Comedian Jeff Ross Faces Cell Phone Abusing Audience Members During Trevor Noah Gala at Just for Laughs

Trevor Noah, the new host of The Daily Show, blew the roof off the Place Des Arts in Montreal at the Just For Laughs Gala last night. He was eloquent, cheeky, clever, slick, smooth in delivery and downright funny. But as the audience left the theatre, that's not what they were talking about. As they left the theatre, all anyone could talk about was Jeff Ross.

If you don't know him by name, take a moment to Google. He's the clever-witted, sharp-tongued mastermind behind Comedy Central's celebrity roasts. Think Justin Beiber, David Hasslehoff and William Shatner, to name a few.

People were talking about him not because he flexed his comedic muscles on the big stage, which he did quite well by the way, but because he did something which it seems that most people in our insular, device-obsessed world have forgotten: he enforced theatre etiquette.

We all seem compelled to get that tweet out or post our latest witty status update, and there are times when that's fine.

The middle of a show isn't it.

2,996 people paid to see Trevor Noah host a gala. Two of those people decided that holding up their cell phones to film the show was more important. After twice asking them to stop, Mr. Ross asked "what are you doing?"

The older man replied, "I'm filming for periscope." It wasn't quite a Pinter pause, but it was a dead beat as the audience collectively muttered profanity under their breaths. Mr. Ross responded a little differently. "Be in the moment," he said. "Put down the phone and experience the moment."

But they didn't.

After asking them to stop yet again, one of the producers came out in to the audience and spoke with the men. It was clearly ineffective - they weren't listening and had no intentions of complying. So the producer called in a security officer. He happened to have been the biggest security officer I've ever seen.

He motioned for the men to come over, and they laughed and waved him off. And that's when he walked over and effectively lifted them out of their seats and escorted them out of the theatre.

Mr. Ross did a good job of keeping his cool and keeping the routine flowing as all this was going on, though he did ask if he should stop to let the security officer do his job.

I'm not saying the theatre is a holy shrine, but it is a place where we pay to be entertained. It's not like you would walk out to centre court in the middle of an NBA game to take a selfie, and yet I bet some of you are thinking about it right now... And that's our problem; we can't, as Mr. Ross said, set down our phones and just be in the moment.

But don't you think we should?

So I give a standing ovation to Mr. Ross. Last night he took a stand for performers and audiences alike. I just hope they put down their devices long enough to hear it.

Follow Racheal McCaig on twitter at @RachealMc.

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