Why are theatre tickets so expensive

[TheoriginalLEM]

I want to take my dd to see harry potter and the cursed child. I had to have a little lie down when three tickets (ok both shows) cost nearly £700. They were the only available seats.

That is more money than i spend on a holiday!!!

Then i tried to book war horse locally. Ok ish seats £200 for three if us.

I really want dd to see cursed child. I cant justify £700 without train fares and food.

Am i doing something wrong? They were by no means the most expensive seats and there were some cheaper but sold out. My worry is that the cheaper seats will have limited view.

So my question is twofold

1. How can i book reasonably priced seats and 2. Where do people recommend to sit that isnt £££ but doesn't compromise view?

Also is it even worth it? Ive been told its excellent but for that sort of money id want life changing!!!

hamiltonmusical.com/london-faq/#how-much-are-tickets-to-hamilton

We waited for new release tickets for curses child if you sign up to webpage they email when new lot go on sale they release every 6 months I think? You can sign up for the cheap ones on a Friday too but it’s very limited. We paid £200 each for both parts booked 18 months in advance you have to play around with the dates. It was most definitely worth it being a big Harry Potter fan I would go again. Each part is about 3 hours long.

I always buy preview tickets if I can. So decent seats at the RSC in Stratford are 20 pounds max.

Onviously a bit late for cursed child previews.

The tickets in the gods at cursed child are awful, we couldnt see , and dh had to look through the wrong part of his varifocals.
Dd was an expert at getting cheap tickets for Cursed child and the restricted view tickets in the stalls are good value. Also at xmas i won friday 40 and got front row centre tickets. For £20 each part. Couldnt see back of stage but definitely worth it.

Just seen the next lot of tickets to be released starting of April

We saw Cursed Child quite high up - I felt that I missed out on some of the special effects due to the height and I was terrified getting to the seat as there wasn't a hand rail going down the steps (I am very afraid of falling)
I paid 65 per play so 130 per person. I would get better seats if I was going back.

I think theatre ticket pricing is grossly elitist. We paid £160 recently for a family of four to see Matilda, sitting in the upper circle. It simply isn't accessible for most. Just leaves a nasty taste to me.

The Cursed Child pricing is fetishistically ludicrous.

Hamilton tickets are definitely £200. The vast majority of tickets are £150+.... thanks

Can the Friday 40 tickets be given to someone else as a gift, or does the person who has won them have to attend? I’m not a fan but wondering if it’s worth starting to enter it for Dd and friend...

Honestly I didn't pay £200+ for my Hamilton tickets. Get signed up for the emails about when the new tickets are released - the cheapest ones are about £35. I got two seats.in the grand circle for £75 each.

You get good deals if you buy as soon as the new tickets are released of course only the expensive ones are available if you are in the middle of the ticket run

purple flower I wasn't talking about 'top price Hamilton tickets' I was talking about if you know when the new tickets are being released you dont have to pay top whack. So it is ridiculous to suggest ALL Hamilton tickets are £200+

I've had Hamilton tickets for £75 and £100. They aren't all £200.

Op, register and be ready to jump on the new allocations. It's only £££ if you want to go once the run has more or less sold out.

I bought tickets when they first went in release ( approx 10 months before it opened and 18 months before I went) and used the “ best available” option at Ticketmaster. The first and second attempts it offered me tickets at £200 each and I rejected them and on my third attempt it offered me two at £79 which I took. They were on the second row of the stalls which I presume is considered less desirable than the front of the dress circle. I had no problem with the seats by the way but I like being in the stalls. My tip would be to book a long way in advance or to try And go on a weekday matinee if possible - I would allow my DD6 to bunk off school for a show if it was a special occasion or the resulting savings were enough to off set the missed school work. Alternatively select a show which is not just such a “ hot ticket”

Oops sorry I mean for Hamilton.

Next release for HP&tCC is 2nd April or thereabouts. I had an ad come up earlier.

We went last autumn, we had seats at the back of the stalls @ ~£65 per person per performance. The view was absolutely fine, we were much nearer the stage than we feared. We did miss some higher up stuff due to the overhang of the circle but it really didn't impact us. One of the best £500 I have spent recently. (Well, when I say recently, I booked the seats nearly a year in advance!)

I agree, I wanted to see Motown two weeks ago and the cost was too high to justify seeing it.

Following

I got cursed child tickets £200 for 4 of us - just watched for when they first released and got the cheapest ones