16 June 2026

Rosamund Pike was not the first actor to challenge a member of the audience who was misbehaving during her performance. He was on his mobile phone. The light created by this activity was distracting. Her ability to hold the attention of the audience was compromised by his inattention.

I don’t know whether it is because I am now an old minister filling pulpits because charges don’t have their own ministers or whether the landscape has changed dramatically since I was a parish minister but I have witnessed some bad behaviour in the round.

In one service, an elder was sitting near the front of the church drinking a coffee out of a Costa coffee cup  whilst looking at his mobile phone. I thought he might have been drinking water but Mary-Catherine saw his water bottle too. How distracting is that?

On another occasion, an elder stood up just after the Benediction and started asking a controversial question which should have been asked privately. The ending of the service was disturbed by this unexpected and unnecessary interruption. The sanctity of worship and spiritual thoughts were rudely displaced.

Respect for the liturgy and other people requires attention and self-reflection. The same is true in the theatre with actors on the stage. The spell can be broken in worship and in drama. This is a self-centred activity and is surprising in a Christian community.

In her article about Rosamund Pike, Nadia Khomami concluded, ‘Great art has always demanded the temporary relinquishment of the self, a willingness to enter someone else’s world.’  This resonates with the words of Jesus,  ‘If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.’