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Post by Jan on Oct 16, 2024 6:18:15 GMT
Probably only me, but I feel TL is on an almost inevitable trajectory that should land him, in 7-8 years, on the roof of that v large brutalist building next to Waterloo Bridge southside. Disagree. Note how he's hosting an RSC production and using actors and directors associated with the RSC and going to RSC first nights.
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Post by parsley1 on Oct 16, 2024 9:01:25 GMT
Does anyone know on sale times today for new shows please?
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Post by Dave B on Oct 16, 2024 9:02:14 GMT
Does anyone know on sale times today for new shows please? Noon.
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Post by Steve on Oct 16, 2024 9:11:30 GMT
Living locally plus being a familiar face to the OT audience is a win win all round. Roger Allam playing Churchill is near perfect Orange Tree programming, it could only have been improved if the play had been written by Noel Coward instead of Howard Brenton. With Gary Oldman coming back to the theatre, he'd be a perfect Stalin. But if you want to stick to peak Orange Tree programming, I think they'd love Ralph Fiennes as Stalin. I think Joseph Fiennes could do it wonderfully too.
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Post by joem on Oct 16, 2024 10:38:59 GMT
Roger Allam playing Churchill is near perfect Orange Tree programming, it could only have been improved if the play had been written by Noel Coward instead of Howard Brenton. With Gary Oldman coming back to the theatre, he'd be a perfect Stalin. But if you want to stick to peak Orange Tree programming, I think they'd love Ralph Fiennes as Stalin. I think Joseph Fiennes could do it wonderfully too. I would love a revival of Robert Bolt's "State of Revolution". Long overdue.
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Post by Dave B on Oct 21, 2024 10:20:52 GMT
HUGE price increase for lower bands. What was £15 is now £29, seats look to have been rebanded alongside a price increase and a price increase in membership.
The discounts from member and season booking drop them to £21.75 which is better but I don't see how membership (£60) is worth it for me anymore. No point in early access if there are no good seats to snap up. Nothing is going to immediately sell out in public booking here so I may as well join the queue with all seats at the same price.
Oh well, it was a good run with 'our' seats.
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Post by ploverlover on Oct 21, 2024 11:19:13 GMT
Just booked tickets for Churchill, Playhouse, Ben and In Praise - my usual seat had gone up from £39 to £45 for one of the productions (Playhouse) so I chose the one behind instead. But was the same price as usual for everything else. With the 25% discount, 6 seats for £195 it works out at £32.50 a seat. Not too bad considering the crazy prices being charged at many theatres. I guess we’re getting a few ‘big names’ this season too. Even so, I can understand why you think the membership is no longer worth it Dave B.
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Post by showgirl on Oct 22, 2024 2:46:20 GMT
I too was shocked by the huge and unannounced price rises: having only ever booked the £15 seats until now, I found the new lowest price was £20 and only if I was prepared to sit upstairs which, having tried it once, I wasn't. So for what I consider a c**p and uncomfortable seat and still all but twice as expensive as before, I could only book the beastly high stools downstairs for £29.50. Having "splurged" on a Bronze membership solely for this (ie £60, which until now would have covered my 4 tickets for the new productions), I felt I'd paid far more than I'd expected and still for a far inferior experience. I'd only signed up to avoid public booking on Monday 28 October, as that's our busiest day at work so hopeless for any surreptitious personal admin, but I was wrong about the date as I thought the Bronze booking went live this Wednesday, whereas of course it was a whole week earlier. Obviously I've now paid and booked and I'll see what the productions and high stools are like and will probably book for the next part of the season, but on the new basis am not sure I'd renew a year from now.
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Post by lt on Oct 22, 2024 7:45:39 GMT
I don't have priority access, so would be very grateful if someone could list the full details of the new pricing bands. Many thanks.
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Post by aspieandy on Oct 22, 2024 8:03:06 GMT
Effectively dropped the lowest band and about 10-12% increase on the rest, or a general ovehaul?
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Post by Dave B on Oct 22, 2024 8:03:41 GMT
I don't have priority access, so would be very grateful if someone could list the full details of the new pricing bands. Many thanks. Here is Churchill in Moscow, Saturday 15 February 2025, 19:30 - so after previews For contrast, here is the next show (Guards at the Taj) again on a Saturday night after previews. Quite a jump....
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Post by Jon on Oct 22, 2024 8:08:01 GMT
I’m guessing that the OT knows their core audience can afford the prices hence the increase.
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Post by lt on Oct 22, 2024 8:23:09 GMT
I don't have priority access, so would be very grateful if someone could list the full details of the new pricing bands. Many thanks. Here is Churchill in Moscow, Saturday 15 February 2025, 19:30 - so after previews For contrast, here is the next show (Guards at the Taj) again on a Saturday night after previews. Quite a jump.... Thank you! So huge increase in prices and no cheap tickets on the ground floor at all. Do the previews give any cheap ground floor tickets?
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Post by Dave B on Oct 22, 2024 8:46:56 GMT
Thank you! So huge increase in prices and no cheap tickets on the ground floor at all. Do the previews give any cheap ground floor tickets? No, those prices have effectively doubled. £15 to £29 downstairs. £20 all seats upstairs.
Previews for Churchill in Moscow
Now look, these images are slightly deceptive standing on their own. There is the 20% off three, 25% off four shows for members (15% and 20% for non members) and potentially another discount for Mondays and previews. My front row tickets worked out at £21.75 each with £60 for membership. Last year the same seats with a couple in row B cost me £15 each with a £48 membership. The sky isn't falling for anyone booking everything but if you are a non member seeing making one trip to OT, it has pretty significantly jumped in price.
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Post by lt on Oct 22, 2024 11:59:15 GMT
Thank you! So huge increase in prices and no cheap tickets on the ground floor at all. Do the previews give any cheap ground floor tickets? No, those prices have effectively doubled. £15 to £29 downstairs. £20 all seats upstairs.
Previews for Churchill in Moscow
Now look, these images are slightly deceptive standing on their own. There is the 20% off three, 25% off four shows for members (15% and 20% for non members) and potentially another discount for Mondays and previews. My front row tickets worked out at £21.75 each with £60 for membership. Last year the same seats with a couple in row B cost me £15 each with a £48 membership. The sky isn't falling for anyone booking everything but if you are a non member seeing making one trip to OT, it has pretty significantly jumped in price.
That's really helpful. Thank you. It seems an extraordinarily large rise in one go.
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Post by fossil on Oct 28, 2024 12:37:17 GMT
Here is Churchill in Moscow, Saturday 15 February 2025, 19:30 - so after previews For contrast, here is the next show (Guards at the Taj) again on a Saturday night after previews. Quite a jump.... Thank you! So huge increase in prices and no cheap tickets on the ground floor at all. Do the previews give any cheap ground floor tickets? Dynamic pricing. For public booking today the whole of row B for Churchill in Moscow, Saturday 15 February 2025, 19:30 is now £45
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Post by aspieandy on Oct 28, 2024 13:24:25 GMT
Isn't that just the price increase?
Anyway, I will now have seen Roger Allam in a Churchill and as Churchill.
* Caryl
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Post by Dave B on Oct 28, 2024 14:27:31 GMT
Isn't that just the price increase? Yes I don't think there's any dynamic pricing, this play was always priced higher than Guards at the Taj with £45 for Row B right from the start. Row B was £39 in my screenshot from members sale, it is now £45 - it the seats have gone from Band A to Band AA.
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Post by Jan on Oct 28, 2024 16:20:02 GMT
Yes I don't think there's any dynamic pricing, this play was always priced higher than Guards at the Taj with £45 for Row B right from the start. Row B was £39 in my screenshot from members sale, it is now £45 - it the seats have gone from Band A to Band AA. That was a good members benefit in the upper pricing levels then, given that assorted multi-buy discounts applied too.
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Post by aspieandy on Oct 28, 2024 17:51:03 GMT
I am struggling for a price comparison for the Orange Tree, especially given there's a full-scale Victorian theatre on the Green. Properly middle-class demographics. for starters.
The Rose at Kingston? £25-£45 for Abigail's Party (very many more seats to fill, modern, comfortable seats)
The Park (Finsbury Park): £25-£40 for Cyrano (benches, excellent public transport and evening parking)
(Almeida's LBIA is £25-£52 but that's probably not much of a comparison)
You could even make a case for the OT being some pokey old place, with a whiff of damp here and there. But it does also have a singular charm, rare configuration and a dynamic, well-connected AD.
It'll be interesting to see how they get on with the new pricing model ..
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Post by Jan on Oct 28, 2024 18:26:23 GMT
I am struggling for a price comparison for the Orange Tree, I couldn't think of anything equivalent - single auditorium 180 capacity with no ACE funding (ACE withdrew all funding from them 10 years ago) - given this I'm not at all bothered what they charge for tickets, it's only subsidised venues where I have a view. They are also £2m short of what they need to redevelop the entrance and foyer in 2026 (they have collected £2m so far).
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Post by Jon on Oct 29, 2024 0:12:57 GMT
I am struggling for a price comparison for the Orange Tree, especially given there's a full-scale Victorian theatre on the Green. Properly middle-class demographics. for starters. The Rose at Kingston? £25-£45 for Abigail's Party (very many more seats to fill, modern, comfortable seats) The Park (Finsbury Park): £25-£40 for Cyrano (benches, excellent public transport and evening parking) (Almeida's LBIA is £25-£52 but that's probably not much of a comparison) You could even make a case for the OT being some pokey old place, with a whiff of damp here and there. But it does also have a singular charm, rare configuration and a dynamic, well-connected AD. It'll be interesting to see how they get on with the new pricing model .. Donmar would be the best comparison, maybe the Menier at a push.
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Post by lt on Oct 29, 2024 10:24:10 GMT
I think it's a shame that they have had to remove so much of the cheaper ticketing. Now most of the less costly tickets are only available in the first three previews. I've never been a fan of the balcony seats, because of the acute angle, so it's a shame that's where all the cheapest seats are now located.
I understand of course the OT has to cover its costs and doesn't get Arts Council funding, but I wish they could have come up with some other options, even if it was just putting some of the cheaper £20 tickets on the ground floor or having some mechanism of providing at least a few less expensive tickets for those over 30.
In a well-off area like Richmond, the theatre may well find people prepared to pay these prices, but if the OT is interested increasing accessibility then it will have failed
Certainly for me, I've booked half the shows I would normally book and I'm now much less likely to book in the future. As a comparison, I have cheaper tickets for good seats booked for upcoming shows at the Young Vic, Gillian Lynne Theatre, Hammersmith Lyric and the Soho Place Theatre. (And I appreciate all of those have Arts Council funding.)
It's probably much easier for a larger theatre like the Old Vic (which also doesn't get Arts Council funding) to get corporate sponsors to enable them to run their preview scheme and I am sure the OT is looking hard for further sponsorship, but perhaps that's rather more challenging when you're a much smaller theatre, based out of central London?
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Post by Jon on Oct 29, 2024 13:10:29 GMT
It's incredibly difficult to make money from 180 seats per performance so I don't blame the OT for having less cheaper tickets but TBH it's still somewhat affordable compared to a commercial West End production.
Both Red Speedo and Here in America sold very well and that used dynamic pricing so it's not too surprising that the OT have decided to increases pricing because they have realised the audience is willing to pay more.
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Post by Jan on Oct 29, 2024 13:41:58 GMT
It's incredibly difficult to make money from 180 seats per performance so I don't blame the OT for having less cheaper tickets but TBH it's still somewhat affordable compared to a commercial West End production. Both Red Speedo and Here in America sold very well and that used dynamic pricing so it's not too surprising that the OT have decided to increases pricing because they have realised the audience is willing to pay more. Also they have (apparently unlimited) £15 under 30 tickets in all of bands A,B,C - so front row for the current Guards at the Taj for example which is very generous (too generous in my view) which massively increases accessibility. They also offer Theatre Union Member £15 seats which I regard as unnecessary. They don't offer any senior 60+ discounts either (the Old Vic does) because that wouldn't improve the diversity of their audience. Somebody has to pay full price.
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