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.

Depends where you are, my local am dram is at least £30 pax

I live in Edinburgh and there are lots of free events and exhibitions on (not Grayson Perry though). I do a search on Eventbrite every so often (I did one today) and select the free events only filter. Today I have booked free tickets for six concerts, four exhibitions, and four talks in the next few months. Also check the National Galleries of Scotland website as they have lots of free events for children and families. Hope this helps, there really is a lot available if you do a bit of searching. And Doors Open Days are coming up soon www.doorsopendays.org.uk

That was the best part of half a millennia ago when he was punting out the equivalent of EastEnders or the latest Avengers movie, not since anything attributed to him has been seen fit to put on a GCSE syllabus.

Two spaces in the groundlings may only have been tuppence, but that same money would have bought eight pints - a gallon - of beer (now costing about £64 in pubs in the area) or a kilo of intrinsically organic beef rib - also about £60.

It wasn't that accessible even then.

I'm not sure you understand arts funding. The government has nowhere near enough money to fully fund the arts. Running a large theatre costs many millions of pounds a year. If they got no government backing at all, then most of them would have to close altogether.

To give you an idea, the Royal Opera House figures for 2021-2022 (from the Charities Commission website) are as follows:

Total income £132.7 million
Total expenses £136.9 million
= Loss £4.2 million

The vast majority of their income comes from ticket sales and from donations, bequests and support from patrons & philanthropists. Only £24m came from the Arts Council and £25m was spent on premises and the upkeep of an historic building. So in effect, none of the performances had any subsidy at all, and had to be paid for out of their other income, including ticket sales.

Thanks for the National Theatre at home info! Will definitely be doing this. Have been to their cinema shows, didn't know they did TV.

You can see the Royal Ballet and Royal Opera performances live-streamed in cinemas.

National theatre live was also on you tube I'm not sure what's still there It was during covid.

Yabu
We go to the west end every few months for DD.

Never pay more than £40 a tick except for Streetcar when I went up to £47.

I don't go to local theatre though, it's lore expensive than london.

Not here! Recent experiences have shown that our local mostly volunteer led am dram/visiting has been acts or ones that no one has heard of is more expensive!!

I agree theatre tickets are very expensive if you want to sit in good seats - I’ve normally paid £25-35 for tickets to good shows in London - the balcony of a theatre and the view is fine. I tend to book quite far in advance ( I get that some can’t but that’s not really the theatres fault) I have tickets for Christmas to panto at the palladium and that has cost me £30 each which I do think is a bargain,
Barbican Christmas show which was £20 each and for another show in London im Feb that was £25 each. I also booked a local theatre for an interesting play in Feb for £6 each. I didn’t book them all at once but do look ahead far enough to see what’s on and stagger when I book and pay.

I do actually wish children did get a chance to experience more theatre as I think they would love it especially from lower income families - sometimes good discounts are offered through school bookings - which I think more schools are using.

I also know there are some shows I wouldn’t pay for because they are so pricy but I accept that and pay for what’s within my budget- theatres are also a business and to be honest I don’t think they are receiving as much from my taxes as the NHS.

I NEVER went to the theatre with my family as a child because we were poor. I saw a few things on school trips. I don't think it's been affordable for all in my lifetime.

We generally can't afford to do a theatre and meal out more than once maybe twice a year.
However having seen backstage in a London theatre, and knowing the huge number of people needed to put on a show, I can see why they're so expensive and so it remains a very occassional treat.
We did get some tickets for a well known show for about £30 last year on a special offer which I thought was good value.
Lots of galleries and museums are free though. DD is studying art at A level and has been to various exhibitions in the last year or 2.

Exactly. You said the arts had never wanted poor people. And I proved they did. Whether it was for eastenders of the day or something else.

The equivalent prices show it wasn't for poor people even then.

Hi OP. My experience is of London so the exact locations are not going to be relevant but I have accessed a lot of art and some dance and have found bargains.

• I’ve used Today Tix app to book tickets although I’m not sure they cover Scotland ( anything similar?). I’ve been able to buy £15 tickets for contemporary ballet such as the Ballet Boyz.
• Contemporary ballet seems to be cheaper than Classical ballet but the Royal opera house do Family days where children can have a tour and have a go at a number of activities and get to see mini performances of ballet and opera. They also have audiences for full dress rehearsals in the daytime
• Sign up for “Friends of” which can allow you special access to a variety of different sessions. Ballet Scotland have a free “Friends of” programme.
• I’m guessing your big art galleries are free like ours…. But what about smaller galleries. I have 3 contemporary art galleries near to my office in London and I’m based nowhere fancy… seriously not fancy. They all offer community based programmes.
• Sign up for any emails that you can sign up for and get early notifications of performances. I’ve just seen an American band I like in a tiny London venue for £20 a ticket. My local record shop puts on 300 live music events a year for £12 a ticket. In London!!!! ( but not central). Check your perimeters.
• Look on social media / Tik Tik for art events out of your normal scope. I’m forever finding immersive art events I’ve never heard of.
• Check Time Out / Local listings magazines.

Children's Opera, Birmingham, £15 a ticket. Hardly oppressing the working class.

Lots of the "adult" opera starts at £25 ish.

Annie, more local theatre, tickets from £20.

Smaller local theatre, comedy from £12, dance show £15

I can't talk for Scotland but I can't believe that my bit of the Black Country and Birmingham is doing anything massively different to anywhere else.

Yes I'm gutted I can't afford front row seats to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory which DS would love, but there's plenty of opportunities for live shows.
You can even watch it at the cinema these days of you can't get to the real thing.

If you are a low earner then there is no way you pay enough in taxes each year for all the services you receive. The public purse (ie. Other tax payers) are in fact subsidising you.
so the “I pay my taxes” argument is nonsense.

@sashagabadon I do pay tax and I pay my fair share unlike many wealthy people who avoid paying what they are supposed to. So I contribute whether you like it or not and I think people in my income bracket should be considered when they set prices for these things regardless of what you think, I suppose you think I should be happy with Eastenders on the box and an Iceland ready meal for a treat, and that I don't deserve to enjoy the theatre or the ballet even though I slog my guts out as a carer ( a damn good one at that) all week.

I don't expect to go to the theatre or art shows or restaurants every month or even more than once or twice a year but when people working fulltime find themselves consistently priced out of seeing a quality play or ballet then it is unfair in my opinion.

I don't expect to go to the theatre or art shows or restaurants every month or even more than once or twice a year but when people working fulltime find themselves consistently priced out of seeing a quality play or ballet then it is unfair in my opinion.

You could go and see Scottish Ballet doing Swan Lake, Theatre Royal Glasgow, matinee performance 6 April 2024 for £15. That works out to about 50p per week between now and then.

If you can’t afford that, you can’t, but I would have thought most people working full time could save £15 for something they really wanted to do.

OP as @dodobookends has said public funding for arts tends to keep the building open and pay for things like educational activities, it's not generally to provide everything for free, although some national museums can do this due to public funding. However they will often charge for exhibitions even if there's no entry fee for the permanent collection.

In theatres the popular shows like Christmas pantos and big names will help to bring in enough money to subsidise less lucrative activity like commissiong new work by a young writer etc. The cost of staging a ballet or opera is huge - cast, orchestra, sets, costumes, back stage staff, transport costs and accommodation if it's touring. That's before you factor in all the back office staff working for the company or on the production.

Even putting on an art exhibition with pieces on loan will have costs most people don't think about as art works are generally transported by specialist companies and may need additional insurance and security.

Football matches, stadium concerts, festivals, theme parks etc are generally even more expensive. I love the arts and have worked for arts organisations but despite having a reasonable job I can't often afford to go to performances and exhibitions either. I don't think I have the right to do so but look for things that are free/ low cost. I'm taking DD to an exhibition in London tomorrow which is costing us £45 but that's a very rare treat.