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

Yes, I got that you wanted to go at Christmas, but going end of October is a way to avoid those prices and get the seats you want. Call it a holiday-season kick-off. And then do something cheaper in London around Christmas.

how is that not sustainable?

Tickets sell, most nights are full booked. It's hard to book last minute because it's usually too late to get a seat. That sounds like a successful industry?

Great discussion everyone thanks for all the different perspectives. I bought the tickets just to be clear, prior to posting. Still think it’s shame that theatre is becoming an elitist pursuit on the whole, or one limited to those who can take advantage of last minute deals ie people in and close to London

You definitely do not need to pay hundreds of pounds for a good view. We recently went to see Moulin Rouge. Tickets were £25 each. Yes we were up high, but they were fantastic seats without any sort of restricted view. We paid the same for Cabaret last year and again they were fantastic seats.

It's not "elitist". If there's a show I want to see, I plan ahead, start saving and go when I can afford to. It's not that deep.

Worth pointing out there are decent budget options in big regional cities too. I'm not too far from Manchester and feel quite well provisioned. It's not the West End but there's lots of great stuff on. The Palace and Opera House have a lot of seats at £15 and £25. Granted, the former are restricted leg room- I'm five foot five so not a particularly large human and it's still a bit of a squeeze. But the option is there.

You will pay more for the really big names, was about £80 for one of the cheapos at Hamilton, for example. But if you want to go to the theatre for £15, there'll be options. I'm looking at some ballet tickets for that right now. What really is a shame is that some people can't even run to that.

We paid £40 to see Evita this summer from the fourth row of the circle. We couldn't see a small (very small) part of the stage and it was an acceptable compromise for me.

We did the same. Stall seats were £275-400 and were packed. Lots of people have more money than me. Or are willing to splash out on something I'm not.

It was at The Harold Pinter a couple of years back, I was actually back there this summer seeing A man for all seasons but was so swept up in it I forgot to check if anyone was standing.
Worth it to check for anyone who is looking for cheap tickets.

I often get standing tickets for the Royal Ballet and Opera. £20-24. Worth every penny.

If you stay clear of the big buster musicals, prices are much more reasonable.

I love going to the theatre, and do regularly.
It's definitely so expensive though. I usually go by myself for a bit of "me time" but I don't know how families do it. Save up for it, I presume, or have lots of disposable income.
I'd love to go with my adult kids and pay for a show for a show for us all over Christmas but you're looking at about four hundred quid. Just can't justify it!

And even at that price, Oasis could have sold out all their concerts several times over.

I saw Evita this summer for £25!
The most I've paid was £47 for Phantom and that's because I decided to go on the day.

What are the views like for £25? I always worry I'll be stuck at the back somewhere behind a pillar or up in the ceiling rafters somewhere 😬
I like the stalls so the ones I usually get are a lot more

I got phantom tickets on a special offer, in 2022, about 2 weeks before we went. (Saturday matinee) I think they were £45-50 and we got upgraded on the day and had great seats, but even our original seats would have been fine

I agree that the pricing for Elf is ridiculous but I suspect that it will sell because of Carrie and Joel. They are musical theatre royalty, especially Carrie but Joel has a big following too and since their well publicised romance and marriage, it's a marketer's dream.

If elitism is bad then what’s wrong with going to the local panto?

At the end of the day it’s a business. If you want to see a big popular production then expect to pay big money.

There are plenty of cheaper productions you can go to. There are theatres outside the west end

I go 7-8 times to west end. £300 is top seats prices. In the Stalls. They are the most expensive. There are plenty of other price points.

It’s like saying the cost of a plane ticket to New York is £5k. Yes, it is but that is Business Class. Economy is much much cheaper

We are off to London to see a show in a few weeks tickets started at £27 I’d say that’s reasonable. We paid £55 and i remember going for a friends 30th 15 years ago and paying £45 for similar seats

Ahhhhhh I bought tickets for Waitress recently and was a little bemused by the queue on the website. Maybe that’s why!

I find it's more expensive to go and see rep at our local theatres, than it is to get the train to the west end.

I only go local if it is a warm up for London - so Bath, Chichester, Newbury etc.

I'd much rather drive to the outskirts of London, tube to the west end and a cheap seat.

Agree our local theatre is more money than equivalent west end.

I've paid more for touring productions at half empty local theaters than the equivalent seats at their London periods.

I’ve just looked for a Saturday matinee in November and there are lots of tickets for £85 in the stall, yes some of the tickets are £200+ but they are front and central, lots of £65 tickets left too in the grand circle. You do have options!

For any youngsters on here, some theatres do ‘Under 25’ discounts. My ds is going to a midweek performance of a touring West End production for only ten pounds.

But you have to factor transport and food into any day out! YOU were the one who brought it up - either you think it's relevant or you don't!

It's obviously not outside the reach of people with average incomes - as others on this thread have said West End shows sell out (or near as dammit) every single night, for years on end. Do you think there are that many millionaires in the UK, or even the world?

Going for a quick pizza will cost you a few quid now anywhere - that's nothing to do with theatre prices and completely optional. Get some chips or take sandwiches instead if you're on a budget, or find somewhere that takes tesco clubcard or tastecard.

Train prices are extortionate generally - but again, isn't the only option. I can get flixbus/Nat express coach tickets for incredibly cheap, even last minute. Yes the journey is about a third longer than train but it's about 1/20th of the price.

You don't have to be completely fly on the seat of your pants spontaneous if you're willing to compromise elsewhere. i.e. book the travel in advance to get it cheaply but be prepared to see whatever show you can get tickets for. Or book the exact show but worse seats/decent seats that aren't all together (2 and 3 rather than expecting little Timmy to sit alone), or get a coach that leaves early in the morning.

You seem to want to see a specific, limited show, at the most popular time of the year, on the exact date that is most convenient for you, travelling by the fastest and most comfortable method, and chucking in a family meal out as well, and seem surprised that all of that together is a bit expensive!

The gap between rich and poor is getting bigger and bigger. Shouldn’t be allowed.