How much is too much for a matinée...

[EmilyBrontesaurus]

...of a play you aren't 100% sure you want to see.

It's in the west end if that makes a difference.

Some friends want to see it, but I'm not especially arsed. I love the theatre but will watch (almost) anything. Don't need to see this one especially.

What would you say is too much?

More than you can afford would be too much (or more than you would be annoyed about having spent if it turns out to be underwhelming). It’s all relative. To some people, £5 would be too much. To others, £500 would be nothing.

True, it's all relative.

Assuming an average sort of income where we have a bit of spending money for socialising but not able to drop £500 on theatre tickets just for the hell of it

I think this is very subjective as it depends on your personal circumstances and disposable income.

Will you be seeing your friends for dinner/drinks beforehand? What does the experience look like either side of seeing the play? What's the commute like? Can you easily afford to 'waste' money if that's how you'll feel about the experience afterwards? If it looked like a lovely experience outside of seeing the play, I might be inclined to pay slightly more...

I think the most I've ever spent on something I knew I might not love/not my choice of show is about £30.

Even halfway decent evening tickets for shows in the West End can be upwards of £70, so for a matinee for something I didn't particularly want to see, I wouldn't want to fork out more than £30 at the most.

I will always pay for the very best seats possible for anything I want to see ...west end or local. But I am a bit tight where I'm not bothered about seeing something. I would cheerfully go up to £50 in cheap seats to oblige a good friend who wants to go. If it got as far as £70 I might still go but be having a bit of a moan to myself and thinking of what else I can ould have done with the money. Also depends on type of friendship. If it was a good mate who has cheerfully been dragged along to something I wanted to see them of course I would do the same for her.😁

I've been looking at HP and the Cursed child tickets today and I could go on holiday for the price of those. Been putting it off for years as it sounds crap, but DD is keen. Hoping I can put it off until she is old enough to pay for it herself and go alone.

There are lots of ways to get tickets cheaper than the advertised prices.

Eg. I went to see to kill a mocking bird last month. £15 - face value on seat £80 ish.

Look at lotteries, rush tickets, look at seatplan and theatre monkey to find the 'restricted view' tickets that aren't that restricted. Often offers on TodayTix for limited times - particularly if you can go mid week.

I think £50 would be my limit

As part of a group if I really didn’t fancy it I would decline the invite. If I wasn’t too fussed probably upto £75.

For a show I don’t much want to see upwards of £50 would be too much

£50 for something I’m not fussed about. Because that’s a good price for maybe loving it, and at the worse a nice warm sit down.

Too much is more than you want to pay

What is the show?

I was thinking about £30 too.

We will probably have lunch or dinner before or after. I also don't live in London, so I need to add on train fare etc. The tickets are £75 each, so I'm going to spend about £200 on a day out I think. I might just say it's too expensive for me and I'll join them for dinner later

Why not check and see if there are some single tickets for a much lower price available elsewhere in the theatre? Then when you join your friends for dinner you'll be able to join in the conversation around the show too.

Have a look on today tix you can sign up to get tickets for cheap but it is quite last minute

I've this year been to see frozen, lion witch and wardrobe, and Juliet, Cinderella and beauty and the beast. I've paid not more than £25 for a ticket at the back middle of stalls, or mid royal circle just being savvy and signing up for special offers.

I would probably think around the £50 mark, as if it's a show I am on the fence over I won't want to splurge on the good seats etc.

As others have said unthread, if your willing to do your homework you can find some good bargains for "restricted" views, offers etc.

Thanks, I'm going to have a look now. Good idea!

@justanothermanicmonday21 that's a great tip, thank you very much 👍