My wife, Sue, and me are performance poets. Very recently we have been banned from performing or attending one venue, because, while members of the audience at a second venue she apparently did not applaud wholeheartedly. Be warned, fail to clap at your peril
When it comes to appreciation
There are, it seems, unwritten laws
About the way an audience member
Responds with their applause.
It really is it seems, a very fine line
Not a matter of taste and tact,
As to how any individual
Responds to a performing act.
Too enthusiastically and they're
Classed as a sycophantic creep,
Quietly and unobtrusively and
They may think he's asleep:
No response at all, the Applause
Marshall may take note of a name
Which can lead to a ritual of
Public Humiliation and shame.
A ticket may have been paid for
Which doesn't include a right
To upset any act performing by
Inadequate applauding on the night.
It may be hell being a performer
But there's one aspect to it,
It's voluntary public exposure
For nobody makes them do it.
