Unreserved Seating at Southwark Playhouse

Not sure I'd call it selfish... if people want to queue, surely they earn the right to whatever they consider to be the 'best' seats? I do agree though that for most productions there, there isn't really a bad seat, so personally it's never been an imperative.

Any theatre where I can get a PAYG Scheme ticket for £10 for most of the run is quite simply brilliant value, wherever I sit! (Just checked and see it's £12 now, which doesn't change my view one iota.)

If I'm not on an aisle I get panicky and start wanting to punch people in the face.

But that's probs just me

GET OUT OF MY SEAT


sorry!

I took jaqs advice and bought a tuna melt on ciabatta. With chips.

Wasn't this enough?

The Cottesloe had unreserved seating for its first two decades. So did the RSC, at The Other Place, the Warehouse and the Pit. Then people got more [fill in the blank with your own word]. I blame Margaret Thatcher.

From southwarkplayhouse.co.uk/show/the-toxic-avenger/#booking

I am of course taking FULL CREDIT for this.

*curtseys and exits stage left*

I think I am probably in the minority of disliking this decision. I enjoy going to the Southwark and choosing my seats when I go in depending on what I feel the setup will be of the show. I'm 5ft 2 and will no doubt end up being sat behind someone extremely tall (as the steps aren't that high), where I could previously choose to sit behind someone else short aswell!

I also like the fact that I can book my ticket when I want and then my friends (who are those people who always take such a long time to decide if they want to go!) can book at a later time and we can still sit together. I've never found the queue to be that much of an issue as always plan to arrive at least by 7pm and have always had the seats I've wanted.

It won't put me off going, but it might restrict me going to see a show twice if the seats that I would like aren't available any longer on the seating plan.

Not saying you and your friends are in this category, geweena, but I did think that allocated seating would deal with the large groups you seem to see at this venue - for musicals rather than plays - who all expect to sit together but don't arrive in sufficient time to do so, and who, if like me you are on your own, can rather dominate the area in which you are sitting and make you feel invisible as they all talk across you and repeatedly pass back and forth before the show and during the interval.  Even if I don't want to leave my seat myself, I have sometimes felt driven to it simply to avoid the constant traffic and being talked, or yelled over.

So far as view is concerned, if you are quick you should be able to book one of those aisle seats (depending on configuration) where the row extends beyond the one in front, so that you have nobody directly in your line of vision - or a front row seat if you are brave!

Yes, I'd be happy with reserved seating for musicals only here, but it might be awkward for the theatre publicly to justify the distinction. Allocated seating also forces them to decide on the configuration earlier than they otherwise might - what about last-minute tweaks or extra seats being released - are they a no-no now?