Cate Blanchett Urges Audiences to Stay Present, Not Film Shows at London Performance

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Post-show the actress states that filming live performances "spoils it" for future audiences.

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Cate Blanchett delivered a message about the importance of remaining present during live theater following a performance of Electra/Persona at The National Theatre ’s Lyttelton Theatre in London.

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Still dressed in her stage costume, Blanchett addressed the audience following the curtain call. The actress, who stars opposite Nina Hoss in the production, spoke calmly and earnestly as she urged theatergoers not to film performances.

“There are few places on this planet where we can simply be together and be present,” Blanchett said. “I understand you like filming the curtain call, and it is kind of flattering in a way, but for anyone who is filming the show, please don’t, because it spoils it for the next group of people who come in and are present with us. So thank you very much.”

Electra/Persona is a new play from Andrews that fuses two narratives. The first draws on the ancient myth of Electra, while the second, Persona, imagines an actress falling silent mid-performance, triggering what the production describes as a rupture between two women as speech breaks down and the line between self and role gives way. The work is billed as an exploration of identity and the fragile boundary separating performer from character.

The production brings together Blanchett, known for The Seagull, and Hoss, known for The Cherry Orchard, alongside Ella Lily Hyland , recognized for Black Doves. Andrews, whose past credits include A Streetcar Named Desire, directs the piece, which is currently running in the Lyttelton Theatre at The National Theatre in London through to Saturday, October 10, 2026.

Directed and adapted by Benedict Andrews , this new play is based on both Sophocles' story of Electra from Greek mythology and Ingmar Bergman 's celebrated 1966 film Persona – exemplifying The National Theatre 's commitment to re-examining classic stories in new forms. Creating a charged dialogue that spans over 2000 years between the ancient and the modern, this ambitious new production will interrogate the inner life of an actress and query how grief can make us strangers to ourselves.

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_Originally reported by [BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/westend/article/Cate-Blanchett-Asks-Theatergoers-To-Remain-Present-And-Stop-Filming-Performances-20260920)._