Madam, – I was present at one of the great moments in Irish theatre to see the late, great Donal McCann as Frank Hardy in Brian Friel's Faith Healer.
That night the Abbey was full and the front row occupied by a group of what we like to call “elderly ladies”. In the middle of the performance, one of the ladies seated in the middle of the row began to cough. The other ladies then searched in handbags and produced sweets, which were passed along the row with much concern and noise of paper being unwrapped.
However, the sweets were of no help to the poor lady, who continued coughing. She then decided to leave the auditorium, so many seats were noisily lifted to allow her out and up the aisle. She finally left with a loud closing of the doors – and still coughing.
Donal, the true professional, continued his soliloquy without batting an eyelid. After the play was over, I and some friends repaired to the Abbey bar. Donal appeared and I had the nerve to ask him how he coped with the lady with the cough. Oh, Jaysus, says he. I kept thinking she was me mother with an awful dose! – Yours, etc,