N
  • Reply 20 of 34
    mavemufcmavemufc Posts: 326member
    iPads shouldn’t be aloud in any sort of theatre or cinema anyway.
    Alex1N
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