Theatre and art shows are pricing lower income people out

[buttermuffintin]

Looking at theatre tickets and they are just so expensive these days to the point where we just don't go. We are a working class couple / family but enjoy seeing the odd play or even ballet but these days the tickets are just out of people like ours price range. In the past it felt like we could go to see something like this the odd time maybe a couple of times a year as a treat and maybe even have a meal out (something we rarely can afford) but these days it is just out of the question, which is depressing when we can't afford any sort of holiday or trips.

I also was looking at tickets for the Grayson Perry show in Edinburgh but it is £19 per person! I am grateful that we can afford food, heat and a roof over our heads but just because we are working class doesn't mean we don't enjoy some culture to enrich our lives now and then. It just feels like we are always priced out now.

I do understand that Theatre, the arts in general and hospitality suffered during the pandemic but surely the answer isn't to completely price lower income people out.

It's not easy to get those £10 tickets for the ROH I have signed up for them when in London years ago, you usually have to sign up for them in advance and they always went before I even got a chance, and the cheapest tickets were only for students.

Quite frankly as someone who grew up in REAL poverty with one working parent doing 12 hour shifts in a rendering plant (where they boil animals for tallow) I think it is fucking preposterous and the definition of a bourgeoisie first world problem that you expect theatres to give you personally cheap tickets so they can all bankrupt themselves to give theatre to the masses because they get some funding sometimes if they qualify and applied for it correctly and got granted it.

You mentioned Edinburgh. There are BOATLOADS of live theatre productions over the summer that are free or extremely subsidised, aside from the literal street theatre you can walk past on the street. You're having a total laugh.

It isn't a right to be able to go to the theatre and if you think £10 on a single adult ticket is too expensive then I don't think you really get it anyway. Am dram performances are much cheaper because the cast are performing for free and it just covers things like costumes, licensing, music equipment, stage hire and insurance. Bigger theatres have wages to pay on top of that and often accomodation and travel as well. Actors, musicians, back staff, and theatre staff don't work for free and why should they?

I grew up in real poverty in and out of care, forgive me for thinking that I too should be able to see the odd theatre show or ballet that my taxes also help pay towards.

It's like saying that international travel should be for everyone, or that high end restaurants should be priced like pizza express, because everyone should benefit from them.
Why are you not complaining about the price of books?

I didn't say £10 is too expensive but try getting those tickets, pretty impossible.

I never said free £20 - £25 would be fine but things normally cost a lot more.

@buttermuffintin many of us grew up in poverty. You are not unique. 👍

You can tickets to all sorts of things from £8 or £10. You might not be able to afford to see exactly what you want all the time, but I disagree that you are being excluded from the arts. You might have to choose a less popular show at a smaller venue, but that's life. Up your budget to £20 and you've got a lot more choice if you go at less popular times.

You said you couldn't afford what I paid. Which was £10 per adult ticket for the show. And £16 for the orchestra. 🤔

I mean £19 is quite reasonable where is it showing is it in a museum ? How much would you want to pay for a grayson Perry exhibition? I'm not being snooty I get it but these artists and shows do cost to put on and they also want to make some actual money.

I thought this was going to be about bigger shows that can cost in excess of £50/100.

I’m not sure you can expect to get free or tickets for less than a tenner just because some places have some funding sometimes. Everything has gone up all these venues/productions etc will have increased costs. It is not their fault you cannot afford it.

However quite a few people have suggested ways and means to get cheap or cheaper tickets, suggested use of more local smaller theatres/galleries/plays etc too, many museums and gallery’s are free too. People have also given examples of places that do discounts/funded tickets.

Maybe do some digging in your local area.

Some theatres are pro-active about widening access - the Almeida has very decent discounts for younger people and not expensive live streaming.
I was pretty unimpressed by the addition to the (very expensive) production of Macbeth I saw this summer where the character basically takes the piss out of the audience - targeting students in particular - for being 'rich' enough to afford to go. Talk about biting the hand that feeds. If you despise your audience for buying expensive tickets then charge a bit less for them...
Theatre etc is a luxury but in an ideal world, not beyond someone on a more modest income.

We do go to the free ones and we donate but we can't afford an art pass £50 - £75 per person. It is elitist to freeze lower income people out of these kinds of cultural events because of course we are going to choose food and heat over cultural trips.

A lot of it is no doubt the assumption that lower income people won't want to see a Grayson Perry show but many of us do but cannot afford it. The National Gallery where the show is on receives funding from the Scottish Government. I pay my tax but cannot afford to see this show.

Well personally I'd like an NHS dentist. For me that is more important than free/subsidised theatre.

I never said anything about getting free tickets or tickets less than £10 anywhere, people are jumping to conclusions. I've said that I'd be able to pay £20 - 25 but most things seem to cost more than this. £10 are usually last minute and very, very hard to get. I have kids so can't just go off short notice.

@Beamur Thanks, I quite agree.

I just went to a west end theatre production on a Saturday evening in decent non-restricted seats for £20 each. Steal imo

Agree on theatre prices, especially if you're bringing a family.

We do have lots free museums, gardens, architecture etc. though.

NTOnline is also super reasonably priced if you could have a theatre night at home.

Like every luxury in life, you can either afford it, save up, or go without.

Having low income doesn't mean you can't have culture. There is a lot of local theatre which is very cheap, national and international productions are shown on channels like BBC4 or mainstream channels (I love watching the New Year's Day concert from Vienna every NY), and many museums and galleries have free entry. Others will do free entry on things like Heritage Open Days, so keep an eye out.

You could say that about many things though. You wouldn't for instance, expect all car manufacturers to price their vehicles so that everybody could afford one.

Theatre shows and art exhibitions are not a public service, they are there to make money for the venue, the performers and the artists. There are public art galleries and museums which are usually free, or ask for a small donation. Many local authorities have had to slash funding for the arts, so there are going to be fewer subsidised venues and events.

You’re expecting to go to the theatre for less than a tenner. That’s totally unrealistic and has been for decades. I spent £40 today for an under 35s ticket to the ENO and I thought that was good!
It is a luxury (just look at Hamilton prices!!) but that’s nothing new.

£19 seems pretty cheap to me. How much do you think they should be? They can’t just run at a loss so lower income people can afford it, it just does t work like that.

Subsidised theatre and galleries have significant low cost options. Free market profit making theatres and galleries don't.

I also have found the increase in the going rate for big art exhibitions to nearly 20 quid to be eyewatering, so I go to my local publicly supported gallery which has half price entry for local residents, or I see the free permanent exhibitions.

Also you can do soooooo much free stuff (for example in London). You could do a whole week down there doing free cultural stuff - galleries, street theatre, museums etc.