The two-time Oscar winner urged theatregoers to put their phones away and be “present” during performances of Electra/Persona at London’s National Theatre.
Cate Blanchett has asked audience members to stop filming her latest stage production, warning that recording performances can spoil the experience for other theatregoers.
The 57-year-old Australian actress is starring in Electra/Persona at the Lyttelton Theatre in London. During the curtain call at a performance on Friday, Blanchett addressed the audience directly and asked those who had been filming to put their phones away.
“There are few places on this planet where we can simply be together and be present,” she said.
Blanchett acknowledged that filming the curtain call could be flattering, but added that recording the performance itself “spoils it for the next group of people who come in and are present with us”.
A blend of Greek tragedy and Bergman
Electra/Persona combines Sophocles’ ancient Greek tragedy Electra with Ingmar Bergman’s 1966 film Persona.
Blanchett and her co-star share the roles of Electra/Elisabeth and Clytemnestra/Alma. The roles are decided by a coin toss performed live on stage before each show.
The production is scheduled to run at the National Theatre until October 10.
Blanchett is not the only high-profile actress to address theatre etiquette in recent months. In May, Rosamund Pike reportedly confronted an audience member who was using their phone during a performance of Inter Alia at London’s Wyndham’s Theatre.
Pike, who won an Olivier Award for her performance as a Crown Court judge in the Suzie Miller play, reportedly said that the audience member had disrupted the connection between the cast and the audience.
The following month, a phone alarm went off in the front row during another performance. Pike did not address the incident publicly after the show, but was reportedly seen glaring at the audience member as she retrieved the phone from her handbag and silenced it.
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