Following your article, this article just popped up on the BBC news which I thought you might find interesting called “Who, What, Why: How do you stop mobiles in concerts”:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-13847095

I was in the cinema recently, and the boy in front of me was having a conversation on his mobile phone during a poignant scene in X-men : First Class. Needless to say I was furious. And this wasn’t a naughty, bored toddler – just a rude, inconsiderate adult.

In the theatre recently I went to see Wicked, and the three girls in front of me spent the entire show a) taking photographs of themselves b) taking photographs of the stage on their digital-cameras and giggling. Between the flashing, noise and distraction, I wondered why no one came to say anything to them – considering the disruption and illegality of taking photos in the first place.

In short – I’ve experienced this sort of rude conduct in theatres and cinemas a lot in the past few years, and certainly a lot more than I remember seeing 5-10 years ago. Perhaps it’s the nature of today’s society – instant gratification from technology and entertainment means a show simply requires too long-a period of concentration.

I agree 100% that rules in theatres should be displayed but really – deep down – I think that people know the rules. They just know they can get away with breaking them. Enforcement of the rules is likely the only way to make people change their behaviour.

Finally, on the note about kids – that’s a much harder situation. As un-PC as it is to ‘ban’ kids, I wouldn’t see any harm in ‘family’ and ‘non-family’ performances. I have tickets for the Globe myself in October and would hate to be subject to the same issues you were – Shakespeare clearly isn’t the place for toddlers (for their sake, if not the rest of us!)