Actor Andrew Scott has revealed how he held up a performance of Hamlet when he noticed a member of the audience was using a laptop.

The 47-year-old recalled the moment from 2017 at the Almeida Theatre in London when he had been cast in the title role of Robert Icke’s Shakespearean production.

The award-winning actor, known for his roles in Fleabag and Sherlock, said he “stopped for ages” when he saw the audience member on his laptop during the “to be or not to be” soliloquy.

He told the Happy Sad Confused podcast: “When I was playing Hamlet, a guy took out his laptop – not his phone, his laptop – while I was in the middle of ‘to be or not to f***ing be’.

“I was pausing and (the stage team) were like, ‘get on with it’ and I was like, ‘there’s no way’. And he didn’t realise. I stopped for ages.”

Scott said the laptop user stopped when he was alerted to what was going on by a woman sitting next to him.

Poor etiquette by British theatre audiences have been increasingly highlighted in recent years.

Read more on Sky News:
Women dominate music charts for 2023 with record run
Most anticipated films coming to cinemas in 2024

Be the first to get Breaking News

Install the Sky News app for free

In October, musical composer Stephen Schwartz revealed how mobile phones are becoming a real problem at theatre productions.

He told Sky News: “What’s exasperating is the cell phones, people being on their phones and you want to say to them, you know, just go out in the lobby and text on your phone and let everybody else get on and watch the show.”

Staff at West End theatres have also said audiences have “forgotten how to behave“.

Speaking to Sky News anonymously, they claimed assaults and abuse have become a common event.

Related posts:

Child killer Ian Huntley, 47, given COVID jab in jail Ben Stokes in England squad for the Ashes after declaring himself fit Two charged with murder over death of four-week-old baby in 2017 Man jailed for killing girlfriend during psychotic episode after eating cannabis brownie Why do people risk their lives to cross the Channel into the UK – and where are they coming from? 21 Ukrainian children arrive in UK for life-saving treatment, as ‘Homes for Ukraine’ scheme rolls out Vaccines for monkeypox to be offered to some gay and bisexual men Man in his 50s stabbed to death in pub Teenage boy dies after collapsing at secondary school Patient lost sight in eye due to health board’s failings Lit firework thrown into takeaway restaurant in ‘shocking’ video Euro 2024 draw live: Who will England, Scotland & Wales face?