intervals

How long should the main interval be? 10 minutes? Or would 20 minutes start to spoil the flow of the show? How often do you find that you have had tea and a biscuit, done your ‘trip to the toilet’ and are now standing for a further 10 minutes, aimlessly awaiting the start of the second act?

At a show I saw recently, there were several necessary blackouts throughout the play; some were possibly 15 seconds, whilst others, according to the programme, were supposed to be two minutes when three or more minutes in total darkness was nearer the mark. At what stage should the auditorium lights be raised – possibly to half level – rather than having the audience sit in the dark? Or could this result in patrons wandering out of their seats and not returning in time for the curtains reopening?

Should low-level, appropriate music be played during all of the blackouts and intervals?