To think the price of tickets for theatre are insane

[Chopbob]

I was looking to booking Beauty and the beast on stage in Manchester for my dd birthday, but omg-how expensive!!!!!
Whilst they offer a very small number of tickets for £20 each (a tiny number, all restricted views) the tickets start around £40 each and go up to £100. For a children's show. In Manchester.
A family of 4 would be looking at £160-£400 for one, single kids show.
AIBU to think this is completely insane? Or am I completely out of touch?

@TheYearOfSmallThings

If people really just wanted the experience of theatre, they could seek out cheap children's theatre for the little ones, they could take the older ones or themselves to cheap but excellent plays, maybe they could take advantage of the £5 opera tickets. They could watch am dram.

I'm definitely willing to go down this road. Where is the best place to find out about theatre outside the mainstream? I had a look yesterday and even where I know a particular local show is on I had great difficulty finding it online.

Is there some platform smaller productions publicise themselves on?

I don’t know about a platform but I’m on the mailing list for all our local ish theatres and arts centres. Greater London so quite a few around but some are quite far away. I always have a scan down their email updates and if they send a brochure I always look out for it.

We went to a recorded version of a national theatre play earlier this week which was really good.

The amount of money it costs to put on big shows is eyewatering.

YABU.

Yes, they are expensive but running a theatre and the costs of a touring production will also be expensive too. Costs need covering, wages need paying and they are running businesses for profit, not a charity so I can see why and I don't mind paying if I want to go and can afford it.

Every form of live entertainment is too expensive nowadays. It used to be cheap to go and watch a football match and the theatre was a bit more expensive but still affordable. Everyone has got very greedy it seems.

It is expensive but, having seen the the amount of human effort goes into making the production (my exH is in the industry, behind the scenes). There is so much effort and work involved behind the scenes, months and months of Oreos ration fir many professionals on their fields.
For instance, My ex worked on Mary Poppins (and many other west end shows) and he had to work through the night to sort problems, often, without notice, due to mechanical issues, which he had to sort, through the night do that the show could go on. The show was amazing but the work that went into making it happen does justify the cost of tickets. I was very lucky to get free tickets for all the family with back stage tours for the productions he worked on. But now we are divorced, I can't afford to go. Thankfully, the kids still can go.
I wanted to take my mum to the Carol king production locally but it's still over £40 a seat, unaffordable now.

I've taken my granddaughter to wolverhampton grand theatre to see their Pinocchio ballet today. Less than 20 pounds for both our tickets. It was fab!

A handful of years ago I could get cheap-seat tickets for a prestigious theatre for less than £20. Now those same tickets are at least £40 - £60. Theatres bang on about diversity and inclusion and rather patronisingly imagine that there's something off-putting about the atmosphere of a theatre or the content of their productions that is putting certain groups off going. They don't seem to consider that there are people who would love to go to the theatre but who are being out-priced from buying a ticket, especially when things like travel to and from the theatre are factored in. Diversity and inclusion need to be both more imaginative and practical. How about having productions that end at a time when public transport is still running, laying on free coaches from deprived areas, or putting on easy to stage productions in areas that don't have traditional venues? It really feels like so many things are becoming completely colonised by the well-off.

@Snoopsnoggysnog was it La Belle Sauvage??? It was great!

@Florenz

Every form of live entertainment is too expensive nowadays. It used to be cheap to go and watch a football match and the theatre was a bit more expensive but still affordable. Everyone has got very greedy it seems.

There used to less 'admin', such as marketing that needed to be done. Or rules, and regulations. Live entertainment was the only options, so a captive audience. These days plenty of things going on so of course they need to work on selling it as well

Also @Florenz the EPL is not the only one, there are local and lower tier leagues with cheaper tickets

@Dishwashersaurous

Agree.

I used to gonorrhea theatre all the time. But For various reasons haven't been regularly for a decade.

Just been looking at prices and was shocked at the cost.

But then I thought about all the increased costs of putting on a show and realise that it's probably sensible.

I don't know who can afford these prices though, and most shows are sold out, so people clearly can.

This is hands down the best typo I've ever seen

@sanbeiji yes it was! It was brilliant!

@PlanetNormal

It’s the same principle as any other form of live entertainment. Price is a commercial issue and will be set to whatever level the market will bear. If this show believes it can sell out at those prices, that’s what they will charge.

I’m not sure I agree with this. Our local ATG theatre has really good productions that visit on tour. Occasionally they sell out, but more likely, they don’t. I’ve been watching the ticket sales for The musical that’s on this week as dd and I want to go and don’t know which night we will be able to go on (depends on dhs work). Most of the £13 and £19 tickets are gone, but the majority of expensive seats in the front half of the stalls are still for sale. I don’t think people can justify paying £50 per ticket- we certainly can’t. Sometimes if sales are bad, they put on an offer, last minute, which is what I’m holding out for. Not so bad if I’m going on my own with friends, but if we are going as a family, it just costs too much.

There are some good £25 seats on TodayTix for Frozen.

[quote Blueeyedgirl21]@nettie434 absolutely LOVE the Albany. What theatre is all about, not overinflated OTT musicals IMO[/quote]
@Blueeyedgirl21

Yes! There are so many smaller theatres which actually put on great stuff.

Years ago I went to the National Theatre's Travelex season with a group of friends. Our tickets were £15 or something like that and I bought a cool bag, wine, and nice plastic glasses for the interval. It was a summer evening and we drank the wine outside looking at the great views. I'm not sure I have ever been so successful at organising a social event!

@LizzieSiddal

Oh I absolutely do understand the costs involved. That doesn't mean that it's not expensive, for most of us, to go to the theatre

But this thread is full of people not saying it’s too expensive for most people to go, they are saying it’s too expensive because people are making too much money. Those were the people I was addressing with my long list of people involved in making a production get on stage.
The person who said a ticket should be £25,🤣is clearly living in cloud cuckoo land. You may as well be saying you’d like to buy a brand new, beautifully hand made dress for £3.50.

Thanks, I answered a question that was asked nothing more

As for your long list I could make one just as long for the people involved in putting a tin of beans on a shelf in Lidl.

@thegreenlight

Did you take some kids to New York a few years ago? If so I think I know the school.

For anyone in the Midlands can I recommend the Arena theatre Wolverhampton? It's part of the uni so you don't get the huge shows but you do get a lot of different performances so Indian dance, backstage tours and some drama student performances.

Tickets are usually about £10.

Here you go folks

London Theatre Week sale has just started

dowtk.tixuk.com/london-theatre-week?utm_source=social&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=dowtk&fbclid=IwAR3hXmfdSJvbn2Zl7zx3JaOzxn0UwDqpi9TxY93CuyoN71cChoih4vNh0Jc

I was just going to post the above but Comefromaway ;) has beat me to it!

It is unaffordable now.
I know productions cost a lot to put on but they say theatre numbers are dwindling but why should I have to pay the same as my council tax bill for a theatre ticket, especially if it's a tour!

@Danikm151

It is unaffordable now. I know productions cost a lot to put on but they say theatre numbers are dwindling but why should I have to pay the same as my council tax bill for a theatre ticket, especially if it's a tour!

Figures please? Given that loads of people have lost their jobs etc over the past couple of years all entertainment figures are down.

That doesn’t mean that it’s the same as ‘normal’ times

[quote Comefromaway]Here you go folks

London Theatre Week sale has just started

dowtk.tixuk.com/london-theatre-week?utm_source=social&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=dowtk&fbclid=IwAR3hXmfdSJvbn2Zl7zx3JaOzxn0UwDqpi9TxY93CuyoN71cChoih4vNh0Jc[/quote]
Thank you, just got book of Mormon for £35 each! It covers Easter hols so weekdays are doable and much cheaper.

TODAYTIX app is good for last-minute £25 tickets, sometimes really excellent seats as well.

It’s definitely worth really shopping around, can be so much variation for the exact same tickets. Recently booked a show and identical tickets (same seat and time) ranged from £40-£100 depending on which website or app they were purchased from. There doesn’t seem to be one set website that is consistently the cheapest option either.

@Danikm151 you don't have to, any more than you have to go see Man United play, or Adele at Wembley or take your family to Alton Towers.

But if you want to, then that's what it costs.

I love the theatre but haven't been since the 90's.
Ordinary folks can't find that sort of money!