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.

That was a typo for many, not May!

Ive just checked max randomly, book of the Mormon for 17th May. The £20 tix are awful.

these are also just random (long running) shows. What if I want to see Hamilton, Paddington, Romeo and Juliet? It’s not about seeing whatever is cheap, surely?

We've booked to see it with Sam Ryder, which is why we decided it was worth the expense.

If youre taking kids its also a risk there's a chance they wont enjoy it but a day at a theme park is a guaranteed hit!

TBF that depends on the child. Theatre has always been a guaranteed hit with mine. They don't really enjoy theme parks at all. Although 21 quite enjoyed Chessington last year, he wouldn't go on anything "bigger" than the Vampire ride and he wasn't sure that he enjoyed that really. 19 year old liked the Gruffalo ride and the aquarium.

That's why I want to see it too.
Incidentally, I don't get the hype around six I came away a bit, eh?, and I've no wish to see Hamilton.

The Globe and it's standing seats are an extreme outlier though, and also gets a lot of charitable donations. It's also not in the West End btw.

The well known West End musicals are asking the price of a day's work on minimum wage for not very good tickets, and that's if you're onky laying for one, so yes they are pricing people out.

Sometimes it's possible to get cheaper tickets if you know where to look and/or can book last minute. I don't ever go any other way, no show is good enough to justify the cost, laying out the cost of a holiday on theatre tickets will always be disappointing.

over priced extremely hot in the summer & horribly cramped in my opinion. Would much rather go to a large theatre outside of London

@Carla786 the cheapest seat for Avenue Q on a Saturday night at the end of June is £29.50 and there is just one row of seats at that price and they are restricted view. You can get them for £25 at the beginning of the week. That's directly from the theatre box office. The cheapest half decent priced seat is either £62.50 or £75 on a Monday, more expensive on a Saturday. A good seat is £85 and then best seats £95 - £145. I remember seeing it first time round for £15 and that was not restricted view.

It varies by theatre, of course. I saw One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest in preview for £40 up in the gods, actually a good view, but extremely uncomfortable seating. I saw Summerfolk at the National in a distant seat but superb view for £25.

However there are many theatres now where to get a decent view you're talking minimum of £60 and often not great legroom up in the balcony. Non-restricted view seats that I was paying around £20 for in 2019 are now routinely around £50-£60. Charging £50 for a restricted view seat with appalling legroom as in some theatres is, frankly, disgraceful.

I say this as someone working in the industry. It's becoming unaffordable for too many people. And most of the actors, crew and especially front of house staff aren't seeing what they get paid going up by very much at all. Front of house is often minimum wage.

Sure, there are cheaper tickets here and there, if you book in advance, know the place and look when a new batch is released... You name it.

But. I want nice experience for my leisure and don't want to spend my (limited free) time doing all this research and bargain hunting. Not worth for me, just don't value West End experience that much.

It is similar with high-end brands.
Of course, one can get it cheaper if one looks for big sales, on vinted or depop etc, but many people just don't want to spend the effort and prefer to go to places where they can afford the things comfortably and right now, be it Next or Primark.

Loads are available to watch online do you can see if it's something your kids might like.
I took Dd to see to see Joseph when she was about 7, she'd seen it on DVD loads first.

I think if you live in London and can go in the week outside holiday times you can get some good prices, like at the back of the stalls etc. But if you want to go on a Saturday or in the holidays it is insanely pricey.

Research and bargain hunting takes me a few clicks on Todaytix.

This

You can only buy two tickets and only on the day of the show and only if the show you want is available. Not much help for a family who need to travel into London.

This. We go to London every 3 years ish but it is costly for shows and accommodation and travel, It is fine if you are near theatres or within easy travel, but for us the theatre is an extravagant treat.

Same here. You just have to watch out for offers and seat filling schemes

But the WE is booming at the moment. Clearly theatres are mostly getting their pricing right. They can't be expected to subsidise customer' train fares

For what it's worth I regularly sit in the front rows of the National Theatre for £20

In January tickets are always reduced, and in the summer they do ‘kids week’ whereby children go free. Also, the longer running shows tend to be cheaper than the newer ones. Another trick is to go to a show when it’s touring regional theatres.

You feel £37 is a lot for Six.... Soo you started this thread but literally a couple of posts later you're saying that the show you'd like to see is overpriced?

My point was that I think that individual show is asking quite a lot for an unusually short show. It is of course in high demand though.

A lot of shows are available for cheaper than that, as I pointed out in pps.

Always surprises me how much football tickets cost!

Yes, it's better arguably to book way in advance. TodayTix is good but you can't obviously rely on it and it's not ideal to only find out at the drop of a hat.

I don't think any of the West End shows should be priced as highly as £350 per ticket.

The arts should be accessible for all, and that means properly accessible, not 'standing room only' or 'restricted view'.

£350 for a decent ticket to a show is prohibitive. Even half that price is prohibitive for most normal families.

They have clearly become aimed at wealthy tourists who are happy to splurge.

Available if you stand or have a restricted view or don't sit together, or go to a less popular show that you don't really want to see.

When I look to book shows, the price for restricted view seats is usually the top of my budget. They are often £30-50. That is too high for the worst seats in the house.

Everyone should be able to go to the theatre and have a decent view.

The government need to step up and subsidise the arts properly or they will be lost.

I'm surprised too : clearly demand is part of it but I understand they used to be cheaper before it became more of a corporate thing?

I never bother with musicals but I used todaystix to buy a ticket two months ago to see High Noon in the west end for an unrestricted view seat in the stalls for the crazy low price of £45. The cast, direction and set design were fabulous and I would have been happy to have paid much more (and I have in the past for other shows).