Playing to the Gallery Means Playing to the Cheap Seats
A gallery shows art, and in a theatre it is the highest and cheapest tier. That is where the phrase about pleasing the crowd comes from.
A gallery is a room or building for showing art, but the word began as a covered walkway. In a theatre the gallery is the top tier, furthest from the stage and cheapest to sit in, and *playing to the gallery* means aiming at the crowd up there rather than at the critics below.
- A place where art is shown or sold. *A commercial gallery.*
- The upper tier of a theatre. *Seats in the gallery.*
- A long covered walk or balcony. *A gallery running the length of the hall.*
- Spectators at a golf tournament. *The gallery applauded.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | gallery | A small gallery. |
| Plural | galleries | City galleries. |
| Related | museum | The national museum. |
| Related | exhibition | An exhibition opens. |
| Phrase | play to the gallery | He plays to the gallery. |
How it is used in a sentence
- The gallery is free on Sundays.Art sense.
- We had seats in the gallery.Theatre sense; also called the gods in Britain.
- He was playing to the gallery, not answering the question.Performing for the crowd.
Gallery or museum?
- Gallery — shows art, and may sell it
- Museum — collects and interprets objects of many kinds
- Public gallery — where spectators sit in a parliament or court
- Rogues' gallery — a collection of criminal photographs
- Whispering gallery — a curved space that carries sound around its wall
From Medieval Latin *galeria*, a long portico. The theatre and art senses both grew from the shape: a long space along a wall where people walked, watched or hung pictures.
Where does *play to the gallery* come from?
From the theatre, where the gallery held the cheapest seats. Acting for them meant broad, obvious effects.
Gallery or museum?
If it holds paintings and sculpture it is usually a gallery; if it holds objects, specimens and documents it is a museum. Many institutions are both.