National Theatre All Season Announcements

Well there speaks a man who didn't see King Lear With Sheep, which was precisely as terrible as it should have been amazing.

True. Did the director of that attempt to shift the blame onto the poor acting of the sheep for the failure ? That’s what Sir David Hare did to Antony Hopkins.

The one I would really like to see is Absolute Hell.

Now I’m trying to remember if I saw the sheep Lear. Jan, did I? When was it?

The NT always expects us to drop everything and book in very short order. The RSC has already published dates up to Sept ‘18 and I’ve even booked months ahead for the tiddly Park Theatre. I think it would be more helpful if they could publish a full programme much earlier for my personal benefit and maybe others. I expect tourists would be grateful too.

Just be grateful you don't live in Germany.  For the Berliner Ensemble you can only book from the 10th of the previous month, for the Schaubuhne it's the first of the previous month.  I assume that  is typical.  I would find that incredibly frustrating.  I often book things several months, a year, or in the case of Hamilton 18 months in advance.  There may be a theory that having a shorter booking period encourages younger people to book, on the grounds that they are less likely to be happy planning their lives months down the line and might be more likely to book for something just three or four months ahead.

It's not only the short notice of NT booking going live which is inconvenient (and completely random dates - how about a rotating system at least so if one day never worked for you, another might and everyone would know which was next?), but the fact that they insist on covering so many productions/dates at once, resulting in long waits and risking IT issues. If you want to book for one thing only, perhaps only a single ticket, too, you are lumped together with all those booking multiple shows and tickets. How about a supermarket-style system on the basis of "5 items or fewer"?

The leapfrogging of various theatres' booking dates/production announcements is also an issue, and I don't know the answer, but there must be a better arrangement, even if it involves theatres liaising with each other and accepting/admitting that their patrons attend other venues also. How often do you book something at one theatre, only to find later that it has scuppered your chance of seeing a different production somewhere else, for instance because the latter is a touring one staying for one week only?

I can't be the only frustrated theatregoer who ends up devising really complicated lists and charts of what I can see where and when in order to cope with these complications - and even then, it only works with things I already know about and is soon superseded by yet another theatre announcing further tempting fare.

As for the suggestion that short notice may be an attempt to appeal to younger people, how about established audiences who are willing to commit their time and money in advance and may miss out if unable to plan ahead? I don't see how giving more notice stops young people booking; they can leave it as late as they like and I suspect day/rush tickets and lotteries are aimed more at that segment, though used by others.

Certainly whenever I complete a survey about how far ahead I usually book, I select the longest option but in some cases it's limited to "more than 2 weeks ahead" which is ludicrously vague and inaccurate, given how many of us report booking months ahead, especially those who have to factor in travel from abroad. Maybe the surveys are compiled by young marketing staff who consider anything more than 2 weeks a long time!

I have already booked for the RSC memvers event with Sir Antony in June. See you there Jan?😆

Well apart from early booking, offers and the opportunity to support a company very special to me. No benefit at all!

Casting info and booking dates just announced on Twitter, including 'John'.

Public booking 21st November. I must admit I hadn't noticed that there is a new Laura Wade (Posh) play later next year, a coproduction with Theatr Clwyd with Katherine Parkinson, billed simply as 'a comedy'. The new David Hare is called 'I'm Not Running'. The Macbeth and Absolute Hell will run into the next booking period, i.e. into late May and June 2018. The new booking period doesn't include Translations or Exit the King. I'm feeling a lot more positive about the National than I was in August.

The Assassination of Katie Hopkins is a musical by Chris Bush and Matt Winkworth, the Laura Wade play is called Home, I'm Darling. 

Oh, got them mixed up. Damn - I was hoping Parkinson would be in the Hopkins one.