Hi Guest the real me; sorry you think I was being condescending. You've missed the point completely; no-one uses these tactics with hecklers routinely. They are a sort of 'lifebelt' to use when someone in the audience is either making it difficult for the performer to perform, or for the majority of the audience to enjoy that performance. I've seen orchestral conductors deal very wittily with sweet packet rustlers in the audience; as a small boy I remember the great Malcolm Sargeant (tongue firmly in cheek) inviting someone to his house for dinner before the next concert (because then he wouldn't need to eat his supper during the performance). Sometimes asking someone politely to be quiet works, and sometimes it doesn't. The usefulness of this thread is in showing the variety of ways that situations can be handled, and I guess it's up to each of us, within our own genres and settings, to take from it what we will.
One other point; it's possible to say something that looks rude and offensive when written down, and offend no-one, whilst still getting the point across. It depends how you say it, and the non-verbal signals that accompany the words.
Tim from Bit on the Side