To think that West End Theatre is going to perish due to over pricing?

[VanCleefArpels]

Elf the Musical is back for the festive season. Fabulous! Let’s book……

Stalls seats £295/300
Circle seats £200 / £250

With train fares (not far away commuter belt) plus maybe a quick pizza afterwards a family of four will be spending a four figure sum for a night at the theatre. The best part of a month’s salary for many ordinary people.

How can this be sustainable?

IABU - suck it up, it’s not compulsory
IANBU - this kind of pricing will be the death of West End Theatre

These shows are sold out ( or close to it) night after night so someone is paying. Same as the London restaurants and bars- absolutely packed out.

I assume the shows are sold out and bars/restaurants round them busy - but we were in central London this summer and wanted a last meal out - booked and paid a heafty depoist but it got last minute cancelled and every where claimed to be too full to let us book elsewhere.

We got sorted but decided to walk back along Thames - all the restaurants that hadn't let us book were practcially empty at most one of toow tables sat if that even the pubs we past were not that busy. Made us wonder wtf was going on.

We've ended up gong to the globe instead OP.

We've looked at west end prices and even on regional tour near us prices just too much - tried to find coach trips as often cheaper way to get tickerts but not many of those either near us. When DH lived in London he often got last minute cheap seats but as we don't now it's harder to sort.

I don't think it will perish but I do think it will get less popular and more niche as time goes on and younger people don't experince it as much so don't think of it as an option as much.

Exactly. I never pay more than £30 for a ticket and always get a decent view.

I'm seeing Paddington for £25!

A standing ticket? Had no idea that was a thing.

im going to see To Kill A Mocking Bird at a regional theatre next month, ticket was £65 which I thought was West End prices but I’m obviously out of touch 😁

Theatre is flourishing. I go all the time and have never paid more than £70 but often am in the stalls. You just need to keep an eye out for bargains and look at site like Theatremonkey that advise on value cheap seats. And there are loads of discounts for under 25s to get them in the habit

Plus, you don't have to go to the West End. London has a flourishing fringe theatre scene

It’s very expensive, but still has been packed when we went over the summer.

I’ve only ever really enjoyed National Theatre productions. All my WE experiences have been disappointing and uncomfortable due to those cramped seats and sub-optimal lines of sight. I love old buildings but I’ve learned the hard way that where live theatre is concerned, the modern theatres are the best.

As a family, WE theatre is just beyond our budget- even the cheaper seats. No great loss - there’s rarely anything i yearn to see and I don’t enjoy musicals. NT or RSC for me!

Oh and The Globe - fabulous!

I dont go to the theatre that often (maybe once a year) and have sometimes had decent tickets for eg £50 always on a soecial offer. But when you see the theatres you can pretty much see why its so expensive- maintenance, lighting, back stage, crew, sets, ushers, cleaners etc etc before you get to anyone actually on stage.

We went to Wimbledon theatre a few months ago to see Chicago. The tickets were about 4th row from the front and were iirc about £50.

I find it unaffordable, even after discounts/deals, but whenever I’ve been there’s no vacant seats..

If there was no demand, they would put the prices down.

This. Or as @Heyhiitsme gave a more detailed explanation.

Overall West end is much cheaper than the same shows on Broadway.

One (understandably) expensive show doesn't somehow automatically correlate to all of the west end being overpriced and doomed to failure, for heavens sake. What an over exaggeration. And as for expecting the theatre to take into consideration your train tickets and pizza as part of their pricing 🙄

Just because you can't afford something doesn't mean nobody else can.

Go to a local panto at your local theatre.
Why do you need a quick pizza lol.
That's the worst waste of money, and dosent fill you up.

I went to Chicago too. £40, good seat, great value.

This year I've seen
Matilda
Evita
Hamilton
The Devil wears Prada
Six
The Great Gatsby
And probably a couple more that I can't recall at the mo.
The highest price I've paid for a ticket was £50 for Evita. Great seats each time. Today tix is your friend.

I’ve never been at a west end show with empty seats..

Elf the musical is not worth £30 tickets let alone £300 ones. Book a panto instead!

That is a lot of money . Shocking .
Just checked my local theatre , 19th December , 2 adults , I child age 12 . £126 .
No one ' famous ' or even an ex soap z lister appearing . Also quite shocking in my opinion .

Do you only go on weekends? I’ve been upgraded from cheap seats lots of times when upper levels have been closed or it’s a fairly empty house.

Last night was at a play and had onstage seats(as they were cheap) so could see multiple empty rows in the circle.

The expensive tickets subsidise the inexpensive tickets, of which there are many. Enough people are happy to pay for the expensive tickets.

I always choose front of the upper circle which is 'cheap' but has a good view, and for Elf those seats are £85. Still expensive, but a lot more affordable. I never buy stalls seats because being fairly short my view tends to be blocked by taller people in the seats in front of me.

I think you are reading a bit too much into my original post! I’m not expecting a theatre to take into account other costs. And I’ve said that I have paid huge amounts for shows previously. I’m not unaware of what things cost and am privileged enough to be able to afford it.

My point was that this type of show is beyond the reach of people on average incomes even as a one off treat - I think that has changed in recent years and is a shame. Yes of course there are last minute cheap options available but that just isn’t practicable when you have to organise travel, other people etc - we can’t all be spontaneous!

Too late ha ha

True. I have it on good authority that Scott Mills was paid around 200k for his panto role last year.

I agree it's expensive but it doesnt have to be off - limits. I go to the West End two or three times a year. Always sit in the stalls or dress circle and never pay more than £75 a ticket. We often sit in what is sold as a restricted seat - maybe the front two rows or on the end of a row - but have never had a bad view. There are offers several times a year like London Theatre week or New Year sale. Kids week ìs fantastic if you have children.

Agree, it's eye-watering what they charge. I'd go to the theatre a lot more if it weren't so expensive. Even the off-West End places like the Almeida or the Bridge or the Donmar are very pricey.

The cheap seat deals are rarely worth it imo. I've done a few and usually had a rotten view. Operation Mincemeat would have been a lot more fun if I hadn't been looking straight down at the crowns of the actors' heads.

Bring back the days when you could queue up at the National in the morning to get a front-row ticket that evening for £10 ...

I thought the Elf prices were extortionate as well, but anything at Christmas is overpriced.

However, you can get theatre tickets in London cheaper. Just shop around. Also, in the summer, there’s kids week where you can get free children’s tickets. There’s often a new years sale as well , so tickets in January and February are cheaper. Look at local theatres etc. You can get West End quality shows a lot cheaper.