Snarky, but maybe you're onto something, there. I can say as a native that in the US, earnest appreciation does indeed allow and include commentary amid the applause. It's not considered taboo, but is part of the adulatory mix. For those unaccustomed to a Yankish sense of etiquette during performances (assuming we're unique in this, which I'm not convinced of), one might note that the person so inspired restrained himself until after the piece was done, kept his volume down to within immediate earshot only - I would have said he almost murmurred it reverentially - and that would be a reasonably normal moment among a well-mannered audience, or so an American would think. This all a matter of degree. If the stage is hot, the audience will be noisier in its appreciation, according to the venue. To not say something isn't rude, but neither does it show that special appreciation that deserves to be said. Doing so also invites a polite response from your neighbor, reinforcing the social aspect of the occasion. From my set of sensibilities, if all the audience did was clap and nothing more at all, I'd be uncomfortable with that, taking it as merely a pro forma show for politeness' sake but little else. Any performer knows how it feels to be damned with faint praise, and a tight-wrapped audience would absolutely kill me. But again, Yank here. As a stranger in a strange land, I would think that my gesture of appreciation - properly modulated, of course - would be well-received. Better that, I would think, than to say nothing and have it assumed without any surprise that, as a foreigner with nothing else to recommend me, I must of course be insensate to the moment. And I wouldn't start out yammering, either. You have to ease into these things. Can't speak for the rest of my fellow Americans on that count.oleorezinator wrote:It's very simple. In America we are permittedNanohedron wrote:Well, I'm sure there are a host of cultural and personal elements to speculate over as to the reason why a Yank would be more likely to vocalize - I have my own theories - but in his or her defense (couldn't tell if it was male or female), at least this one didn't shout.
to exhibit emotion.
So how does that thinking compare to the Eastern Atlantic?
(Back to Irish Washerwoman soon, I promise. )