“Dear viewers, the mobile goes off during the show”, demands the protagonist of 'Agur, Otxoa feroz!'

Unai Izquierdo, one of the protagonists of ‘Agur, Otxoa feroz’, a theatrical production that has swept the Aste Nagusia, thought once and twice whether to stop the performance and draw attention to the spectators who let their mobile phones ring at both latest features. He finally gave up, but he did not lack desire. Last Wednesday and Thursday, the five artists participating in the show that recreates the personal and professional history of José Antonio Nielfa listened at full volume on five and seven occasions to how various telephones rang from the stalls.

Not only that. Some viewers spent a good part of the function sending WhatsApp messages, distracting the interpreters. Others did not cut a hair and answered the calls received, despite the fact that before the start of the work a voice-over –from La Otxoa herself– begged the public to turn off their mobile phones. “They behaved as if they were in the living room of their house,” Izquierdo protests. “We saw the screens of their devices illuminated and that does not help at all, especially in the most dramatic moments of the work,” acknowledges Unai, who reproaches the rudeness of these fans.

“Neither take calls nor send audios”

Izquierdo did not reach the extreme of artists of the stature of Pepe Sacristán, Lola Herrera and Lluis Omar, who temporarily suspended performances to reproach the public for forgetting to turn off their cell phones. However, he has taken advantage of social networks to censor the behavior of these viewers. “Hello, dear theatergoers. There is a basic rule. The mobile is turned off during the function; WhatsApp is not sent, calls are not taken or audios are not sent while the actors and actresses try to do their job as well as possible. Yesterday 7 sounded. You’re welcome”, laments the interpreter and playwright, who has celebrated the support received on the networks: more than 2,000 ‘likes’ and half a thousand retweets, some from prominent representatives of the Spanish scene.

“Until you stop the show and scold the first one to take out the mobile, there will be nothing to do”, “Now it’s not just the mobile, it’s also the connected watches, which every time they receive a message, the screen lights up . Is it so difficult to go 2 hours without looking at WhatsApp?», «The ideal would be to requisition mobile phones, because no matter how much they warn before the function, people sweat it. Lack of respect for you and for us the viewers”, supported some Internet users.

The playwright and actor thanked the gesture and also revealed that, despite not paralyzing the performance, the two women who take part in the play –Gemma Martínez and Getari Etxegarai, also a director– some ‘blood sausages’ to see if the aforementioned they took notice. “Felisa, put it in airplane mode,” they yelled.

Izquierdo recalled yesterday that if he did not stop the show it was because “good people do not deserve it.” He also believes that, “possibly”, part of the viewers who “inadvertently” bothered others are “older people”, not so familiar with the latest technologies, so he considers that measures should be taken to prevent them from similar events happen in the future. «At the entrance of the theaters, you could warn of the prohibition of the use of mobile phones or recommend the installation of inhibitors in the rooms. We must educate the public to dignify our work. I don’t think there are things so important that you don’t have to use the phones in an hour », he wields.

• Themes
• Jose Antonio Nielfa
• Great week
• theater