Cate Blanchett (politely) tells theatergoers to put their damn phones away

It never fails, does it? You finally take time away from work to enjoy a show—be it a concert, a film, a dance recital, or a theater production—and set before you is a twinkling field of little glowing rectangles, each creating a miniature version of the very thing you’ve just paid hard currency to watch with your eyeballs. Indeed, recent trends show that some audience members can’t go very long without documenting their excursions with a video or photo, or at least glancing at their phones in spaces that generally frown on such behavior—a veritable epidemic of mindless and/or selfish impulsivity that disrupts the communal experience of enjoying a thing. (This writer refers to such people as “OAs,” or “obnoxious assholes,” as in, “OAs! Every movie has one.”) And while you’d think that the lack of a giant screen would make stage enthusiasts more mindful of the light they’re emitting from their little boxes, cousin, you can think again.

Cate Blanchett has taken a stand against the OAs of the stage, as seen in a video circulating on social media this weekend. In it, the star of the new Benedict Andrews play Electra/Persona addressed her audience about the rude phone behavior observed during one performance. “There are few places on this planet where we can simply be together and be present,” she said, as her audience’s eyelids began to twitch and perspiration began to form on their heads, for they had gone two consecutive moments without looking at their fucking phones. “I understand you like filming the curtain call—and it is kind of flattering in a way—but for anyone who is filming the show, please don’t, because it spoils it for the next group of people who come in and are present with us. So thank you very much.” Blanchett’s address occurred at the National Theatre’s Lyttelton Theatre in London following the performance’s curtain call.