Benedict Cumberbatch is right: Turn off your phone at the theater!
After Benedict Cumberbatch complained that camera phones had disrupted his performance of "Hamlet" in London, the AJC asked actors and directors around Atlanta this week about the intrusion of cell phones on their live performances. Their responses suggest that it's just as bad as you thought, maybe worse.
Atlanta actor Matt Felten relates this unfortunate tale: "I was playing Hamlet at the Shakespeare Tavern and a woman's cellphone goes off just as I am about to start the 'To be or not to be' speech. It only made one ring and then stopped. 'Good," I thought, 'that could have been terrible.' And that's when it got terrible."
What followed was a sort of standoff between Shakespeare and cell phone. You can decide whether the Bard won.
Read our full report, including Matt Felten's tale and the thoughts of numerous other actors and directors, at our premium website, MyAJC.com.
Amd if you're an Atlanta theatergoer, in the comments section below let us know how it looks (and sounds) from where you sit.
About the Author
Rosalind Bentley is an award-winning feature writer focusing on culture, arts and sometimes food, as they are expressed and experienced in Atlanta. She is a two-time James Beard Award finalist and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.
