AT the risk of this column turning into a rant, there is something which has got my goat this week.

I’ve attended three evening reviews and each one has been ruined, in part, by the behaviour of fellow audience members. It is something which has become more and more common of late, and seems to be almost depressingly accepted by others.

Since when was it permissible to talk, or text, during a show? Or to snigger at those involved, obviously mock them or get up and wander around while performances are in progress?

To be fair, the last few offences were committed by children. Perhaps we could argue they don’t know any better, but I’m sure that all were definitely of an age to understand that what they were doing was wrong given the guilt on their faces when their behaviour was finally checked.

Surely their failures are the consequences of failures on the part of their, supposedly, responsible adults? Unbelievably, two young girls were left unsupervised during one of the incidents while, in another, three of the young boys who ruined an event for those sitting around them were brought there by a woman who sat with a handbag on her lap, trying to conceal the fact she was merrily texting throughout.

What sort of an example is this to set anyone? And, more worryingly, how on earth will children learn how to behave in public if they are not instructed by adults who lead with their own behaviour?

As a child, I attended church every Sunday with my mother. There, I was taught to sit up straight and to be quiet and respectful of the occasion, regardless of what I felt. I grew to learn that there is a time and a place for best behaviour, and this was one of those times. I also fully came to understand the essential life lesson that, despite the fact we may be bored or wish ourselves elsewhere, if we are watching someone else address an audience by talking, singing, dancing, or whatever it may be, we owe it to them to pay attention out of sheer respect for their effort.

I firmly believe this should carry over into the cinema (and everywhere, really), one of my favourite places in which to relax and enjoy a few hours wholly devoted to a new film. Having paid my hard-earned pounds, I don’t then want to have to put up with chatting or texting; phone lights are irritating and obvious in the dark.

When the time has come to stop talking and texting, do us all a favour – be quiet and put your phone away.