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Post by BurlyBeaR on Jul 13, 2017 13:37:11 GMT
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19,787 posts
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Jul 13, 2017 13:37:51 GMT
Let them eat cake!
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Post by anita on Jul 13, 2017 13:46:26 GMT
If we all had his money we'd be laughing. Unfortunately since "Book of Mormon" opened here top price tickets have got stupid. I used to buy top price but now I can only afford the cheapest if I want to see something.
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Post by SageStageMgr on Jul 13, 2017 13:55:10 GMT
If we all had his money we'd be laughing. Unfortunately since "Book of Mormon" opened here top price tickets have got stupid. I used to buy top price but now I can only afford the cheapest if I want to see something. I remember it was Spamalot that did it. £55!!!! Forced Phantom's top price up to £42.50 😡😡 |
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Post by Anniek on Jul 13, 2017 14:04:06 GMT
I agree with him. Ofcourse Premiums are a bit outrageous such as the fees, but averaging £44.99 is not too bad if you ask me.
Obviously a lot of us go very often which makes it an expensive hobby (but I guess most of us know some tricks to get cheaper tickets every now and then..) but if you pay average £44.99 be glad your hobby isn't concerts.. Beyonce started at I believe 50+ pounds for example. But I saw Titanic at amazing seats for 17.50, Beautiful for £15 as well as 42nd street (row F). That's three top shows for less than 1 concert ticket.
Maybe you have to work for it, but for a lot of shows you can get great deals through dayseats, lotteries etc, and if you spend more (ouch Hamilton, and front row Phantom at cast change) I enjoy it twice as much which always make it worth.
It's a commercial business, they have to earn money as well, as well as their a lot of costs involved. Be happy most of us are based in London/UK and not Broadway.. (Or Germany hahahaha, those prices are insane too if you ask me.)
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Post by d'James on Jul 13, 2017 14:36:15 GMT
Who's he been talking to, Julian Fellowes?
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Post by Jon on Jul 13, 2017 14:43:44 GMT
I agree with him. Ofcourse Premiums are a bit outrageous such as the fees, but averaging £44.99 is not too bad if you ask me. Obviously a lot of us go very often which makes it an expensive hobby (but I guess most of us know some tricks to get cheaper tickets every now and then..) but if you pay average £44.99 be glad your hobby isn't concerts.. Beyonce started at I believe 50+ pounds for example. But I saw Titanic at amazing seats for 17.50, Beautiful for £15 as well as 42nd street (row F). That's three top shows for less than 1 concert ticket. Maybe you have to work for it, but for a lot of shows you can get great deals through dayseats, lotteries etc, and if you spend more (ouch Hamilton, and front row Phantom at cast change) I enjoy it twice as much which always make it worth. It's a commercial business, they have to earn money as well, as well as their a lot of costs involved. Be happy most of us are based in London/UK and not Broadway.. (Or Germany hahahaha, those prices are insane too if you ask me.) To use The Girls as an example, they originally didn't have premium seats but they had a rigid price band of £69.50, £49.50 and £29.50 and they had to change a few months later. I think premiums are the necessary evil if they're balanced with lower priced tickets at the other scale. |
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Jul 13, 2017 14:59:25 GMT
I wouldn't mind if you could bank on a seat with enough room to put your legs.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 13, 2017 15:05:51 GMT
Of course he thinks the cost is reasonable. The money's flowing in his direction.
I'd love to know where the money is going. If prices over the past thirty years had risen in line with inflation then a top-price ticket would be around £40 and the cheapest tickets would be around £10, and there'd be a lot of the latter rather than just a handful of restricted view seats. So what aspect of theatre has become disproportionately more expensive over that time?
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Post by Deleted on Jul 13, 2017 15:09:25 GMT
I wouldn't mind if you could bank on a seat with enough room to put your legs. *chokes* Burly!! If you could WHAT on a seat?? Oh. Hang on. Sorry. My bad. "Hello? Specsavers? . . " |
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Post by SageStageMgr on Jul 13, 2017 15:49:09 GMT
I didn't know ALW was going to the fringe with his One-Man Stand-Up routine this year. I wish him luck. On ticket prices, it's those who are not "in the know" or not flexible enough with their diaries that I pity. In some ways, dynamic pricing and day seats have made tickets far cheaper - but it doesn't solve it for the working folk in the mass market outside the tube zones, really. That said, it can work the other way, and buying far in advance can save a lot on some shows. Very, very difficult. Monkey, I love you and I'm sorry to ruin kayfabe (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kayfabe) but you're several people on the website at least... What is your honest opinion of ticket prices compared to 10 years ago? |
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Post by Dawnstar on Jul 13, 2017 19:49:03 GMT
but you're several people on the website at least You're saying there's a whole tribe of monkeys here?! The big problem is that at popular times, the times that ordinary non-fans look to go to the theatre (weekends, holidays) the prices are in some cases off-puttingly outrageous. Convincing people that there are more reasonable prices on other dates is hard to impossible, and is the real issue here. I don't think just convincing them is a problem. If people who live outside London, even if they know the prices are cheaper mid-week that doesn't help if they can't get there mid-week. The number of times I've had an email with great-looking a ticket offer & looked it up, only to find it's only applicable Monday-Thursdays so no use. (Actually I physically can get to London for just an evening but I can't do it too often during the week when I'm working as its too tiring so I restrict week nights to one-off shows that I can't see at any other times.) |
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Post by infofreako on Jul 13, 2017 20:08:51 GMT
but you're several people on the website at least Oh, I'm real and just one person. What is your honest opinion of ticket prices compared to 10 years ago? That they are not the actual cause of the death of new audiences. The way in which they are being used by the show's marketing team will be the death instead. There are, in fact, more discounted seats than ever before - but they have become inaccessible to anybody who doesn't know how to work the house booking systems to their advantage, and who needs to fit theatre in around their lives. The big problem is that at popular times, the times that ordinary non-fans look to go to the theatre (weekends, holidays) the prices are in some cases off-puttingly outrageous. Convincing people that there are more reasonable prices on other dates is hard to impossible, and is the real issue here. Actual prices are not that high if you can forage for the right seat on the right date with the right discount / membership. We didn't have to do that before, as prices were fixed and the best seats were not "premium" on top of that. Solve that one, and sanity may prevail again. When I started theategoing, £10 got you a tube fare, McDonalds meal and standby ticket, with change for a programme. Those days are gone and won't return. It is, though, still possible to do all that for under £20, so maybe it isn't as bad as it looks. Oh good, I think I've written a blog I can use... Is this the first time youve been accused of having multiple online personas |
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Post by theatre-turtle on Jul 13, 2017 20:13:04 GMT
The content on Theatremonkey is just too comprehensive and high quality for it to plausibly be the work of one person.
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Post by joem on Jul 13, 2017 20:14:06 GMT
I think some premium prices are too high but, paradoxically, some small subsidised theatres are not charging enough. I also think many f the schemes to get new/younger audiences etc are pointless because they're not targeted enough and end up providing tickets for bargain-hunters (whch I suppose is not too bad) and scalpers (which is).
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Post by Deleted on Jul 13, 2017 22:20:33 GMT
If the cost is so resonable
How come
Half the shows close early
Even after half price offers
And the other half f***ing giving away tickets
Has he forgotten
Love never dies
And Steven ward
He is such a idiot
His face makes my eyes hurt
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Post by Deleted on Jul 13, 2017 22:28:30 GMT
Can't believe he actually paid For Tickets 😂😂 Too funny These idiots Should Vote with their feet And not go You don't hear people in Chanel Complaining and crying About the cost of the new Boy Bag If you don't want to pay Don't have it |
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Post by viserys on Jul 14, 2017 5:01:06 GMT
I think some premium prices are too high but, paradoxically, some small subsidised theatres are not charging enough. I also think many f the schemes to get new/younger audiences etc are pointless because they're not targeted enough and end up providing tickets for bargain-hunters (whch I suppose is not too bad) and scalpers (which is). I agree on the "schemes" - especially in places like the National Theatre, where the much-advertised super-cheap £15 front row seats are usually snapped up by members who can book before the general public. I mean, yea, members should enjoy some advantages, but if you're into theatre enough and rich enough to be a member, you're probably not really the kind of people that should be lured into a theatre with cheap offers. I also agree that some of the premium pricing is very high BUT in London premium is usually just a few rows in the centre stalls and you can book decently priced seats in the first few rows before them, to the sides and behind. It's not as bad as in New York or here in Germany, where top price (they don't call it premium here) extends from row 1 to row 20 with only a few seats on the very sides NOT premium-priced. I also find that many theatres offer very cheap seats - for example the first two rows at the Dominion for American in Paris, the £15 pillar seats at the Old Vic, the £10 monkey nests at the Wyndhams and so on, plus Day Seats and several discount options going around. I don't blame big commercial producers for taking advantage of tourist cash cows like Lion King by charging £125 for premium seats as tourists will usually pay these sums without blinking and the money goes back into new musicals. Well, okay, Lion King/Disney may not be the greatest example considering what a commercial behemoth it is, but you get the idea. And if I look at the latest juggernaut to arrive in town, Hamilton: I did fork out £90 for a very good seat in the front stalls (before the premium section) but that's still much cheaper than any decent seat for the same show in New York (where we had paid $165 for somewhat decent seats in the side section of the stalls when booking opened and before things went crazy). Not to mention Germany, where you pay around £120-130 for decent seats to any of the big musicals - but often get a wildly inferior production quality compared to London (and New York). What I find problematic is that new unknown musicals charge the same prices as the big hits. I think this contributes a lot to the fact that so many of the recent new shows didn't take off - The Girls being the latest, and before that Mrs Henderson Presents, Made in Dagenham, etc. which I all enjoyed a lot. But if you're an average punter going to the theatre 2-3 times a year and you are prepared to spend £200 on two tickets and a meal, you'll probably go for something that's already an established success or has familiar music than take the risk of something unknown. |
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Post by maggiem on Jul 14, 2017 13:06:05 GMT
The big problem is that at popular times, the times that ordinary non-fans look to go to the theatre (weekends, holidays) the prices are in some cases off-puttingly outrageous. Convincing people that there are more reasonable prices on other dates is hard to impossible, and is the real issue here. I don't think just convincing them is a problem. If people who live outside London, even if they know the prices are cheaper mid-week that doesn't help if they can't get there mid-week. The number of times I've had an email with great-looking a ticket offer & looked it up, only to find it's only applicable Monday-Thursdays so no use. (Actually I physically can get to London for just an evening but I can't do it too often during the week when I'm working as its too tiring so I restrict week nights to one-off shows that I can't see at any other times.) If I'm going to London for theatre, it will be mainly Saturdays for the afternoon performances, as I'm coming down from Manchester on the train, and returning in the evening. Evening performances there are only booked if I'm there for a weekend, but it still means Friday or Saturday night. No bargains then! |
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Post by vabbian on Jul 14, 2017 13:11:13 GMT
It is reasonable COMPARED to Broadway, for that I am grateful.
It is a luxury for many.
A problem with the cheap seats is that those with less money will book them as a treat,
go to theatre, have a sh*t experience in the back behind a speaker, and never return.
I think us as regular theatre goers know the tips and tricks to get good deals,
but most people have no idea about day seats for example and the like.
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Jul 14, 2017 13:31:27 GMT
I don't think just convincing them is a problem. If people who live outside London, even if they know the prices are cheaper mid-week that doesn't help if they can't get there mid-week. The number of times I've had an email with great-looking a ticket offer & looked it up, only to find it's only applicable Monday-Thursdays so no use. (Actually I physically can get to London for just an evening but I can't do it too often during the week when I'm working as its too tiring so I restrict week nights to one-off shows that I can't see at any other times.) If I'm going to London for theatre, it will be mainly Saturdays for the afternoon performances, as I'm coming down from Manchester on the train, and returning in the evening. Evening performances there are only booked if I'm there for a weekend, but it still means Friday or Saturday night. No bargains then! Exactly. And unless you've got some sort of rare mega-sale train fare you have to add £50 to the cost of the ticket so doing a west end matinee from manc is going to be £100. |
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