Kristin Scott Thomas 'can't stand' poor theatre etiquette - but praises London audiences

Dame Kristin Scott Thomas has admitted she has to "really control" her urge to confront disruptive theatregoers, revealing she "can't stand" poor audience etiquette.

The drama centres on aristocrat Ranevskaya (Dame Kristin), who returns to Russia after spending five years in Paris, only to find her family estate and cherry orchard under threat. Meanwhile, Lopakhin (Mangan), the son of a serf, attempts to persuade her to sell the land to settle her debts.

When asked if she would personally interrupt a performance to speak out, Dame Kristin told the Press Association: "Probably not because that would interrupt what I’m doing.

"It’s really hard sometimes. I can’t stand it. I have to really control myself."

Scott Thomas with her co-star Stephen Mangan

Getty

Despite this, the actress praised London audiences overall for being “particularly brilliant”.

She said: “They listen. I think it’s part of the culture. Theatre going has been such a thing of ours for such a long time that it’s a natural thing to go to the theatre, it’s not a sort of great big milestone to climb up and get over.

“I’ve done plays in other places as well but the London audiences are particularly brilliant.”

The production continues to resonate with audiences because Chekhov wrote characters that people care about, Dame Kristin added, describing the Russian playwright as being a “master of character and master of human behaviour”.

“Because it was his last play, it feels to me like he had so much to say still. He just tried to say it all in one play,” she said.

“He certainly felt that he was responsible for a lot of people because there were a lot of people who relied on him for money, for shelter, for succour in some way.

“I think that is something that is very strong in the play about who is responsible for who.”

Her co-star, Mangan, known for The Split and Green Wing, said that every night on stage “is a treat” and that the conversation around bad audience behaviour shows that “people care”.

He said: “We’re no different from other people. We find it annoying if people aren’t paying attention.

“I think the fact that there’s been a fuss about it shows that people care about it.

Stephen Mangan said the play ‘feels completely modern’ (Ian West/PA)

“Audiences have been great here. So far we haven’t had a problem at all so I hope that continues.”

Despite the play being more than a century old, Mangan said it “feels completely modern” and that his character’s story resonated in many ways with his own family.

He said: “My character is the son of a peasant who was very poorly educated. That’s my dad’s story.

“He was a very bright man, and my mum, both very bright, but left school at 14 and sort of fought their way through the world in a world that often could look on them with certain amount of snobbery or disdain.

“There’s actually very little that’s not relevant today – the younger generation struggling to come through, trying to find their place in the world, wanting to get rid of the older people who’ve gobbled up all the wealth and property. People falling in love with the wrong people.”

The Cherry Orchard opens on Tuesday at the Harold Pinter Theatre and will run until January 9.