Music acts at our Bay theatres are a riot - gladly not in the true sense of the word!

At first sight there does not appear to be much in common between Liverpool in the 1960s and Torbay today but in both there is a great deal of high quality live music.
I recently went to see a Genesis tribute band at the Little Theatre on the same night that my wife saw the Three Degrees at the Babbacombe theatre. The following night I went to an open mic night at the Devon Arms near Torquay harbour. Two days later I was at the Old Smokey in Marldon listening to a jazz band followed the next night by watching an ELO tribute band in the Princess Theatre. In every case the quality of the musicians was amazing.
I have recently listened to music at Molly’s on Paignton Harbour and I’ve tickets to see the Manfreds at the Princess Theatre next month. When we add the Palace Theatre in Paignton and the recently reopened Royal Lyceum Theatre in Torquay as well as all the other venues which put on live music the choice is incredible. And many of these musicians are local people emphasising the importance of music teaching in our schools. I was not in Liverpool in the 1960s but I suspect that they also enjoyed a huge choice of live music.
But none of these events would be the same without the enthusiastic Torbay audiences. And, unlike in some of the West End theatres in London, their behaviour is perfect.
I recently read a report by an usher in a London Theatre who was complaining about the appalling behaviour of some of the audiences, especially hen do’s and stag do’s. Apparently, they talk throughout, walk around and shout. When told to quieten down they can be abusive. It is only opera and ballet which does not appear to have the same problems.
My immediate reaction was to complain about 'the youth of today' until I heard about a performance of Gilbert and Sullivan’s light opera, Princess Ida, in Lichfield on June 13, 1884. Today we see Gilbert and Sullivan as the most gentle and traditional of musicals, not the obvious place for a riot.
The annual assembly of the Queen’s Own Royal Staffordshire Yeomanry had taken place the day before and a group of officers decided to go the show. Although the report does not admit that they were drunk it seems likely. During the show they were so rowdy and offensive to the cast that it was almost impossible to carry on. One of the principals wrote about the incident later. Apparently, she was kept waiting on the stage for several minutes before she could be heard.
After the performance these officers locked the theatre manager in his office and took away the key. They came back the following night and, between the second and third acts took up the carpet in the stalls and threw it at the orchestra. They then took over completely. One sat at the piano and they all sang 'a disgustingly vulgar song'. Sadly, there is no record of the song.
The only way this principal could leave was through a neighbouring house but even this proved problematic. When the cab arrived to take her to the station the crowd pushed the cabby off and drove it away. Presumably this was a hansom cab, famous in every Sherlock Holmes story. She managed to hail another cab and eventually reached the station via a roundabout route.
I have seen all the Gilbert and Sullivan shows over the years, some by our local company in the Little Theatre, but I have never seen anyone throw a carpet at the orchestra or steal a cab.
We are very lucky to have so many high-quality musicians in the Bay playing all different genres of music with no rioting. When we add touring companies, we could probably listen to live music every night of the week. I am not sure that this was possible even in Liverpool in the 1960s although some of their musicians did quite well.