“Switch off your mobile phones”. So say the ushers at a theatre when you enter to watch a play.

You switch off respectfully. There’s total silence, the only sounds you hear are from the poignant scene unfolding on the stage. You’re watching with keen attention, when a cough from the audience rents the air.

Familiar?

I can recount several times when I’ve experienced this in a theatre, but had never given thought to it before.

Writer Erik Tarloff has a very intriguing theory on the subject of why these bronchial attacks come on at inopportune moments during a performance. He writes in The Atlantic:

…you don’t hear much coughing in movie theaters. You may hear candy wrappers being rustled and popcorn being crunched and even villains being hissed, but not coughing.

This can’t be an accident. I’m put in mind of Alan Jay Lerner’s observation: "Coughing in the theater is not a respiratory ailment.  It is a criticism."

Read the full piece here.

Next time, if you feel a cough coming during a play, don’t be alarmed that you’ve caught a cold. You’re probably not enjoying the play!

Article by Shuchi

Shuchi lives in Bangalore, adores theatre and hangs out a lot at the Ranga Shankara cafe.

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