Tempest in the stalls as baby disrupts Kenneth Branagh RSC performance

Audience members said baby’s cooing and gurgling ruined Branagh’s return to the RSC after 30 years, with some seeking refunds Boatswain! The opening scene of Shakespeare’s seminal play The Tempest, in which Prospero conjures up a violent storm to shipwreck his treacherous brother, is enough to wake up anyone – let alone a baby. Audience members at a matinee performance of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s production, starring Kenneth Branagh as Prospero, complained after a baby gurgled and cooed its way throughout the entire first half. The mother and baby were reportedly asked not to return for the second part of the performance after audience members at the RSC’s Stratford-upon-Avon theatre asked for refunds. “There was a young woman with a baby in the audience – and it mithered all the way through the first act,” ticketholder Sian Morgan told the Daily Mail. “Thank goodness there was never any actual screaming or crying, but it was gurgling and cooing and chirping very loudly throughout. It never let up.” Morgan added the child appeared to wake up during the opening scene. “Theatre audiences generally are very tolerant and progressive, but it was ruining it for everyone as it made

Jun 9, 2026 → Jun 9, 2026