To think the RSC are absolute robbing bastards who want to keep the children of the poor out of theatres?

[lecce]

Have just looked up the cost of going to see their production of Peter and Wendy and found no seats cheaper than £35 (and that was on its own, so unsuitable and still way too expensive). The majority I looked at were £40. So for us - a family of four- the cost would be £120 for a matinee performance. That is outrageous. For us it is not out of our reach, but far too much for us to spend on something that the children might like, but not something connected to one of their hobbies that they would be wildly excited about going to, iyswim. For many, it would be completely beyond their means.

And what the fuck is the point of having stalls, circle and upper-circle if all the seats (except for a couple on the sides) cost the bastard same?

I think it's such a shame that this type of thing restricts access to the theatre. Yes, I know there are cheaper options - there is an arts centre near us that often hosts children's productions by semi-professionals, with seats costing less than a tenner, and it's great. I just thought it would be nice to go to a 'proper' theatre, and ds1 loves history, has been reading about Shakespeare, and would love to go to a play in 'his' theatre. Gah...

Take your kids to a smaller but still 'proper' theatre - there are lots around - or one of the many open-air productions which tour in the summer - and get the RSC productions on DVD (not sure if they film them all now but I got the David Tennant Hamlet for xmas).

I think you can easily blow that in a few months at the cinema, and I don't even live in London. Most mainstream 'attractions' cost way more than that and 'the children of the poor' can be seen queueing happily.

I think it depends on the experiences you prioritise as a parent.

What do you think it should cost?

seems to me to be roughly the same price as an ordinary seat at premier league football match and a family ticket to legoland alton towers type of place, i do not think these places are trying to keep the poor out

YABU

Aside from musicals theatre rarely makes a huge profit or any profit at all.

Also, there isn't a theatre in existence in Britain that doesn't have an education department doing schools workshop, community projects, outreach programme etc.

Heaven forbid actors, musicians, theatre staff should want to earn a living.
Oh and the over heads, production costs, etc.

Going to the theatre has never been cheap £35 may be beyond many peoples means, but it always has been.
Most people can't afford it or have to save.

I think you yabu to say that 'The RSC are absolute robbing bastards who want to keep the children of the poor out of theatres'

*that yabu, not you yabu!

Stupid iPad.

I agree with lastminute.com also it can actually be cheaper or the same to book a theatre break with a hotel room, although this does tend to be for musicals/west end rather than RSC/Opera.

Really OP?
So you want to book tickets at the last minute for a specific time (Sat matinee) and you're shocked by the face value? Have you never booked a flight and tried different times/ dates to get a better price? Got on a mailing list to book as soon as tickets become available and see where cheaper tickets are?

How much do you think it should cost? We went to see Wendy and Peter Pan during the Christmas holidays. Worth every single penny to see such an amazing production in a clean modern theatre where everyone front of house was so nice and all seemed to care that we had a great time.

I can completely understand that you're disappointed but the quality at the RSC is amazing unlike my local panto which was dire but not cheap

and I sobbed all the way through Wendy and Peter Pan because of the Lost Boys

As someone who works in theatre i wanted to challege some of the assumtions/inaccuracies on this thread.

Actually the cast get reasonable rates of pay at the RSC (by acting standards, though that's still a very modest income by most other standards). The problem here OP is that you are trying to book a very popular performance at short notice on the most popular day. All the cheaper seats are sold out. I agree that full price tickets are expensive - I wouldn't pay them, but then I'd look for the deals and book early, same as I would for flights or the Eurostar or whatever. There is, in my mind, still an issue as to why a heavily subsidised theatre like the RSC can't make tickets more generally affordable (in the German or French equivalent you'd pay far less), but I think the answer lies in general levels of arts subsidy in this country, and the more complex interplay of commercial forces.

I would however absolutely challenge the notion that good theatre costs more than poor theatre though. There are West End shows which are absolute bunkum and a rip-off to boot, and other brilliant shows in small venues where you might pay less than a tenner a ticket. Plus as people have mentioned, many of the subsidised venues do cheap tix - the NT's Travelex £10 tickets for example.

You can also get big-scale spectacle for free. There are also many excellent and totally free outdoor performances in the UK in summer time where you can see world-renowned companies - look at Greenwich + Docklands International Festival, or Stockton International Riverside Festival, or Kendal MintFest for examples.

Fostering a love of theatre doesn't necessarily mean shelling out loads, but it does, I concede, mean knowing a bit about the theatre scene, and where you might find great shows for little money, rather than being led by advertising and commercial interests - you definitely need to look beyond the West End. I'm happy to put together some more ideas and pointers for affordable family theatre if anyone is interested.

I absolutely agree with the above poster quodlibet. I worked in theatre until recently and agree that as one of the "big 10" (receivers of most public subsidy) that the RSC could do more to make tickets more affordable and not just the restrictive view seats. The National were similar until they attracted the travelex sponsorship too.
But ultimately OP, unfortunately the more advance you are able to book the more likele you can find cheaper seats/early bird/better availability.

Easy answer, you need to book earlier!

Btw Wendy and Peter was amazing! Worth paying for even the most expensive seats just for the incredible staging imo.

Feb 1st matinee you can get £14/£7 restricted view in Stalls row k/l or upper circle, Sat 8th & 15th likewise. The further ahead the more choice and more likely to be seated together.

YANBU - we couldn't afford the theatre this year although I knew well in advance what the ticket cost was with a couple of extra presents to buy at the last minute we didn't get to go. Which means its 13 months I've been promising my ds he can go again and had to say no. No productions near us either.

No amateur productions near us. I enquirer at all the community centres.

Yes please Quod (regional as well please).

Ds2 has now decided he wants to go to drama school so we have started exploring ways of watching lots of different types of theatre. I'm delighted as I now have a theatre buddy. We do family tickets to the smaller local theatre family shows, I've joined the local regional theatre & we I go with ds2 & sit in the Gods, we've just started to look into seeing drama school shows, in a few years he can apply to become a youth reviewer for the regional theatre & get free tickets if accepted. And of course he goes to a bunch of workshops etc & we have a rough idea of what he can do/audition for at various ages. It was all a confusing mess to me when he first became interested (esp as we are in the sticks) but we're getting a little list of places to look & find different forms of theatre. Would love your knowledge quodlibet would be really appreciated.

We've also started to pull together a list if companies we love to see. If you have secondary school aged child & older (maybe even year 6) & want to take them to see Shakespeare I'd highly recommend Propeller. Ds2 (11) laughed his way through their midsummer night's dream - he was laughing so hard he couldn't sit still- proper belly laughs. We now try & see them whenever they're near us (we book early, use membership of the theatre & sit in the gods)

Quodlibet, I'll take you up on that offer. Cheap family friendly tickets.

If you have teenagers in London who enjoy theatre this is brilliant - www.mousetrap.org.uk/index.php/young-people/c145-15-18-year-olds.html

Quodlibet have you worked at the RSC?

I am obsessed!

I had very good stalls seats for David Tennants hamlet for £20. The trick is to go to the previews where tickets are cheaper.

I recommend the Globe, they don't do just Shakespeare. And the cheaper groundlings tickets are £5. Also the NT live performances at the cinema and the NT £10 tickets.

YABU. Not much more to say than that.

I could quote you the costs of a West End or main stage Stratford production. I could quote you what actors, directors, designers, techs and mechs, box office staff, dressers, uses etc get paid. I could cite you the figures involved in commercial productions (1in 20 make a profit).

But from the tenor of your posts, it wouldn't make any difference.

It's one of the few indlugences I have now, good seats at the theatre.
I saw a huge number of productions as a student and in my twenties; booked way in advance, queuing for tickets, odd seating. Saw some amazing productions with major stars like Jacobi and Branagh and Sher.
But, as others have said, it took planning and a bit of effort and acceptance of sometimes less than perfect views, or odd times.