5 Best Ways to Spend the Intermission During a Theatre Show

The lights go up, and suddenly everyone’s moving at once – you’ve got 15 minutes, maybe 20 if you’re lucky, before the show starts again. Most shows over 90 minutes have an intermission, and honestly, it can be a bit of a mess. Half the crowd rushes to the bathroom, where they’ll spend 10 minutes in line, while others fight their way to the bar.

But if you know what you’re doing, those 15 minutes don’t have to be stressful – you can actually add something to your night out.

1.   Game Your Way Through the Break

Mobile gaming has completely changed how people spend their downtime, and theatre intermissions (and even live performances, unfortunately) are no exception. Mobile gaming made $92 billion last year, with almost 2 billion people worldwide playing games on their phones.

That’s more than a quarter of everyone on Earth, and during any given intermission, you’ll spot many absorbed in Candy Crush or Subway Surfers, enjoying their quick gaming sessions. Actually, these runner games were the most downloaded last year, making up about 8% of all mobile game downloads.

You can clear four or five levels while others inch forward in bathroom lines, and since these games work fine on mute, nobody around you gets annoyed by sudden sound effects during their theatre experience.

And for anyone feeling lucky, an intermission is enough time for a quick spin at an online casino. The 2025 analysis by Casino Beats shows how new operators look to grab attention fast, stacking their libraries with new releases, pushing out promotions, and making payments instant. A quick round can fit neatly into the same minutes others waste in line. Launch bonuses also land harder, so plenty of people test them during those first weeks.

In the middle of a theatre break, that setup actually works – it’s quick, easy, and gives you a little rush before the lights drop again.

2.   Pre-Ordering Drinks Beats Standing in Line Every Time

Smart theatre-goers figured this out years ago: order your intermission drinks when you arrive and skip the entire bar queue. You pay upfront, they give you a receipt or wristband, and during intermission, you walk straight to the pickup counter while everyone else waits 10-12 minutes for a glass of house red.

The system works beautifully at venues that have adopted it, though amazingly, most people still don’t know this option exists. Theatre bars have evolved way past the wine-in-plastic-cups era, with venues now serving craft cocktails that cost as much as your ticket, local microbrews, and themed drinks that somehow incorporate elements from the show.

It’s the same mindset some venues take with the whole intermission experience – Her Majesty’s Theatre in Adelaide is set to transform into a Wonderland for the Cirque Alice premiere, turning that atmosphere into part of the spectacle.

3.   Theatre Lobbies Turn Into Accidental Networking Events

Every intermission creates its own little community of people who all chose the same show, and that shared experience makes starting conversations surprisingly easy. Directors, actors, even producers drift through these crowds, and you never know who’s next to you at the bar, complaining about the same plot twist that threw you off.

Specific observations beat generic small talk every time: comment on an unexpected staging choice, mention how this production compares to others you’ve seen, or ask someone what they made of that controversial scene.

Many theatres now install interactive displays where audiences respond to prompts about the show, and these become natural conversation hubs where reading someone else’s comment leads to actual discussions rather than forced networking attempts.

4.   Hidden Spaces in Theatres Stay Empty While Everyone Fights for the Bathroom

Most people never venture beyond the main lobby and bathroom during intermission, which means entire sections of theatres sit empty while crowds gather in the usual spots. Historic venues hide extra bars on mezzanine levels, display cases full of costume pieces and old programs in upper lobbies, and architectural details that are genuinely worth seeing if you’ve got five minutes to explore instead of standing in line.

At Arts Centre Melbourne, those quieter foyers are about to get a new purpose. The Australian Museum of Performing Arts opens at Hamer Hall in December 2025, and parts of the collection will sit right in the public areas people usually walk past without noticing.

Costumes, handwritten notes, and stage props from artists like Kylie Minogue and Nick Cave will be on show, along with pieces from Australia’s theatre and dance history. It means an intermission wander upstairs could give you a glimpse of something unique while the rest of the crowd is still waiting for drinks.

5.   Staying Put Beats the Chaos for People Who Actually Want to Think

Sometimes the power move is doing absolutely nothing – stay seated, avoid the crowds, and use those 15 minutes to actually process what you just watched. This is when you can dig into the program notes that explain why they set Romeo and Juliet in 1950s Detroit or what the playwright meant by all those water metaphors, information that completely changes how you experience Act Two.

By the time the lights drop again, you’re already settled – while everyone else is still juggling wine cups and half-read programs in the dark.