Would you change to better seats at the theatre?

[Billyeyelash]

Was at the theatre last night.

I had a fantastic view of the stage but a few had their view hindered by pillars and stage equipment.

The seats with the restricted view are cheaper.

There were some seats available with good views of the stage. Would you have gone and sat in those unrestricted view seats, after the interval?

Yes

Yes, if they were empty, obviously...

I'd ask an usher, but in my experience they say yes.

No.
Whilst they weren't anyone else's they also weren't mine.
If I was sat in the cheaper seats and saw a group scramble for the empty good seats they hadn't purchased I'd not be happy.
Also if I was in the more expensive seats I'd paid for I'd not be happy if some cf's barged their way to the good seats when they'd not paid the asking price.

Yes I would have.
Week before Christmas dd and myself went to see Nativity in London. We could only afford the cheap back row of the circle. We got there half hour early as DD was tired after a day of shopping. We were so far from the stage I wasnt sure how it would go and was hoping there may be some empty seats we could move to. Along came a lovely usher and asked if we would like to move to second row of the circle and gave us complimentary tickets. OMG what a view we had!!! We felt so lucky.

I think it is perfectly fine. Would anyone (pp) really mind that half way through someone moved for a better view? The problem with the politics of jealousy and similar is that the end result isn't worth the internal bitterness - eg would someone moving to a better seat and taking advantage of a small slice of luck actually disadvantage those feeling that it isn't right? Nope but it is a real waste of negative emotion.

So better for everyone If the good seats remain empty for the entire performance then, Spied?

I’d have moved, but only if I was 100 percent sure the people weren’t just in the bar or running late. Eg after the interval.

If they moved in the interval there is a good chance they asked an usher, often recommended to ask, they can say no but often say yes.

last time we went to theatre we had restricted view before start usher moved us without us asking to better seats that hadn't sold.

scramble... barged
Is there any reason why people who buy the cheap seats can't walk and acess the seats the same way you do @Spied?

I took DD to her first concert at a local venue about 10 years ago. We paid for restricted view seats and, about 10 minutes before the start, an usher came and asked us, along with 4 people behind us if we would like better seats at no extra costs. We ended up in a VIP box!

I would always ask first.

The ushers will usually move you if you ask.

I don’t see any problem with moving, as long as you know that they’re definitely empty. You don’t know what prices other people have paid anyway. I recently went to see 3 musicals and bought tickets in the Get into London Theatre sale. They were all better than half price. I’m certain that some of the other people sat near me would have paid full price for their tickets. Does that mean I shouldn’t sit there as my tickets weren’t the same price?
I’ve also been moved to better seats by an usher before at my local theatre as the circle I was in was practically empty and we’d bought the back row.

We regularly attend the theatre for free as seat fillers, usually in front rows of the stalls.

Yep. Have done.
I still have a photo of the view from our original seats... a pillar.
The booking site did say they were “restricted visibility” but I wasn’t expecting THAT.
Nobody said anything and frankly I’d have felt a bit of a sap staring at a pillar while surrounded by empty seats.

Found it!

I went to the netball World Cup in July and we had ok tickets! However, in the perfect position for the England game (sold out so fast and expensive) were corporate seats that were empty! A group of us moved in to them for the whole of the England match and the Australian match! We were asked to move for the New Zealand match as the people had finally turned up! Completely worth it!

Depends on how close I was to.them! If I was in upper circle and seats were in stalls probably not but if empty seats were a couple of rows away or in same row then yes I would

Maybe not - we were moved due to audience members being slightly disruptive and asked an usher. He checked for free seats and when we got there people were in them! Was a bit awkward as they hadn't asked so we had to wait while they gathered their stuff up and moved back to where they'd been

If I was certain they were unoccupied and there was a gap to the next person, then yes.

Yes after the interval. I always do and have done since I was a child with no problems.

@Pinkflipflop85 How do I become a seat filler? It sounds great!

I bought restricted view seats for the lion king in London, I as worries about the naff view but it was all I could afford. I was ready to ask the usher to move to free seats if need be, but thankfully our view was great for the £20 we paid, the lady next to us paid £60 for her seat.

I would ask. Mainly because I've worked in theaters and it's amazing how late some people arrive and watch what's left of a show. If you ask the usher can find out what's genuinely available.

Interesting... My next 2 theatre visits are the cheap seats so might cheekily upgrade ourselves.