Applause - Slow Handclaps

Slow Handclaps

In some cultures, slow, synchronized clapping by displeased audience members is considered not applause, but the opposite: a form of heckling, or an expression of mocking dislike or disapproval of the performer. The person being slowly clapped at may interpret the clap as an insult, and a sign to leave the stage. Comedian Fred Allen, in his book Much Ado about Me, wrote that one noted vaudeville house developed a rhythm ("clap, clap, clap clap clap"), the maddening repetition of which could completely unnerve a performer.

A notable occurrence of a slow handclap took place during a speech made by British Prime Minister Tony Blair on 7 June 2000, when he was heckled and slow-handclapped by members of the Women's Institute.

The slow handclap is occasionally employed to the opposite effect. In the tradition of London Livery Companies, for example, an assembled party (at, for example, a formal dinner) will routinely perform a slow handclap as a gesture of respect and deference to the arriving party of the Master and Court of the Company. In Hungary, it is known as vastaps (iron clap), so named because the theater audience is so impressed that they continue to clap even after the iron fire-proof curtain is lowered.