To think these theatre prices are outrageous?

[takeharry]

Currently looking at HAMILTON tickets, now I understand they have a ‘star’ casting in Leslie Odom Jr, original broadway cast but FIVE HUNDRED fucking pounds? For one ticket?

There are a few £250/£275 tickets left but the vast majority left are £500.

AIBU to think there should be some sort of regulatory body to prevent this kind of bullshit pricing?

£1k for a couple to have an evening at the theatre

Much less choice - they're never going to get the likes of Hamilton just in terms of stage space required. I'll happily go see whatever I can at Nottingham - Six the other month, Operation Mincemeat this month and I've got Hadestown booked when that tours this way (it's a close close tie with Hamilton for my fave musical) - but for some stuff, sadly you still need to live near at least a big theatre hub, or go to London - was actually cheaper to go see Hamilton in London than when it was on its UK tour recently for similar seats (I may have seen it a few times).

I'd still have paid to see Leslie if I could have afforded to - but didn't have spare cash while tickets were more available.

This isn't an argument.

Thumbs down for you 👎

why shouldn't the theatre be "for people who can afford it" 😂

That's life? We can't all afford everything and anything. There are other options, other theatres.

If you decide to prioritise other things , it's your own choice . Otherwise what's next? YOUR job is seen as a luxury and your salary goes down so it's "fair"? Seriously?

Again if someone else is selling you their services for a price they chose, who are you to say "no you can't, we want it only for cheaper". Again it's their labour and services.

Blimey I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone so angry abihr something they don’t need to pay. These are charity tickets where half the price is for charity. You’ve cheaper tickets. It’s a show. You don’t need to go. How on earth can you get so angry about tickets someone else may chose to buy.z

im at Lewis capalid thid weekend, paid about 150 quid for higher end tickets, base ones were about 90, there are ones for a few thousand, i cant image starting a thread to kick off such a thing exists then seeing my arse over it.

I get the view that ' that's the price, take it or leave it'
Ive been leaving a lot of things, such as theatre tickets, the bigger concerts where it's more than £150 a ticket.

I don't feel like I'm missing out. I thought I'd have FOMO, when I decided to be more frugal but I don't.

They are charity tickets, most likely intended for rich tourists who sweep into town and think oh I’ll see LOJ next week. They’ll be sold at half the price if they don’t sell with the donation.

I really can’t see what there is to get so exercised about — I was in line but missed my spot a couple of times as I was travelling. Ended up having to pay £200pp but more dedicated and I know I could have paid less. Everyone had their chance. Just don’t see the big deal, it’s for a good cause.

£500 is a ridiculous amount to pay for tickets, but it's just a few tix for each performance - the rest all sold out instantly on the day of the release.
The tickets are much cheaper for those three days at the end of July when LO is not playing. You can get the same seats for £135, which is still a lot, but more affordable.
I am happy to have got mine on release date, I think they were £100 rather than the usual £75.
Hamilton is flipping brilliant and anyone who wants to see it, should be able to. Booking ahead (when LO is not playing) opens up a range of prices.

So you're not qualified to make the decison, or even to hazard a guess, but you know it's not necessary to charge the prices they charge... OK... 😂

I’m not angry about it. I’m slightly amused by the amount of posters who think it’s fair and reasonable, and maybe a little annoyed at the ‘don’t buy a ticket then’ comments since that wasn’t the point of the thread, but I’m definitely not angry. It’s filled a gap in my afternoon and I am happy to admit that I might BU as of course they can charge what they like, but I also still feel that £500 is too much for what it is, regardless of casting.

That's not really a hard conclusion to form though, is it? Theatre show making millions doesn’t need to scrimp and save to pay big star for a few weeks.

That’s fine, others don’t and will pay. And happily give half the cost to charity. You wouldn’t, doesn’t mean they can’t sell them.

Ignore that very rude poster. Most of us understand that the ‘point’ of the thread is a discussion about theatre ticket prices relative to what they were very recently, even for a big show with a big name.

Hope you enjoy Hamilton 😊

Did you know that there are tickets costing £500 + for some gigs? And some World Cup football matches? Is that not OK with you as well, or is it just theatre?

It doesn't matter whether it's hard though, it matters whether its right. 😂 As it's been running for so long it seems reasonable that they know how to run their business. You also know full well that only a tiny % of tickets cost £500, that no one is forced to pay that much, and anyone is able to see it for a fraction of that with a bit of forward planning :)

Unless you are saying that the state should control theatre prices? You do realise that The National Theatre is not the same as nationlised theatre ;)

Has the heat got to people or something?

The pile-on on this thread is fucking ridiculous.

It's probably a symptom of a lack of funding in the arts... Previous years may well have had effectively subsidised tickets because grants funded some costs. If there isn't the grant available, companies will need to earn more from sales in order to pay people.

Some of the ticket sales aren’t for charity, btw. No idea why people think they are.

But as you pointed out yourself - the tickets are not £500, they are the £275 tickets with a donation to the Education and Outreach charity. There are a small number of such tickets at each of the earlier performances and nobody has to buy them.
This isn’t the theatre using surge pricing or charging more than you would expect for a hit show of this standing in the West End with the original Broadway star.

There are plenty of tickets at the regular prices available later on in the year.

The £500 tickets include a £225 donation to charity. Some also include a hospitality package - again a small percentage of the seats are sold as packages.

The vast majority of tickets were sold at the face value at prices not out of line with equivalent shows.

London theatre is expensive if you want the good seats for a hit show with name stars.

I haven’t pointed out anything about charity donations I didn’t even know until I read it in this thread.

Much less choice - they're never going to get the likes of Hamilton just in terms of stage space required

Hamilton did tour nationally.

OP, everyone has a choice. They can pay £275 for the best seats to see LOJr; they can pay £500 for the same seats plus a sizeable donation. Or they can pay £50-£100 to see the usual cast.

If you want to see an absolute legend of musical theatre when he's only there for 8 weeks, it's going to get costly. Especially if you leave it to the last minute.

Controversial opinion - Giles Terera was even better as Burr. Leslie is very good, Giles was transcendent.

Apologies it was @Gizlotsmum who pointed it out. However it is clearly written by the ticket price on the sales sites - it's hard to miss the charity donation portion of the ticket price.

The film of the original broadway cast including Lee Odem and Lin Manuel Miranda is on Disneyplus so if anyone is in doubt about value they can preview it for a tenner or less if they use the free trial subs.

£1k for a couple to have an evening at the theatre

Well no, you could have an evening out at the theatre for much less if you a) don't go to the west end and b) see something less popular than Hamilton.

A couple can have an evening at the theatre very cheaply.

You're wanting Louis Vuitton and complaining people can't afford handbags.

Go to a cheaper theatre and show.

Just checked and I can go and see Swan Lake at my local theatre for the princely sum of £14.

But the point of the thread was to discuss the theatre pricing specifically for this run of shows, I know there are cheaper options. I already have tickets for LOJ and didn’t pay £500. I have seen Hamilton before both on west end and on tour. I know I can see a local theatre group, i know I can see cheaper touring productions and I know I can see Hamilton cheaper in the west end. My thread wasn’t about that though it was about whether or not £500 for a ticket is ridiculous or not. Apparently not.