to think the Arts should be more available for everyone.

[PosieParker]

I looked into tickets for my dsis to see Matilda in the WEst End, for decent seats (she is short like me) they were £79!!!!! Most shows were the same, who can afford that on normal income?

Opera and National Ballet is more I suspect!

Bet it costs a lot
For cast/ production etc...

What do you suggest?

There are plenty of affordable productions - just don't go to the West End. And the arts are very accessible to the vast majority of people.

I think that initially they could charge a fortune and maybe when the production has made an absolute killing, like so many do, they could offer cheaper tickets. Or have amazing first come first serve offers after six months or something.

I suggest that most people wouldn't be interested in the "superseats".

Normal tickets are £20 - £70 (some reductions for under 18s).

I couldn't find any less that £49

Yes, the arts should be widely available and accessible to all, IMO! West End shows are 'commerical' and sell at the market costs of a production. Support your local subsidised theatre to benefit from tickets which are made more affordable by the Arts Coiuncil or other bodies.

For example Swallows and Amazons is now in the WE (or was until last week) at huge cost (I could not afford tickets - I work in the arts!) but it was on at the Bristol Old Vic at the beginning of the run at a much more affordable rate.

Check out Unicorn Theatre and Polka theatre for good value children's theatre in London, and support shows at the National before they 'go commerical' in the WE!

There should also be youth theatre opportunities in your area which are also subsidised.

There are lots of subsidised and affordable local theatre productions. I took DS last year to see a fantastic Beauty and the Beast, tickets were £10-18. Imo West End is an occasional treat/mini holiday type occasion.

Tickets in the price range I quoted can be found on the official website.

Oh alright....the West End Arts.

[stomps feet] I only wanted to buy my sister some tickets and felt stupid for not knowing how much they would be.

yanbu
I think even our local theatre productions cost too much. Gone are the days when you can take your DCs and they they can also invite a friend along.
And, on the flip side, the theatres are complaining that they're half empty so aren't meeting the costs.

A cinema ticket can cost £6-£10, and there you don't even need to pay the actors in the film to turn up and do the performance live every time.

It's all very well to say it the arts (eg theatre, dance, live performance) should be more affordable, but it's incredibly labour-intensive and everyone involved needs to eat too. When it comes to theatre most actors bar a handful of very high-profile ones earn peanuts, and theatre productions are often financially on a knife-edge. The majority are already significantly subsidised.

YANBU in principle, but YAB maybe a bit unrealistic.

If you want a cheaper production I am sure the local ones offer just as good for a lot less money.

Going to see a show in the west end is expensive although booking through companies such as lastminute.com can make it a lot cheaper - I went to see Oliver a couple of years ago for a tenner!

The cost of putting on a production of any scale is quite large, the bigger the production the bigger the costs, they need to make money.

There is a lot of less commercial yet wonderful art out there to be enjoyed, or created.

I do think that 'the arts' are seen as high brow and not something a community can 'just do'. They can. So, I would like to see Arts budgets being used to teach commuties how to appreciate and create their own arts.

A West End Show is a treat, and treats are usually expensive.

YANBU> I love ballet and don't get to see it very often. I have seen traveling companies and they are crap compared to big national companies. And I know I could sit in the gods for next to nothing, but I'd like to be able to see it and also not to pass out due to the altitude!

Have you seen GetIntoLondonTheatre? There are still tickets available for some shows www2.seetickets.com/gilt2012/

I looked into taking dc's before Christmas, i was gobsmacked that the prices for Matlida tickets were so high. It's unrealistic imo to expect a family of four to spend that much on an afternoons entertainment - no matter how good...