Solitude is great to have. To be able to get dinner by yourself in a crowded restaurant filled with families and couples out on dates. Sure, that must be a liberating feeling for most. Not for me though. If it’s not the crippling anxiety that comes with assuming you’re being observed for being the odd one out, it’s probably the reminder that it’s Saturday night and you couldn’t find ONE person in this city who was available to hang out. In all likelihood once you fill your stomach with that thought, you’ll probably just skip to dessert anyway and head home before the family beside you has the time to make sense of the menu.
It isn’t hard to imagine that going to the movie theatres alone wouldn’t be my bucket of popcorn either and by that very logic… going to watch a play. Although this is where the exception lies.
When you’re in Bombay, walking into any theatre space means you’re bound to bump into a familiar face. Either a performer you’ve watched in a different play, or another audience member who happens to be at every other show. And even if there’s no one recognizable around, something about being in a room full of people watching something live feels less lonesome. Afterall it is a shared experience. As an audience, you laugh together. You cry together. You hold your breath together. It’s a quiet kind of friendship. You walk in willing to suspend your disbelief, you walk out feeling different from what you did before the show started, regardless of whether it was one you enjoyed or not. I think the room where the show happens is magical, not just because of the performance, but because of the people who fill it up.
There seem to be a few who agree:
“I have a lot of allergies. A change in the weather is bound to guarantee a coughing fit. I also happen to be an avid theatre-goer. Those two things don’t sit well together. Because let’s say there’s a change in season, and there’s also a really cool show happening (often those two things happen at the same time as well!) chances are I’m going to be there, attempting to hide a sniffle or two. There was this one time though, where I wasn’t too successful…”
“I need to reach a venue an hour in advance so I can secure myself a good seat. For the most part, I always get a good view. I think I can count the number of times I have been seated in a place that’s either too cold or is wayyy at the back. There is one moment in particular that I remember, I wasn’t too satisfied with where I was seated, but…”
“What no one tells you about being a self-proclaimed empath, is that it’s a little embarrassing. The crying that comes with it… yeah sure it’s cathartic or whatever but not when it’s happening in front of a bunch of people you don’t know… unless they’re crying too…”
