To think that West End Theatre is going to perish due to over pricing?

qe should count ourselves lucky - prices here seem low compared to NY. Hamilton prices there are currently way over $1000 as one of the original cast is in it. Even normal seats for other shows seem a lot more than London.

That said Evita also went sky high at the end of the run.

Me neither!

I just cannot get my head around paying a hundred quid per person for a theatre ticket. And I say 5hat as an Eng Lit graduate.

I love drama, but I’d watch a film, dvd or something o iPlayer. I live on a different planet to people who can afford theatre prices.

£200 Hamilton tickets are the premium stalls seats, most seats are way under that. It's one of the most reasonably priced.
Or operation mincemeat, I think they are all £95/£85.

I would budget in the region of £100 a seat, so my day out costs in the vicinity of £600 rather than over £1000. It's a lot - I tend to pick my favourite child and just go as a pair!!
Just checked Elf for a random evening, lots of seats under £100, although maybe not the particular day you are going.

YABU. I often go to West End theatre, and pay a lot less, even for dress circle.
Plus, the market decides - if people didn't pay, the market would have already collapsed.

Saw Hamilton again last week. Great seats for £70. To be able to witness all that genius and talent in a beautiful old theatre in central London. All those performers. The orchestra, the service staff. The sheer cost of it all. £70 is an absolute bargain! A regional cinema ticket can cost £15.

Good god, what an outrage! I couldn’t afford those prices! I’m glad I’m near a traditional little theatre, where ticket prices are affordable.

I thought the Elf prices were extortionate as well, but anything at Christmas is overpriced.

However, you can get theatre tickets in London cheaper. Just shop around. Also, in the summer, there’s kids week where you can get free children’s tickets. There’s often a new years sale as well , so tickets in January and February are cheaper. Look at local theatres etc. You can get West End quality shows a lot cheaper.

Agree, it's eye-watering what they charge. I'd go to the theatre a lot more if it weren't so expensive. Even the off-West End places like the Almeida or the Bridge or the Donmar are very pricey.

The cheap seat deals are rarely worth it imo. I've done a few and usually had a rotten view. Operation Mincemeat would have been a lot more fun if I hadn't been looking straight down at the crowns of the actors' heads.

Bring back the days when you could queue up at the National in the morning to get a front-row ticket that evening for £10 ...

I agree it's expensive but it doesnt have to be off - limits. I go to the West End two or three times a year. Always sit in the stalls or dress circle and never pay more than £75 a ticket. We often sit in what is sold as a restricted seat - maybe the front two rows or on the end of a row - but have never had a bad view. There are offers several times a year like London Theatre week or New Year sale. Kids week ìs fantastic if you have children.

True. I have it on good authority that Scott Mills was paid around 200k for his panto role last year.

I always choose front of the upper circle which is 'cheap' but has a good view, and for Elf those seats are £85. Still expensive, but a lot more affordable. I never buy stalls seats because being fairly short my view tends to be blocked by taller people in the seats in front of me.

The expensive tickets subsidise the inexpensive tickets, of which there are many. Enough people are happy to pay for the expensive tickets.

Do you only go on weekends? I’ve been upgraded from cheap seats lots of times when upper levels have been closed or it’s a fairly empty house.

Last night was at a play and had onstage seats(as they were cheap) so could see multiple empty rows in the circle.

That is a lot of money . Shocking .
Just checked my local theatre , 19th December , 2 adults , I child age 12 . £126 .
No one ' famous ' or even an ex soap z lister appearing . Also quite shocking in my opinion .

Elf the musical is not worth £30 tickets let alone £300 ones. Book a panto instead!

I’ve never been at a west end show with empty seats..

This year I've seen
Matilda
Evita
Hamilton
The Devil wears Prada
Six
The Great Gatsby
And probably a couple more that I can't recall at the mo.
The highest price I've paid for a ticket was £50 for Evita. Great seats each time. Today tix is your friend.

I went to Chicago too. £40, good seat, great value.

Go to a local panto at your local theatre.
Why do you need a quick pizza lol.
That's the worst waste of money, and dosent fill you up.

This. Or as @Heyhiitsme gave a more detailed explanation.

Overall West end is much cheaper than the same shows on Broadway.

One (understandably) expensive show doesn't somehow automatically correlate to all of the west end being overpriced and doomed to failure, for heavens sake. What an over exaggeration. And as for expecting the theatre to take into consideration your train tickets and pizza as part of their pricing 🙄

Just because you can't afford something doesn't mean nobody else can.

I find it unaffordable, even after discounts/deals, but whenever I’ve been there’s no vacant seats..

If there was no demand, they would put the prices down.

I dont go to the theatre that often (maybe once a year) and have sometimes had decent tickets for eg £50 always on a soecial offer. But when you see the theatres you can pretty much see why its so expensive- maintenance, lighting, back stage, crew, sets, ushers, cleaners etc etc before you get to anyone actually on stage.

We went to Wimbledon theatre a few months ago to see Chicago. The tickets were about 4th row from the front and were iirc about £50.

Oh and The Globe - fabulous!