The actors union Equity says it has major worries over plans for a festival of plays sponsored by the satellite broadcaster Sky.
Productions of Waiting for Godot, The Caretaker and The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui and others will be shown live on Sky Arts in November. However, Equity say the sponsorship of the festival by Sky Plus, could create problems for the actors involved.
"Our biggest worry is that viewers will pause the action, meaning the actors on stage will have to stay frozen in mid-speech as they await the signal for the resumption of the play." the union spokesman Michael Hanratty told reporters.
"Just think about it. The first act could only just have begun when a viewer somewhere freezes the action to get a beer, they then get distracted by a phone call and decide to join their mates down the pub. All while this is happening, the actors are having to stay frozen in place, ruining the play for others and creating the possibility of serious muscular damage for the actors involved."
Some of the actors lined up for the festival have also expressed their concerns.
Joe Pasquale, whio is scheduled to play Aston in The Caretaker, says he is less than happy about the possibility of having to hold a pose for several hours while a viewer goes to get a kebab.
"Let me tell you, despite what Madonna says, striking a pose has a great deal to it. It's incredibly painful."
But a spokesman for Sky said actors shouldn't worry.
"We've decided to rig each theatre with a series of lights that will only be activated when a certain number of viewers pause the action. And then it will only happen if a majority of those in the theatre itself decide to do the same thing." Joanna Treacher said.
"It might be unconventional, but if the arts community wants to put on god-awful plays that no-one really wants to watch, they've got to put up with what the person who pays the bill wants to see."