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Post by daniel on Mar 2, 2018 16:11:46 GMT
Interesting. Pleased they've managed to come to some sort of solution.
To me it reads like it was the producers dragging their heels on this one. Will be frustrating for those who can't get to London for whatever reason, but at least they are offering something when they don't *have* to.
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821 posts
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Post by ensembleswings on Mar 2, 2018 16:28:00 GMT
Pleased to see they've offered some kind of solution, yes it may not suit everyone but something is better than nothing at all. Hopefully I'll be able to exchange my ticket from yesterday for a performance in London, I've yet to see Maria as Glinda so I'm hoping I'll be able to exchange my ticket for one of her performances in April. Luckily I can get to London relatively easily (and the coach is only normally £11 return, so it's not going to break the bank either). As soon as I read that statement I presumed the reason they were offering London rather than other tour venues was because the AV is owned by ATG the same as Bristol Hippodrome, especially seeing as two of the closest venues (Cardiff and Southampton) aren't owned by ATG. Also the fact there's a wider range of dates for London compared to the tour so it should result in more people being able to exchange tickets for a performance that works for them.
Still hoping I'll be able to get to Bristol for tomorrow night's performance, would love to see the tour cast again but at least we know we have London as a back up option if travel is still impossible.
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4,361 posts
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Post by shady23 on Mar 2, 2018 18:46:33 GMT
The problems will be that lots of big school and youth tours were booked and they're currently not letting you book an alternative in London for a date that is holiday. We shall see if, in such circumstances, they are able to get refunds as in some cases it's thousands of pounds per booking.
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Post by danb on Mar 2, 2018 19:24:35 GMT
Why not offer for other tour dates aswell, Cardiff for instance? We’re gonna give it a go! Bit of an adventure although might spend the night at Temple Meads or in the Ibis! Who knows... I do know that the Hippodrome, ATG and Wicked were all really slow to respond and have pushed people to a point where they can only go, accept the loss or to travel at their own expense the 140 miles to London to see a different cast. Whilst the weather is not their fault, their shocking PR and speed of response is. If it wasn’t the wifes birthday I’d be staying in tonight! No trains...No Wicked ☹️ Had we known that it was going ahead earlier today we could have left earlier and got a working train. By the time it had been confirmed it was too late. Yet I have to be compensated on their terms! Not good enough...
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4,361 posts
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Post by shady23 on Mar 2, 2018 20:33:47 GMT
For those asking, Cardiff isn't being offered as an alternative to see the show in as it is not an ATG venue.
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Post by danb on Mar 2, 2018 21:35:53 GMT
For those asking, Cardiff isn't being offered as an alternative to see the show in as it is not an ATG venue. It shouldn’t matter. I thought that they were acting on behalf of the tour. Again, its all on their terms. How is that any sort of recompense?
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366 posts
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Post by Paul on Mar 2, 2018 21:40:39 GMT
I just read this article from the Bristol post: www.bristolpost.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/man-who-travelled-somerset-watch-1290145I found this particular extract amusing: 'However, the venue has just put out another update on social media saying that ticket holders who can no longer make the Bristol performance of Wicked will be able to watch it at the Apollo Victoria theatre in London instead, where it is headed next on its UK tour.' I didn't realise the London production had closed 😂.
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1,089 posts
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Post by andrew on Mar 2, 2018 21:51:30 GMT
I just read this article from the Bristol post: www.bristolpost.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/man-who-travelled-somerset-watch-1290145I found particular extract amusing: 'However, the venue has just put out another update on social media saying that ticket holders who can no longer make the Bristol performance of Wicked will be able to watch it at the Apollo Victoria theatre in London instead, where it is headed next on its UK tour.' I didn't realise the London production had closed 😂. Reminds me of this
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Post by The Lost on Mar 2, 2018 22:42:02 GMT
A friend tells me that Elphaba didn't fly tonight. She also didn't fly last night.
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4,361 posts
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Post by shady23 on Mar 2, 2018 22:49:11 GMT
For those asking, Cardiff isn't being offered as an alternative to see the show in as it is not an ATG venue. It shouldn’t matter. I thought that they were acting on behalf of the tour. Again, its all on their terms. How is that any sort of recompense? No "rival" company is going to agree to taking another company's patrons in for free. Its the theatre (ATG) offering the deal and not Wicked themselves I guess. That's business for you. They can come up to Sunderland if they want, that's an ATG venue 😉
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4,361 posts
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Post by shady23 on Mar 3, 2018 8:56:48 GMT
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Post by danb on Mar 3, 2018 9:27:49 GMT
Yeah, it’s nobodies fault, but handling it a lot speedier would have helped their case massively. I’ve no idea how long it will take them to respond re: refunds and replacement tickets, but they might save a bit of face by moving quicker on it! 😂
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Post by Deleted on Mar 3, 2018 10:34:09 GMT
It's an easy one. Unless the weather is sufficiently severe that the show has been cancelled, any refunds or exchanges the theatre or promoters choose to provide is purely a voluntary act of goodwill. The terms and conditions are clearly advertised at the time of the booking. If anyone is negligent, it is the group-leader for not taking out ticket insurance, which is these days widely available. I find myself with no sympathy for his ridiculous remarks. “This whole thing could have left them with blood on their hands.” - No. If he chose to travel in dangerous weather, it is his decision alone. "It may not be a lot of money to them, but it is to a small club like ours." - It's still only the cost of an individual ticket for each person. You don't deserve special treatment. "Especially as you learn about the huge figures they made from this show." - Yes. "They" earned the money by producing an extremely popular show. This is how money works. "They appear to be more concerned about profit and bums on seats rather than health and safety." - There's also the responsibility to put on the show for the other ticket holders who were able to attend despite the weather. Cancelling unnecessarily would cause substantial further disruption.
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5,160 posts
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Post by TallPaul on Mar 3, 2018 14:11:49 GMT
We know how ATG loves adding extras onto the cost of a ticket, so I wonder if insurance now becomes compulsory, rather than optional, especially for groups.
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821 posts
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Post by ensembleswings on Mar 3, 2018 14:26:48 GMT
I never purchase ticket insurance when buying a single ticket but if I'm buying a significant amount (or the price is over £100) then I'd usually take it out. It doesn't seem worth it for £30 or less but if I'd already spent £1300 in tickets I wouldn't hesitate to add an extra £3.50 for the insurance.
The roads around here seem to have improved significantly since Thursday evening so I'm going to attempt attending tonight's performance. Fingers crossed I may it there and back seeing as this is one of the two shows I'd booked before Wicked actually arrived in Bristol (therefore cost me twice as much as the other tickets)
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Post by Deleted on Mar 3, 2018 16:03:48 GMT
I find it quite depressing that some people have this attitude of "It's not fair that I should end up out of pocket for something that's not my fault, but it is fair that someone else should end up out of pocket when it's not their fault either".
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821 posts
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Post by ensembleswings on Mar 3, 2018 17:33:49 GMT
Made it to Bristol with ease, we left over an hour earlier when we didn’t need to but oh well. I get to see the final show tonight which is all that matters. It’s been three no fly shows in a row on the tour so far, secretly hoping there’s another one tonight. I mean it probably won’t happen knowing my luck but still, I can dream
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Post by danb on Mar 3, 2018 17:36:32 GMT
Made it to Bristol with ease, we left over an hour earlier when we didn’t need to but oh well. I get to see the final show tonight which is all that matters. It’s been three no fly shows in a row on the tour so far, secretly hoping there’s another one tonight. I mean it probably won’t happen knowing my luck but still, I can dream Fantastic, enjoy!
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4,361 posts
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Post by shady23 on Mar 3, 2018 20:11:02 GMT
Made it to Bristol with ease, we left over an hour earlier when we didn’t need to but oh well. I get to see the final show tonight which is all that matters. It’s been three no fly shows in a row on the tour so far, secretly hoping there’s another one tonight. I mean it probably won’t happen knowing my luck but still, I can dream I think you'll be pleasantly surprised... 😉
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5,197 posts
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Post by Being Alive on Mar 3, 2018 20:33:41 GMT
I've been sat in my own Box Office all weekend, as we've had to cancel the festival we were running this weekend due to a) artists not being able to get to us, and b) the roads into the town being literally unusable. So in this instance, the customers are getting a refund, because the event is no longer taking place.
I've also been reading the Hippodrome facebook page all weekend, and applaud the staff for what they are going through. People yelling and hurling abuse at you (both of which I've dealt with in bucket loads this weekend because there was a period of time the events were still going ahead, and thus I was in this exact situation) is not going to get anyone anywhere. In the Ts and Cs when you book, it clearly states that if a performance goes ahead, you will not have your tickets refunded. You know that when the tickets are booked. I just don't understand why, after all these years, we are still having this argument of 'you should refund if I can't get there.'
I surely can't be the only one who feels like the customers are acting ridiculously, can I?
(And if I've come across a little aggressive, sorry, it's been a long weekend... )
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Post by danb on Mar 3, 2018 20:59:53 GMT
I've been sat in my own Box Office all weekend, as we've had to cancel the festival we were running this weekend due to a) artists not being able to get to us, and b) the roads into the town being literally unusable. So in this instance, the customers are getting a refund, because the event is no longer taking place. I've also been reading the Hippodrome facebook page all weekend, and applaud the staff for what they are going through. People yelling and hurling abuse at you (both of which I've dealt with in bucket loads this weekend because there was a period of time the events were still going ahead, and thus I was in this exact situation) is not going to get anyone anywhere. In the Ts and Cs when you book, it clearly states that if a performance goes ahead, you will not have your tickets refunded. You know that when the tickets are booked. I just don't understand why, after all these years, we are still having this argument of 'you should refund if I can't get there.' I surely can't be the only one who feels like the customers are acting ridiculously, can I? (And if I've come across a little aggressive, sorry, it's been a long weekend... ) The issue in this case for me was the speed with which it was dealt with, and not acknowleging the fact that there was a red weather warning in place and being encouraged to ignore it. The performance should not have gone ahead. End of.
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Post by ensembleswings on Mar 3, 2018 21:05:15 GMT
I got my wish. It was a no fly show!!! Not only that we’ve also had a Witch Switch mid act 1. So glad I was able to get to this show
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4,361 posts
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Post by shady23 on Mar 3, 2018 21:14:02 GMT
Next you'll be telling us fifth cover midwife came on for the second Act!
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Post by LaLuPone on Mar 3, 2018 21:15:36 GMT
Four no-fly shows in a row? What on earth's been happening?
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821 posts
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Post by ensembleswings on Mar 3, 2018 23:21:24 GMT
I had a feeling a witch switch could happen from the moment Amy sang The Wizard and I. Don’t get me wrong she could sing it absolutely fine, she hit all the notes, she just missed the ‘things I’ve never felt’ riff that I’ve heard her do the previous 8 times. The main giveaway however was the fact she was struggling to speak her lines, her voice just kept cutting out on her? So code green it was, Nikki came running on at the start of One Short Day. I’m so glad I can tick off seeing a no fly show from the bucket list so to say but I hope I don’t see another one anytime soon. The whole song/scene seemed to lose its impact (don’t think it helped that I was sat front row so couldn’t even fully appreciate the different lightening). Speaking to Nikki afterwards it appears the lift is broken, they couldn’t fix it and the replacement part didn’t arrive for them to fix it in time for yesterday’s/today’s shows. Hence why they haven’t defied gravity for the past four shows.
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