The delicious highs and crushing lows of theatre snacks

We all get peckish in the stalls. But which theatres fill our bellies with delight - and which leave them rumbling?

Dream snacks? Waitress. Photo: FilmNation Entertainment

Hungry at the theatre? Prepare to be fleeced – and/or disappointed.

The theatres of yore reverberated with the sounds of crunching and chomping: Shakespearean groundlings would feast on oysters, gingerbread and ale, refined Regency audiences delighted in juicy oranges from Nell Gwynn’s basket, and Victorians could chew their way through a full roast dinner at their nearest music hall.

Now, the convention that theatre should be enjoyed in polite silence has glued theatregoers’ mouths shut – except during the interval Hunger Games, where they’ll do battle in crowded bars, their prize a glass of acidic, expensive pinot grigio or a pricey ice cream.

Still, a few theatres are doing things differently, acknowledging that an audience that’s sped straight from work into the auditorium might be bodily – as well as intellectually – hungry. Here are our highs and lows of mid-show snacking, plus some dreams for a more delicious theatrical world.

By Alice Saville