u/museminnie

I (20F) went to a theatre in London to watch The Phantom of the Opera with my father as it was his favourite musical and his first time seeing it in person. We were seated behind a man (45ish) and his family, and the man would lean forward very frequently (we were seated on higher ground so the very front of the stage was hard to see, which is why I understood his leaning forward). However, he did this during every song, and I was quite disappointed as he would block out almost half the stage for us, and we were unable to see the performers during the theme song. So during intermission, I leaned forward with a smile and kindly asked if "it would be possible" for him to "lean forward less", explaining it blocked our view of the stage as the sightline was already delicate. He then, unsmiling, said "I'll try" and left.

When intermission ended, he came back smiling and said "my wife is shorter, she and I will swap places", so she ended up in front of us instead. I was very grateful and thanked him. When the second half began, she immediately leaned forward, this time not leaning back at all. After about 20 minutes, she leaned back, as if resting her back(?) and immediately leaned forward again. This continued for the entire intermission, and I was quite shocked as she didn't lean forward once during the first half. Her husband, during this entire half, did not lean forward at all. There was also no one blocking her view of the stage, so I didn't understand if this was them trying to make a point? She'd also sometimes lean towards her son (who was also in front of us) and whisper something, and he'd immediately lean forward too.

I checked online and some people said it was rude to ask people in front of you to sit differently? And I totally agree, but I didn't want my father to have a poor experience (which he kind of did), and I made sure to ask very politely since I am usually afraid of conflict. My father and I left quickly after the show ended because we didn't want to ruin our night. AITAH?