Ruining My Afternoon

Event though this bit of news is quite old, I just ran across it so I’m posting it here for the first time:

“The actor Richard Griffiths has launched a furious tirade against mobile phones after ejecting a member of the audience from his West End play when her ringtone sounded for the third time. The Independent reports.

Griffiths, known for his roles as Uncle Vernon in the Harry Potter films and Uncle Monty in the cult hit Withnail and I, was somewhat less than avuncular when his lines in the tense penultimate scene of the play Heroes were interrupted by the mobile phone call on Saturday.

He stopped mid-scene and asked: “Could the person whose mobile phone it is please leave?”

When he pinpointed the female offender, he addressed her directly, saying: “Is that it, or will it be ringing some more? “The 750 people here would be fully justified in suing you for ruining their afternoon.”

As the woman left the auditorium at the Wyndham’s Theatre, the audience gave Griffiths a standing ovation before the play, also starring John Hurt, continued.”