"Elitist" theatre ticket prices

[KenAdams]

www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-65160984.amp

Sir Derek Jacobi has said that theatre prices are becoming elitist. I'm inclined to agree.

Prices are eye-watering now and I'm in the Midlands! Restricted view seats for £60! Some London shows are ridiculously priced.

Are you finding the same where you live?

Well, I can go to the Royal Opera House for £9.

I go to the theater in the west end 5 or 6 times a year paying £25 to £40 a ticket views are fine not the best seats but good seats and sometimes rush or lottery tickets

Went to Matilda last weekend - £125 per ticket! We could have sat in cheaper seats but took DD who is small, I don't want to pay and then have her not see so would rather pay for the good seats but it's expensive. I don't think it's a new thing from Covid though. Went to see Hamilton about 5/6 years ago and I think we paid about £150 a ticket back then.
Locally we have a couple of theatres, it is cheaper than London but still pricey. Wicked is touring near us next year and we've spent £160 for 4 of us which feels cheap compared to what I just paid for Matilda!

By the way if you don't mind going on your own, an hour before the performance they sell singles anywhere in the theatre for £13 here, it's one of the big groups too

My season ticket for next year is £350 (23 games) and a match day ticket is £22. Kids go free with a paying adult.

@WalkLong

But that's not one of the big clubs is it? I paid £40 each for a championship club pre covid (well exh paid for us out of the joint bank account, I didn't want to go!)

The thing is it's 'elistist' if you think that you can only go any see good theatre / ballet / opera in London where shock horror it's expensive.
As many people have pointed out if you head out of the capital there are loads of opportunities to see performances for a lot less
Just looked for interest at a few shows at our local theatres (not the greatest as we are a town not a city) but they have professional ballet with ticket prices between £14.50-£25, professional Theatre £14.50-29, Children's Theatre from£10.50( all which includes a compulsory levy for the restoration of the theatre) and there are options for family discounts & concessions and even cheaper local performances.
Local city has a few theatres and having a brief look I found RSC performances from £15
Fiddler on the roof from £16
Northern stage from £10
And RNS for music which tickets for some shows as little £5
So lots of more affordable options

The most popular shows are milking the audience for as much as they can get because the sector as a whole is struggling. I'm signed up to the various ticket emails and there are a lot of discounts available behind the scenes - far more than there were pre-Covid.

But the subsidised, non-commercial and fringe theatre always has a bunch of deals available, especially for younger people, so I'm not sure that Jacobi is right. It can still be an affordable hobby if you're not fixated on seeing a Hollywood star on the stage, or the absolute hottest show of the moment. I also went to see Guys and Dolls in the standing area, and was interested to find myself one of the oldest people there when I'm often one of the youngest in most theatres (I'm forty-eight).

It's not but season tickets at our closest Premiership club start at £299 (£99 for children). Good seats cost £910 for 19 games.

I complete agree. We’re desperate to see Streetcar (it’s my favourite play) but below y seats are around £200! A shame but absolutely cannot justify it. We went to see 2:22 a few months ago for a birthday and okay seats were around £65 each. It really does price people out of the experience.

It isn't ticket prices that make theatre elitist, it's cultural custom. Look how much "ordinary" people are willing to spend on gigs and top flight sporting events. They don't go to the theatre because they feel socially out of place. That's what needs to change if theatre is to become more accessible.

@Andante57
DHs premier league season ticket costs £600 a year DS1s £174 - they are some of the cheapest ones available in the stadium
However you cannot get season tickets for their team easily anymore as there is a waiting list (they followed them even when there were crap so easier, and a hell of a lot cheaper, to get the tickets)
Individual match prices are from £60 but can go up to £100's depending on the opponent's and are again incredibly hard to get hold of.

A Little life.
I bought it in January and chose a cheaper one, I saw Book of Mormon, and Joseph here in Glasgow last year for a similar price.

The cheapest seats (but they will be restricted view and you’ll need to book early) are £3. I’ve often had the £11 bench seats in the Upper Slips with my own ballet fan. You can see the prices here:
http://static.roh.org.uk/seatmaps/2016-17/autumn/autumn-seat-price-plan-201617.pdf

If your DC has a friend their age to go with, the Young ROH scheme is a very good deal - £25 for really good seats, and it’s free to join.

There are schemes to get discounted West End tickets such as kidsweek (August) )and Get into London theatre (Jan/Feb). National Theatre, RSC and Globe discount for students and under 25s . Websites like Todaytix and tkts offer reduced rates on the day,

What's the alternative?

Raise taxes and government subsidies it?

For ROH/Royal Ballet you can get dress rehearsal seats for a fraction of the full performance price, although they tend to sell out to Friends.

Varies a lot depending on day and time in my experience. I recently bought tickets for multiple big name touring shows as £13 each. Evening shows, but midweek and in the circle or balcony.

I agree it's cheaper than gigs, and can often be cheaper than most other comparable night outs.

I think sometimes people forget its not a movie though, and that they are paying to see actual live human beings perform for them.

It's worth looking online for reviews of specific seats for specific productions. Some seats sold as restricted view miss just a couple of moments of action at the very side, while others I've seen are right behind a pillar and IMO shouldn't be sold at all. And look for previews - our tickets for Hamilton were £50 in preview.

I have an upper limit of £75 per head and have seen everything I want to for this price, just from varying seat positions. Touring theatre is cheaper so some Londoners might consider travelling out. DC2 has Hamilton tickets in Manchester at £30 each - very high but not restricted.

The thing I find weird is that classical music is considered more elitist. When we go to The Halle orchestra we get 12.50 on the day tickets, and the DC go for £5.50.

Classical and opera fans should also check out student productions at Conservatoires. Last week we saw a professional quality opera production (I was blown away by the sets and costumes) at the RNCM, which was £20 each.

@CeeceeBloomingdale we couldn’t go for a box as they only seat 4 people.

I used to love going to the theatre and used to get a ticket for about £20, post covid I can’t afford it anymore at all.

It’s heartbreaking because the theatre used to be so accessible now it’s a once on a blue moon event

Which was why we chose them, however there are cheap non-box seats too

@TeenLifeMum random dated example

Some theatre prices are crazy. DD went with her friend and friends mum recently and it was £70 for &Juliet. Luckily, she really enjoyed it. I agree theatre needs to appear less elitist too.
Sadlers Wells and The Peacock are usually better prices. Being more modern there's less restricted views. DD and I sat in the back row at the top on Sadlers Wells recently and you can see the whole stage.
Gigs vary in prices a lot. I'm not so in to arena tours/bands. I paid £30/£35 at the Roundhouse in Camden for one of my favourite bands. Paid £12 for an upcoming gig in May and then £50 for Suede at Brixton Academy which I think was too much (obviously that's been delayed).
Sports events have got really expensive too. We went to see Arsenal womens at the Emirates and the tickets were sensible prices and the stadium was near full.

It’s gone up but elitist isn’t really true. I am seeing a couple of plays for £20 each. However that is cheaper end, I rarely pay for good seats unless it’s something I’m desperate to see or a play I love.

His point could be applied to plenty of things really, especially under the current government, having an NHS is elitist.