That theatre is entirely unaffordable for the average family?

[Florally]

I love theatre. I used to book for my family of 4 regularly and really enjoy it.

My kids recently saw a poster for ‘Christmas Carol Goes Wrong’ and loved the previous shows my the company so I thought I’d book it as a surprise.

It’s insane. If you don’t want to sit in the gods it’s basically £600 for a family of four minimum.

Who can afford that for one night out??

Am I missing something here?

I buy at less than £50 per person. Much less usually. I’ve never had a bad view or experience.

YANBU I really wanted to see Carmen at the ROH, it’s the only opera I’m interested in but even restricted view seats were over £100, the only ‘cheap’ seats were standing with a restricted view and I’m not travelling all the way to London to stand and crane my neck.

I definitely think you can see London theatre shows at reasonable prices if you look around. If you want to sit in the stalls near the stage that’s going to be expensive, but it’s always been like that.

Central Tickets and Today Tix for a start have both seat filler and reduced price tickets Prices change on Today Tix in particular all the time so if there is a big West End show you want to see you need to keep checking the prices.

There are LOADS of small independent theatres in London showing all kinds of interesting things if you look around. If you’re stuck on big expensive shows, it’s worth looking at theatres in Guildford and places like that, as they often have shows before they go to the west end in theatres where you can see better and pay less.

Odd that I’m going on Monday for £25 then. Bench seat. Very slightly restricted view, but hardly any issue (you can see the view from the seat on their website). The bench is padded and has a back.

You are being unreasonable.
A) because the price you quoted is top seating, not even mid price.
B) because the London run is at Shaftesbury Avenue in the West End so the cost will be high. It's part of a country-wide tour with much cheaper seats in other cities.
There are also plenty of theatres in the London suburbs that do excellent shows for a fraction of the cost you mentioned.

I used to go frequently. Friends and I would take it in turns to book tickets and surprise each other. Used to be able to get tickets for £15 (ok not stalls but not restricted view) now the cheapest are £50+. It’s way too expensive to go regularly now.

There is plenty of affordable professional theatre available if you look for it. If you want to sit in the "best" (i.e. most expensive) seats at a big west end production, then of course it will be expensive.

There's absolutely tons of excellent, cheap theatre in London for both adults and kids. If you think it's pricey, you probably haven't been to theatre in other countries. Broadway prices will make you take out a sec mortgage.

I am not into huge hyped musicals but London is full of smaller theatres too. I went to the national theatre last week and got a £10 Friday rush ticket. Old Vic has £20 preview tickets for every performance

If you are going to massive, posh, theatres, then yes, unaffordable.
There are so many other options though.
We enjoy going to our local village hall for the amateur dramatic performances, our local secondary school has a theatre which often shows productions and, slightly more expensive, our local town has a very small theatre.

£600 for 4?! You’re having a laugh. You’re clearly looking at the most expensive seats.

Wow that's a lot I would never pay that !

I’m usually quick enough off the mark to get the £20 tickets at the back of the stalls or front of the middle balcony. View is fine from both locations.

Sadly I failed for Operation Mincemeat though. T’is a pity.

They aren’t though. I’ve only paid £50 once. Mostly I pay about £20-30. Not cheap, obviously, but not unreasonable.

Amateur theatre is great. It’s not the same as the big pro shows though. Fortunately they aren’t unaffordable. As I keep saying, I usually pay about £20-30 for big west end shows. Never more than £50.

I went to see a brilliantly acted play at Southwark Playhouse this week for £20. It was just as good as many plays I’ve seen at the big West End theatres or the National Theatre.

Is it finishing or will more dates be released?

They have just extended Operation Mincemeat to November. Prices vary according to the day. All the seats in the theatre are £39 on Mondays going up to £59 on Tuesday and £89 from Wednesday to Saturday.

We usually do too. The specific show op is talking about is a short run with the original cast in London so tickets are more. Phantom was £35 a ticket for cheapest.

But on,y the price she’s quoted if you buy the most expensive seats. I don’t say eating out is unaffordable based on the price of a Michelin starred restaurant.

To be fair, they’ve been on sale a while so I imagine the cheaper ones have gone but yes, I agree with you. Theatre is accessible for families but a short run, high demand show with well-known actors is not going to be at the cheaper end. Op is unrealistic in her expectations.

I’ve seen shows here a couple of times and always really enjoyed it.

it will probably come round again another year - I’ll live :)

We go to theatre and opera very often and never pay anywhere near that much. £150 per person seems to be a top tier seat, or perhaps the show is in high demand during Christmas. If you search through Today Tix they usually have last minute deal or discounts. I think the price has indeed gone up a bit but remember these companies almost went bankrupt during the pandemic.

Theatre is accessible for families but a short run, high demand show with well-known actors is not going to be at the cheaper end. Op is unrealistic in her expectations.

I agree. I really don't think £152 for a central stalls ticket for that production in the west end is unreasonable (though hardly cheap). Likewise, Evita at the Palladium later this summer - £185 for one of the best seats isn't crazy high.

Just been looking at theatre shows on Broadway. I don't know if there's any fans of Hacks, but Jean Smart is doing a play I'd love to see if I could get the money together. The best seats for the play are $400 each / £293! Semi-best $300 / £220. Maybe the show will transfer to London.

I'm not sure why everyone is obsessed with the stalls! You have to look up, and can't see the stage properly. I always avoid the stalls, if I can.
I got dress circle seats for the Hiddleston Much Ado for £85, and the Tennant Macbeth was something similar. No restricted views, and excellent value for money.