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Two-Time Oscar Winner Calls Out Theater Crowd From the Stage

Her words were met with cheers from the audience.

Cate Blanchett was applauded after calling on her theater audience to stop filming during a performance. The Australian A-lister—who has won two Oscars—told the crowd during Friday’s curtain call for Electra/Persona at London’s National Theatre, “There are few places on this planet where we can simply be together and be present. 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.” Her appeal went down well with the crowd, who cheered in response, the BBC reported. In doing so, Blanchett, 57, became the latest actress to chastise theatergoers for using their phones in the past months. Others include Daniel Craig, Hugh Jackman, and Rosamund Pike, who told an audience member to stop texting during her West End performance in Inter Alia earlier this year. Theaters usually ask the audience to turn off their phones. Written and directed by Benedict Andrews, Electra/Persona brings together Sophocles’ ancient Greek tragedy Electra and Ingmar Bergman’s film Persona. Running until Oct. 10, Blanchett and co-star Nina Hoss discover which roles—Electra/Elisabeth or Clytemnestra/Alma—they will play each night through a live coin toss before the performance.

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