should you leave at intermission?

Usually?  No.

But the question matters because intermission is the moment of choice.

In a play, intermission isn’t just a break — it’s a referendum.  The audience has enough information to decide whether the contract still holds.  Staying means: I’m willing to see this through, even if it changes.  Leaving means: The pressure hasn’t earned my time.

What’s telling is that film doesn’t allow this question.  If at home, you can pause, sure — but you’re not making a public choice. Intermission in theater exposes commitment.  It reveals fatigue, doubt, curiosity, hope.

From a storytelling perspective:

• Act I persuades.

• Intermission tests.

• Act II either deepens or collapses the promise.

  
  

So, do I leave at intermission?

Only when I foresee that a bad play is not going to get better in Act II.  And the play has already told me everything it’s capable of telling.