1,326 posts
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Post by CG on the loose on Aug 29, 2016 15:38:10 GMT
This may sound ridiculous, but for me, theatre is genuinely therapy. Especially this past year with some of the crapmthat has happened in my personal life, if I am ever having a down day, going to or discussing theatre makes me perk up out of my down days. I realise this will sound crazy, but theatre really has a power to just make me feel alive and happy. It's why going to Kinky Boots for the first time made me pove the show so much, it was the first time I smiled in weeks because of the events of last Summer. I guess you haven't watched many dark and harrowing plays then! While I do love a good musical, I do think it's good to see something that's not going to have a happy ending and maybe makes you think about the subject matter and that applies to film and television not just theatre. For me, theatre doesn't have to be 'jolly' to be therapeutic... with some exceptions which venture into the realms of the truly disturbing, I find the escape into another world, whether that world is light or dark, to be a positive, re-energising thing. Put simply, theatre gives me real joy and that is reason enough for me to keep going back
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Post by Deleted on Aug 29, 2016 15:53:11 GMT
I like to who about once a month , but when I go it seems special and gives me a break from life that other things like film and to can't. For 2 and a half hours or so you are transported to a place and for me, everything that seems to b a bit bad in my life disappears. From what other people have said on this thread it seems to be very similar and it is good we all share similar mindsets.
You should be able to go to the theatre as often as you like, as long as you enjoy it.
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5,495 posts
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Post by Baemax on Aug 29, 2016 18:42:24 GMT
I live outside London so I can pop into town after work for a show, but it can be a bit of a slog if the show isn't worth it, so I just go in every Saturday for two shows then come home again. (I say "just", I often go in midweek too, and I visit my local when something good is on, so I think it averages out to 3 times a week.)
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Post by emicardiff on Aug 29, 2016 19:38:37 GMT
I find it really varies for me, some weeks (like this one) I can end up going several times a week, others I go a couple of weeks with nothing.
As I review for a few places, I end up going to things that I wouldn't make the effort to see/couldn't justify paying for myself, so I do see a lot more than I used to that way BUT I also used to have an attitude of 'must see everything' but cut back a bit on that, partly to save money but partly because I wanted to be more selective.
For me I have found, after a 'busy' period of theatre going that sometimes it loses its sheen. BUT it only takes one really exceptional production to put things back on track, so swings and roundabouts I guess?
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Post by Deleted on Aug 29, 2016 20:03:03 GMT
I would go lots more than I do if I could afford it and could afford the energy to stay out late multiple nights per week. I feel as though I go a lot, as I've really upped my theatre visits over the last couple of years (I made a new friend who also likes theatre). I go on average about once a month, although sometimes that's three times in a fortnight and then not again for another 6 weeks.
I just can't afford to go more often - not just tickets but also trains/petrol and car parking and whatever else. Plus I have a really busy job and get very tired. Plus where I live there aren't huge numbers of theatres locally.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 29, 2016 23:38:59 GMT
Usually for me, I go for a two show day as it kills two birds withnone stone haha, you don't have to pay for the train twice.
I usually do two shows every 2/3 weeks on average.
This also sounds weird, but if I am going to a play, I prefer to see it in the afternoon and see a musical in the evening. I don't know why haha.
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411 posts
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Post by schuttep on Aug 30, 2016 7:58:14 GMT
My theatre days usually have the word "day" in them.
I go around 100 times a year, and - like the original poster - my partner is asking to slow down.
I retired early a couple of years ago so I expected to slow down but didn't. Weekends we see what we both want to see and mid-week matinees I go alone (my partner still works). We live in London so there's always something to see but we also travel around the country seeing shows elsewhere. Visiting a new place/theatre is fun.
We both can get a bit jaded, though. There have been a few occasions in the past year when we simply didn't feel like attending a show we'd booked for. We don't beat ourselves up about it though, or going to the theatre really would become a chore.
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240 posts
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Post by Anniek on Aug 30, 2016 11:10:25 GMT
If I had the money i'd be in the theatre prob 3 times a week at least. Now it depends.
Sometimes I don't go to the theatre for 2-3 weeks. Lately I saw quite a bit of theatre being there at least 3 times a week, but now i'm so broke (payday. payday #madeindagenham), that I realised I can't afford this many trips unfortunately. also, because of the money issue I can't see everything I would like as I have to make choices. And I rather spend money on Phantom/Les Mis/insert a classic here one time more than a show that hasn't had good reviews. Although I really love it when I discover something for the first time and get totally hooked on it.
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Post by Honoured Guest on Aug 30, 2016 11:21:18 GMT
Those of us who don't work in theatre in any way all have our various patterns and habits of what sort of shows we like to see and how often and where and when. But I've always wondered about the theatregoing habits of theatre folk. While they're not resting, they're not free to see anything much, so they must miss loads of shows they'd've really liked to see. And if you're performing or rehearsing or preparing, is it too conflicting and distracting to go see something anyway? On the other hand, at some venues and shows, it often feels like I'm the only audience member who isn't actually in the business.
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1,103 posts
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Post by mallardo on Aug 30, 2016 15:06:07 GMT
Otherwise, I get the situation as at "Mrs Henderson Presents" where there was a stage full of undressed ladies, and all I was doing was looking at my watch, hoping it would end early so I could get some much needed rest. That was after a weekend of 3 shows and a press launch. Too much. Now THAT'S a sad story.
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Post by emicardiff on Aug 30, 2016 15:09:24 GMT
Otherwise, I get the situation as at "Mrs Henderson Presents" where there was a stage full of undressed ladies, and all I was doing was looking at my watch, hoping it would end early so I could get some much needed rest. That was after a weekend of 3 shows and a press launch. Too much. Now THAT'S a sad story.
TheatreMonkey, you know Mallardo can imagine no worse fate than not being alert enough to enjoy Mrs H's ladies! But I know what you mean, if I end up with a 3-4 show week and it's not part of a holiday to NY/London, I quickly burn out with real life as well and stop enjoy things. Personally once or twice a week is enough for me (obviously depending on the show, sometimes more than enough!!)
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6,232 posts
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Post by Jon on Aug 30, 2016 15:26:24 GMT
I "grey out" at a certain point - all shows just turn to mush if I try and see too many. Hence I do around 1 or 2 per week as an average, with entire weeks clear every 4 months or so. Otherwise, I get the situation as at "Mrs Henderson Presents" where there was a stage full of undressed ladies, and all I was doing was looking at my watch, hoping it would end early so I could get some much needed rest. That was after a weekend of 3 shows and a press launch. Too much. I think having a break from a theatre is a good thing even if it's your passion. TheatreMonkey, you know Mallardo can imagine no worse fate than not being alert enough to enjoy Mrs H's ladies! But I know what you mean, if I end up with a 3-4 show week and it's not part of a holiday to NY/London, I quickly burn out with real life as well and stop enjoy things. Personally once or twice a week is enough for me (obviously depending on the show, sometimes more than enough!!) When I go to New York, I do see 3-4 shows but I don't see shows I have seen in London and I also try and do other things because like London, there are loads of things to do and just spending your holiday just seeing back to back shows means you're missing out on other things
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Post by Honoured Guest on Aug 30, 2016 16:09:57 GMT
Has anyone here been to Latitude? And, if so, did you spend the entire weekend watching theatre or did you mix it with music and other festival activities? Festivals (including Edinburgh) do both have Theatremonkey's holiday criteria of being away from work all weekend and with no travel involved, once you're there. Although they can become exhausting with camping, walking, persistent noise and crowds, excessive alcohol, heatstroke, rainstorm drenchings, the confusion of too much choice, bickering companions, the journey to the site, etc., etc. At music festivals, it's no issue to come and go mid-show. But theatre at Latitude might be a bit more intense. I've often attended Beyond the Border Wales International Storytelling Festival, which mixes in music as well as storytelling throughout the weekend, but I've always felt too wary of Latitude to ever give it a chance. Is Latitude too much?
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1,008 posts
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Post by andrew on Aug 31, 2016 1:55:42 GMT
Those of us who don't work in theatre in any way all have our various patterns and habits of what sort of shows we like to see and how often and where and when. But I've always wondered about the theatregoing habits of theatre folk. While they're not resting, they're not free to see anything much, so they must miss loads of shows they'd've really liked to see. And if you're performing or rehearsing or preparing, is it too conflicting and distracting to go see something anyway? On the other hand, at some venues and shows, it often feels like I'm the only audience member who isn't actually in the business. Not in the industry myself but a recent relationship with a guy who works on a west end show didn't take off for me because he was never, ever available in the evenings. The answer is they see random things on random days off, but when you're working to an 8 show a week schedule you can't really see much. Over a couple of months I easily saw 10 times the number of things he saw. So if you love the theatre, stay out of it as a career.
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4,158 posts
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Post by HereForTheatre on Aug 31, 2016 7:56:59 GMT
One of the reasons i don't go more than a couple of times a month, if that, cropped up today. I wanted to go this week to see something as i had a week off work, so this morning i decided to make a return visit to see Kinky Boots, went to check the trains first and to get me there and back would cost £167. Now, add on to that the cost of the actual ticket, travel around london, food, drink..maybe a programme and you are looking at £300 just for me to go, on my own, to one show. I can afford it but i can't really justify that to myself.
It's still expensive for me to go to London for theatre at the weekend but a lot less so, so that's when i tend to go. The problem being that i usually work Saturdays and have to book them off if i want to go somewhere and i can't get away with taking more than one a month off really.
So i'm very restricted by circumstances otherwise i'm sure i would go much more often.
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Post by emicardiff on Aug 31, 2016 8:52:56 GMT
I think Theatremonkey is right, when you have the transport/work/life elements removed it's easier to do a lot of shows at once. Also not living in London anymore I tend to have a lot I want to see and little time to do it in, so if I'm coming for a weekend it's usually as much as I can fit in during that time.
I vary on NY trips, last time in seeing an extra Sunday show I did seven shows in a week where usually it's more like 5 (given flight times, dark days etc) but there have been weeks (in my younger days!) where I did late shows and concerts and bumped that up to 10 or 11. I was very young then...
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4,028 posts
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Post by kathryn on Aug 31, 2016 11:03:36 GMT
I do also think that when you are on holiday, a) you are not trying to fit in theatre after a working day and b) you are often staying in a location far closer to the theatres, which means you don't worry about travelling time. Absolutely. I'll do 4 or 5 shows over a long weekend in New York, staying centrally, but only average one a week at home (with more than 1 some weeks and other weeks with none), and try to avoid going 2 nights in a row. I work in London but live in Essex and have a 90 minute commute each way. Getting off a train at gone midnight and then getting back on it again less than 8 hours later is not something I enjoy doing, but I will for something I really want to see. Can't do it 2 days in a row without feeling awful, though!
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1,037 posts
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Post by jgblunners on Aug 31, 2016 12:01:19 GMT
Those of us who don't work in theatre in any way all have our various patterns and habits of what sort of shows we like to see and how often and where and when. But I've always wondered about the theatregoing habits of theatre folk. While they're not resting, they're not free to see anything much, so they must miss loads of shows they'd've really liked to see. And if you're performing or rehearsing or preparing, is it too conflicting and distracting to go see something anyway? On the other hand, at some venues and shows, it often feels like I'm the only audience member who isn't actually in the business. Not in the industry myself but a recent relationship with a guy who works on a west end show didn't take off for me because he was never, ever available in the evenings. The answer is they see random things on random days off, but when you're working to an 8 show a week schedule you can't really see much. Over a couple of months I easily saw 10 times the number of things he saw. So if you love the theatre, stay out of it as a career. Never thought about this before - must be difficult to be so immersed in the industry but only rarely get to see shows from the other side of the curtain. Nice to see that 'stagey matinees' are happening more often though - Titanic did a Tuesday in its last week and Groundhog Day have got a Monday coming up.
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833 posts
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Post by Steffi on Aug 31, 2016 12:04:11 GMT
I do theatre trips to London and New York regularly so will usually binge watch while I am in town. For London it's usually a long weekend (Friday or Saturday to Monday) and I tend to watch 4-5 shows depending on how many I can fit in time-wise (watching two shows on a Sunday doesn't work often but if it does I usually do it).
In New York I tend to do Broadway for any available matinee slot while my evenings are usually reserved for immersive theatre. I would struggle to watch the same musical or play several times on one trip. Occasionally I will watch the same show twice in a week or so if it is one I really love especially when a show is closing or a cast change is happening. Any more and I would risk overdosing on a show so I try to avoid it. Back in the days I sometimes watched the same show 3-4 times per trip and that really was too much.
However, I don't get bored seeing immersive shows like Sleep No More 6+ times on one trip. On my upcoming trip next month I am seeing 2 Broadway shows and 7 Sleep No More in 5 days.
I couldn't do this at home when I am working and have the usual everyday life commitments but when I am on holiday I enjoy a theatrical binge.
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Post by theatremiss on Aug 31, 2016 14:54:14 GMT
I'm trying to cut back, but I am booked up until Sep 2017 so I think the most I can be away is 3 weeks when I'm away on holiday. I do agree it can become rather routine when I do a 2-3 shows week
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155 posts
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Post by synchrony on Sept 1, 2016 11:00:37 GMT
I’ve seen 21 shows this year, of which 17 were musicals and 4 were plays. 14 of these were in London.
So it averages as around 2-3 a month. But I would commonly see all of those in a single weekend to save on journey time and train fares, so only go down to London about once a month.
As a kid, we went far less often and it was more of an event. I remember dressing up for the theatre, whereas I’d never bother doing that now. I suppose I don’t feel the major excitement that I did then. But I appreciate different things in a show now, and still enjoy it just as much.
This excludes Edinburgh completely, at which I saw 36 shows in 7 days (11 musicals, 25 plays/other). Admittedly I did start to flag slightly, but there were still only 3 or 4 things that I didn’t appreciate seeing. I think it was because in London I tend to stick to musicals, whereas at the Fringe I take the opportunity to see a much wider variety of things which keeps the excitement up. There are still at least 4 shows that I regret missing. I couldn’t keep that pace up for much longer than a week though.
When I'm away on holiday I can't say that I miss theatre much. Too much else going on.
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5,495 posts
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Post by Baemax on Sept 1, 2016 11:15:13 GMT
For me, it depends where and why I've gone on holiday. If I've gone to New York to see shows, then I accept that as my primary reason and I don't mind not making so many other outings. I will do other things, but I won't get up early in the morning or plan anything too far out unless I can definitely get back in time for my show. Am I missing out on all those tourist activities I don't do? No, because they're not the reason I've gone to New York. But if I've gone somewhere and my primary purpose isn't theatre, then I might try and sneak in a visit to wherever my local theatre is, but I'm not especially fussed if I don't manage it.
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Post by emicardiff on Sept 1, 2016 11:31:25 GMT
For me, it depends where and why I've gone on holiday. If I've gone to New York to see shows, then I accept that as my primary reason and I don't mind not making so many other outings. I will do other things, but I won't get up early in the morning or plan anything too far out unless I can definitely get back in time for my show. Am I missing out on all those tourist activities I don't do? No, because they're not the reason I've gone to New York. But if I've gone somewhere and my primary purpose isn't theatre, then I might try and sneak in a visit to wherever my local theatre is, but I'm not especially fussed if I don't manage it. Same, if I'm in New York Theatre is one of my main reasons for going, so it's an integral part of the holiday. Same for breaks in London. Other places I don't seek out theatre, but if I happen to be somewhere and something is on that I want to see (I'm thinking mainly short UK breaks, say a tour that didn't come near me was there, or the local theatre is a good venue) then I might spend one night at the theatre. If I'm elsewhere, say in Europe then no seeking out theatre doesn't really feature. I've never actually done Edinburgh, mainly as logistics conspire against me, but also I shy away a bit because I feel I'd find it a bit too much-I'm terrible with crowds and I feel like just that much theatre over a prolonged period would be an overdose. One year I will go to find out though.
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Post by londonmzfitz on Sept 1, 2016 12:38:58 GMT
I've just worked out I've seen 3 shows a month since the beginning of this year (27 shows, 3.38 per month). This doesn't include Miss Atomic Bomb where I had a ticket and just couldn't be bothered, or The Go-Between where I had a ticket and they cancelled the preview and I just couldn't be bothered to rebook.
The "couldn't be bothered" bothers me! I love going to the theatre, but I think lately the buzz has gone for me. I'm booking more for first nights or last nights to add to my buzz. Weekdays are better for me as I live and work in London. Too often I've booked a show for a Saturday and got the "oh god do I have to go" buzz rather than the "I cannot wait"! buzz. And some of my shows have been revisits - Sunset Boulevard, Funny Girl, Kinky Boots.
Still got 10 shows booked up to the end of this year (not including Aladdin in October which I can no longer go to as I've got to be out of London, or Lazarus which I booked before I decided to go away over the same period).
I've decided that I'm no longer going to book on a whim as I have before. Need to get my mojo back.
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3,458 posts
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Post by showgirl on Sept 1, 2016 13:37:11 GMT
Well done, tom89, for starting this thread, which is proving so interesting and popular. At first I mistook it for one about ticket prices, but talking about frequency of theatre trips is fascinating.
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Post by arlette on Sept 1, 2016 13:44:41 GMT
It really depends on the person for what is to frequently to go. I for myself would love to go more to the theatre but I am just a student. Not alot of money and I live to far from big theatre's as I live in a small town in the Netherlands. When I do go here it is not so frequent because of the distant. I love West end productions because they are in english and in my opinion better then the alot of Dutch productions.
So when I go to London I see alot in a small time frame. My goal is to go once a year and have succeeded so far. It just a pity I won't be able to see alot of limited runs. My family and friends think it is too much when I go to London. But eh it is your hobby, you get to decide whether it is too much.
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Post by zak97 on Sept 1, 2016 14:49:30 GMT
With starting university in London this month, I'll be hoping to see shows at the theatre a bit more often. For me, it's a been a show once a month, or at least once most months - but that has been mainly due to the cost of trains. Realistically, on a student budget, I doubt I'll be going once a month, but as someone who isn't mad about clubbing, I'll be hoping to maybe go once every other week if I can, definitely by dayseating and finding the cheapest tickets whenever possible, and finally getting the chance to see some of the fringe shows or long running musicals that I've always passed at seeing purely since there's a limited run I'd rather not miss.
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4,028 posts
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Post by kathryn on Sept 1, 2016 16:06:01 GMT
With starting university in London this month, I'll be hoping to see shows at the theatre a bit more often. For me, it's a been a show once a month, or at least once most months - but that has been mainly due to the cost of trains. Realistically, on a student budget, I doubt I'll be going once a month, but as someone who isn't mad about clubbing, I'll be hoping to maybe go once every other week if I can, definitely by dayseating and finding the cheapest tickets whenever possible, and finally getting the chance to see some of the fringe shows or long running musicals that I've always passed at seeing purely since there's a limited run I'd rather not miss. As a student in london you'll generally have the opportunity and flexibility to take advantage of the cheaper tickets, so you may end up seeing more than you think! There's some really good cheap schemes around - NT entry Pass, Donmar Young and free for their Shakespeare trilogy, Donmar front row, Royal Court Monday nights for £10, Jamie Lloyd's £15 Mondays on many of his shows. For fringe stuff you could join Audience Club and see a lot of stuff for just a small booking fee. Oh, and it's not theatre, but www.bfi.org.uk/25-and-under is worth signing up for.
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1,037 posts
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Post by jgblunners on Sept 1, 2016 16:17:13 GMT
Entry Pass is fantastic, I've been really impressed by the NT providing that. If you're into Opera/Ballet, the Royal Opera House also do a student scheme, and of course there are plenty of shows that do student discounts.
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1,102 posts
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Post by zak97 on Sept 1, 2016 16:19:18 GMT
With starting university in London this month, I'll be hoping to see shows at the theatre a bit more often. For me, it's a been a show once a month, or at least once most months - but that has been mainly due to the cost of trains. Realistically, on a student budget, I doubt I'll be going once a month, but as someone who isn't mad about clubbing, I'll be hoping to maybe go once every other week if I can, definitely by dayseating and finding the cheapest tickets whenever possible, and finally getting the chance to see some of the fringe shows or long running musicals that I've always passed at seeing purely since there's a limited run I'd rather not miss. As a student in london you'll generally have the opportunity and flexibility to take advantage of the cheaper tickets, so you may end up seeing more than you think! There's some really good cheap schemes around - NT entry Pass, Donmar Young and free for their Shakespeare trilogy, Donmar front row, Royal Court Monday nights for £10, Jamie Lloyd's £15 Mondays on many of his shows. For fringe stuff you could join Audience Club and see a lot of stuff for just a small booking fee. Oh, and it's not theatre, but www.bfi.org.uk/25-and-under is worth signing up for. The Shakespeare trilogy is definitely on my list, if I can get tickets, as I especially want to see how the perform 'The Tempest' having studied it for A-Level and read about the many elaborate original stagings of the play. The Royal Court and Jamie Lloyd schemes are something I had forgotten, so thanks for that, and I'll need to keep an ear open for plays that may be up my street. One thing I hadn't heard of is the NT entry pass?
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