To think that West End shows are not all as overpriced as some on here say?

[Carla786]

I definitely think that people are being priced out by col and this is very unfair. But I also think some posts on here about how unaffordable West End theatre is are exaggerated.
The Globe offers standing room for as low as £5 or £6. OK, it's not ideal as most of us would rather sit down but it does at least mean a lot of Shakespeare & some others is affordable if you're prepared to stand.

Then as to West End musicals : I think an issue here is that pps who cite them as unaffordable are trying to take a whole family, 2-3 or maybe more kids, as well as them & DP. This will be a lot harder than going on your own or with one other person, especially if trying for an Xmas show (though booking in advance might slightly lessen). It does vary based on show too : the most popular will of course be more likely to be sky high.

COL has obviously increased a lot, but I also wonder how affordable West End was in the past for family trips. I was born early 2000s and my mum was able to get a lot of cheap tickets very high up just for me & her. As a child her family didn't really do musicals or plays. In the 70s-90s, were big shows a lot more affordable for family trips?

So I suppose I'd say that I agree prices are too high for a lot of families, and this is wrong : but I'd also caveat that I think there are lot more affordable options than some posts on here imply.

I don’t think you can see the full depth of the stage effectively from your ‘best’ seat. At best it’ll all be foreshortened. I really dislike the stalls

While seeing the original cast of a new musical is fun, don't dismiss recasts either for WE or touring productions. The level of talent is just as good.

@topcat2026 I've been working in the theatre industry, including six years in the WE, since 2005. I know how it works, thanks.

So why were you being slightly hysterical (“mad”)?

If you don’t live in London you book months in advance - I do as I live in Wales. That way you get the cheapest prices on everything including seats. I buy the cheapest I can find and ‘might as well be watching on your phone’ is nonsense. I check seat views on various websites to be sure but very, very few London theatre tickets have poor visibility of the stage. It’s about the live performance too and that’s powerful wherever you sit.

Sorry, but you are being very dismissive of my experience. It was unwatchable for me from up there. I would rather save up and have better seats.

I didn't say it was the best seat, but it was perfect for us and we only have ourselves to please.

As I’ve said to @rockinrobins earlier in the thread, if money is going to go in to support theatre and music - and I agree it should - then it shouldn’t go in at the end. We need to make music and drama education accessible to everyone - for example currently 42% of secondary schools in England don't even offer GCSE music. It’s cultural vandalism and unless it’s addressed there won’t be any theatre in a generation - or it will be exclusively staffed by rich kids - because none of the young performers will have had a chance to learn to sing, dance, act or play in the pit orchestra. It really needs some political attention and will.
That’s more important than subsidising tickets which can already be bought for around £30 if you book well in advance.

It’s what happens when you employ film star actors. I mean, these two are great, but there are lots of actors who would do just as good a job and cost less. Plus the supply and demand issue comes into play.
I know it’s different with straight theatre rather than a musical, but if a musical ‘celebrity casts’ I avoid it until a recast.

I’m not being ‘dismissive of your experience’. I’m saying I had the same experience and don’t recognise your description of it.

You don't have to buy the best seats in the house, tho. I got brilliant dress circle seats for Paddington for about £80 each (and I agree with others, dress circle is much better than the stalls where you end up looking at actors' feet!).

I didn’t say it was the best seat either, but the ‘better’ of your two examples. May have phrased it badly. Sure, everyone only has themselves to please but saying theatre is completely unaffordable or a very occassional treat because your tastes in it are expensive is a bit much. I’d be delighted with the cheaper of those two and wouldn’t like the more expensive.

And calling it nonsense, which is dismissive.

I completely check out from such high up seats. I would even rather watch it live from the cinema.

Fine. Do that. I’ll continue having great fun, a great experience and seeing great performances live in the cheap seats 🤷‍♀️
It’s objectively not true they look like ants from there though, which is what I meant by ‘nonsense’. It was on factual, not opinion based grounds.

“It’s weird, in this day and age, that some people are so keen to justify it being only accessible to the rich.”

I couldn’t find this post scrolling back, but I think it spectacularly misses the point.

People are just trying to explain the realities.

And also point out that it isn’t only accessible to the rich at the moment.

I appreciate your perspective. I don't think my tastes are expensive. £70 each was my upper limit for seats. Considering I don't smoke, drink, eat out much or have coffees out, it was reasonable for me.

The other issue with this is they aren't guaranteed to be in it on the night, so if you've paid a lot of money to see a certain celebrity then it can feel like you've been overcharged. This has happened a few times, although I don't think we've ever paid over the odds so to speak.
We have paid more than we usually would for JCSS, but that's partly because we left it too late for the cheap seats.

It was meant as hyperbole to make a point, not to be factual.

Again - I'm not and never was talking about subsidising tickets. Are you actually reading my posts? I'm talking about capping profits. Different thing entirely that doesn't actually require the government to put any money in.

And I’ve done the same for Lesley Odom Jr’s run in Hamilton. The most expensive seats I’ve ever bought in the West End at about £80. That was in the advance sale though, nit because I was late, and I was quite impressed that they hadn’t inflated the prices massively for him.

Me too!

I can't wait to see this - I don't care what it costs!
But theatre is my hobby, so I invest in it.
I choose not to buy takeaways, go to pop concerts, buy expensive tech, designer clothes, manicures etc etc.
The point is, we all choose how we spend our money, and prioritise accordingly.

I get that. But it’s very risky putting on a new musical (and I don’t want theatre to be just sure fire revivals). It would need to be very carefully done as it’s often the apparently large profits that fund all the writing and workshopping and out of town openings etc for new shows (I know people who write musicals - it’s an expensive business to get off the ground). And we would still be better off putting any effort into the grassroots because theatre already is accessible. There are lots of seats in the West End and regional theatre under £40 and many of those are under £30. I’m not too bothered if some people get charged £300. It’s entirely up to them. They didn’t have to pay that.

Those $350 (pounds) tickets do exist, but they're only a small number at particular West End theatres. I assume they're bought for corporate events, by wealthy tourists or a few very wealthy Brits.
I grew up in outer London but the first time I went to a West End theatre was as part of a school trip in the sixth form.
Just because luxury things exist, it doesn't mean everyone should expect to afford them.
Many people I know are starting to go to some of the smaller theatres like Hampstead Theatre, Marylebone Theatre, etc where I think top prices are about $60. I've been to a couple and enjoyed them more than the West End.
There are some brilliant provincial theatres, like the ones in Leicester, Sheffield, Manchester, Chichester. They are much nicer to visit and prices also top. out at $60, I think.
I think prices have gone up because of government cuts to the Arts?

No mate. The profit margins on many of the big shows are larger than they need to be. I am talking about capping profits after overheads, for huge shows like Les Mis and The Lion King. I'm not talking about grassroots productions.

Some West End theatre owners are billionaires, and they really don't need to be. The government do not need to allow it. Ticket prices were not so inflated in the past, as has been pointed out on this thread.

The solution is not to accept that you can't afford the good seats at the good times, but for the government to stop allowing the commercialisation of theatre, and to stop allowing it to be a way that people make billions. No ticket needs to cost £300, ever.