“We can’t hear you!” Theatergoer whining during actress’s ‘inaudible’ monologue sparks outrage among audience who ‘almost come to blows’ as they argue over performance

A heckler who shouted “we can’t hear you” at a renowned actress as she delivered an “inaudible” dramatic monologue has sparked outrage, with critics and fans “nearly clashing” as they argued about the performance.

Isabelle Huppert, one of France’s greatest stage and film stars, had the only speaking role in the modern adaptation of the 17th-century tragedy Bérénice.

She continued her performance as outraged audience members silenced those who expressed dissatisfaction with the avant-garde interpretation of the piece.

Theatergoers left Paris’s Théâtre de la Ville divided over the show and whether the audience’s reaction had been acceptable, with both applause and boos at the end of the performance.

Some shouted at each other as they left the March 19 show, one critic said reportedand others laughed during what must have been the most tragic of scenes.

Theatergoers left Paris’s Théâtre de la Ville (pictured) divided over the show and whether the audience’s reaction had been acceptable, with both applause and boos at the end of the performance

The original play, written by Jean Racine, is about a love triangle between Titus, who will become the new emperor of Rome, his friend Antiochus, king of Commagene, and Bérénice, queen of Judea.

Italian director Romeo Castellucci’s adaptation was highly anticipated but received mixed reviews.

The only voice in the adaptation is Huppert’s Bérénice, and her extended monologues as a ‘central earthly force’ are adapted by a computer, The times reports.

During one such speech, an audience member protested that they had difficulty hearing Huppert, but others told them to “shut up.”

Huppert, who has been nominated for a record number of César Awards in France, was keen to play down the incident but was clearly unmoved by the criticism.

“Romeo Castellucci’s works have always evoked the strongest possible responses,” said the Oscar-nominated actress.

‘It’s no surprise. But we have gone a level higher where an actress is addressed directly during a performance.’

Now a national debate has emerged about what kind of behavior should be expected from the public in France.

The original play, written by Jean Racine, is about a love triangle between Titus, who will become the new emperor of Rome, his friend Antiochus, king of Commagene, and Bérénice, queen of Judea. Pictured: An adaptation at the Royal Opera House in 2019

Some critics have argued that audiences should appreciate performances in respectful silence, no matter how challenging.

Others have defended the heckler, saying that theaters should return to a louder culture like we saw in the 19th century, in which actors get immediate feedback from their audiences.

Didier Péron, culture editor at the newspaper Libération, defended the heckler by asking: ‘How can you keep talking about live performances when (…) a little premature passion, a difference of opinion, of taste, of support or of aversion, can we cannot explode without seeing (…) unbearable violence?’

Florence Naugrette, professor of the history of theater at the Sorbonne, suggested that interacting with the audience is part of actors’ work.

“A live performance inherently involves risk,” she said. ‘A show without risk is not theatre, it is cinema.’

Now Bérénice is about to embark on a tour of France, bringing a drama that has made headlines in the country to the doorsteps of curious theater fans.

Sometimes rowdy behavior can cross a line, requiring the removal of theatergoers, as seen in recent disruptive incidents in British theaters.

Last summer, four rowdy and disruptive audience members were ejected from Grease the Musical on the West End due to drunken meddling staff.

Trade union Bectu revealed in 2023 that almost half of British theater staff say they have considered leaving the industry due to poor audience behaviour.