1859 replies to this topic

[zyx123]

I hate coughers, why anyone thinks it's acceptable to cough all the way through a performance is beyond me. If you cough in a theatre everyone can hear you.

It's not that hard to supress a cough, and if it's so bad that you can't then you probably shouldn't be at the theatre.

[exuberantlyblue]

The problem though is that coughing isn't predictable (unless you're sick, but often it's just an itch in your throat that gets worse through the suppressing of it). I'd rather hear someone cough a few times than have them get up in the middle of a row and have to walk past everyone to make their exit. That'd be way more intrusive than mere coughing.

[itsuckstobeme]

I really go mad about coughers, they drive me crazy. Lady sat next to me at Great Expectations was the worst I ever experienced. As it turned out I couldn't have cared less about that production so wasn't that bothered in the end.

[Honoured Guest]

Great Expectorations

[Matthew Winn]

zyx123, on 01 March 2013 - 05:36 PM, said:

It's not that hard to supress a cough

It can be. The main reason I hate people who think of a cold as nothing to stop them getting on with life and insist on sharing it with everyone is that when I get a cold it usually leaves behind a serious cough that lasts for weeks, and by "serious cough" I mean one that arrives in unpredictable bursts that can cripple me for half an hour and on one occasion put me in hospital. (Thanks to incompetent medical staff I didn't get out of the hospital for half a week, but that's another story.) If I'm struck by a coughing fit in a situation where it'll annoy other people and I can't stop it within a few minutes then I'll go outside until it stops (and as far as booking systems allow I try to sit at the end of a row for just such an eventuality), but not starting coughing in the first place isn't an option.

[musicals fan]

But a hell of a lot of coughing IS optional - it frequently indicated that the cougher is (a) bored and/or ( immature.

There is a comment somewhere from Ralph Richardson about acting being the art of preventing people from coughing etc.

Just go to the Royal Festival Hall for a Claissical Concert and listen to the coughing - it seems to be manufactured just for the occasion.

[Catqc]

At the penultimate might of Kiss me Kate last night, a lady behind me had some sort of mini electric fan that she kept turning on. It made a loud vibrating noise right in my ear so I kept turning around to glare at her, but she would only stop for about 10 minutes before starting up again. I did at one point ask her to please stop, to no avail. It really ruined my enjoyment of the show, which was a shame as I had paid a lot to go see it again before it closes.

[Lynette]

I hate it when coughs come from all sides in quiet bits. But I've had this cough ( a virus or similar to Matthew, cold legacy) for ages and continued to go the theatre cept when I felt truly ill. I take as many precautions - stop laughing - as I can. Before the show, I take decongestants. I always have water, ready opened in small plastic bottle to hand. I have either peppermints or cough sweets, unwrapped so no crinkly noise or usually both and a hankie to stuff in my mouth. For niggly cough you can perfect a breathing technique which I use. Diff to explain but it involves stomach muscles. This can stave off a cough.

Then if all this fails I cough.

[Titan]

whilst i get that coughing is an annoying sound at any time let alone in theatre people here are being unbelievably hard and holier than thou. if you have bought and paid for a ticket thats cost a lot of money if all you have is a cough you arnt just going to waste it, same as you wouldnt call in sick at work. ive gone plenty of times with a cough, take cough sweets and water, but if that doesnt work i cough. also if the production is good enough i usually find ut easy enough to forget about other sounds in theatre and focus on whats happening on stage.

also how do you know you dont do things to annoy others!

[Catqc]

musicals fan, on 02 March 2013 - 08:22 AM, said:

But a hell of a lot of coughing IS optional - it frequently indicated that the cougher is (a) bored and/or ( immature.

There is a comment somewhere from Ralph Richardson about acting being the art of preventing people from coughing etc.

No Im sorry but I don't think as a general rule people cough when they're bored. Yawn maybe, or fidget, but coughing is something which is hard to control,  though I am very impressed with lynette's thoroughness in trying to stop herself! If you just go to the theatre in summer rather than winter you will notice the difference, and I don't think shows are particularly more gripping in summer!!