Do other theatre goers get irritated by this?

Question:I don't go to the theatre often but tonight I went to see "Visting Mr. Green" at a local theatre with the actors Warren Mitchell and Gideon Turner.

There was only one thing that ruined it for me and it was the constant coughing do people actually do this deliberately so as to somewhat participate in the production or did I just pick a night where everyone had come down with a chest infection?

Sorry to sound cynical but I just had to ask.

What are others feelings on this?

Thanks in advance for your answers :)

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: I don't go to the theatre often but tonight I went to see "Visting Mr. Green" at a local theatre with the actors Warren Mitchell and Gideon Turner.

There was only one thing that ruined it for me and it was the constant coughing do people actually do this deliberately so as to somewhat participate in the production or did I just pick a night where everyone had come down with a chest infection?

Sorry to sound cynical but I just had to ask.

What are others feelings on this?

Thanks in advance for your answers :)

In the colds and flu season, which we are in, people will cough in the audience. You probably notice it more in a legitimate theater than a moviehouse because you are trying so hard to hear the actors.
There is an ugly tradition in opera for audience members to cough when a singer is falling way short of expectations. This happened to a very distinguished soprano at the Metropolitan opera many years ago, when it was evident to the audience that age had robbed her voice of its sweetness of tone.
That time the coughs were meant as an insult and a reproof. I think in your audience it meant they needed cough drops and Robitussin.

mostly, people do it for fun, especially teenagers....

Yeah, I get irritated but no I don't think they do it on purpose.

I think everyone is just super sick this time of year. I wouldn't get angry at them for coughing...but you should move your seat if someone is coughing in excess right near you..that would irritate anyone

I don't think people did it on purpose, this is cold season. Almost everyone I know right now is sick. But yea it can be irritating when you're trying to watch a show!

just ignore it pretend no one is even there in the movie theater but you

Well it is the winter season, people are more closed up than normal and they tend to get sick more often but it has been proven in at least a few tests that once one person does something (like cough or yawn) others are more likely to do it as well. So you may have just gone on a night that the band of shallow people decided to show up.

I have seen drunks and children heckle a stand-up comic or other performer by coughing, but I don't think any other audience members do it intentionally.

Heated air dries out mucous in people's throats, which can make it feel itchy and cause coughing.

And it IS winter, when colds are common.

Sit as close as possible. I try not to worry about things I can do nothing about.

You are not supposed to cough at the theatre if you can help it. The same goes for the ballet, opera, orchestra, etc. Heck - even at the movies you shouldn't be coughing if you can help it.

This is why most theatres, halls and auditoriums provide cough drops or mints in the lobby.

I find it super annoying too! If you have that bad a cough, you should stay HOME.

Yeah that's annoying. Not as annoying as 2 guys making out in the seats right in front of you the WHOLE movie long though. That happened the last time I went to see a movie. I don't have any problem with homosexuals, but damn you don't have to make out through 80% of the movie right in front of me.

Audiences tend to cough if they are bored. An interesting production minimizes such activity.

coughers don't bother me unless they cough directly into my face. It usually can't be helped. If they are excessively coughing yea, I'd be annoyed. It's the non stop talkers that really bother me more.

Yes, it's a pet peeve of mine, too.

I honestly feel pretty bad when almost anyone is sick, but I think it's pretty rude not to get up and go into the lobby when you're hacking up a lung during any performance, especially one that people spent their hard-earned money to see.

It's a "common" courtesy that just isn't so common. I'm sorry that it ruined your experience.

The theater i go to the air is dry and they keep it cold in there, so it might be the dry air they inhale and the throat gets too dry and they cough. Now what i don't like is the little ones crying and screaming behind you or the teenagers yelling and kicking the back seat you are sitting in i go about 1 time a year with my daughter.

It is cold season

i went to a play once where these kids were coughing on purpose and you could tell!

Just be glad you are not sick..............and the sick people should stay home......so others don't catch what they have

It's a possibility that it was some jerks being stupid. If it sounded fake, it probably was.

Remember though, it's flu season, so alot of people are truly sick. How embarressing would that be if that happened to you? lol. Thats why I try to take cough drops with me when I know i'm sick.

But yes, it's irratating, even if it isn't on purpose. I don't get upset at them, just a bit annoyed that it's interupting my play.

Yes I feel that some people do it on purpose just to annoy the heck out of me. I thought I was the only one this bothered. Although some smokers are trying to hack up a lung. They are the worst.