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Post by Mark on Mar 27, 2018 22:37:45 GMT
Tonight I attended "The Last Ship" at Northern Stage and the start time was 6pm. On asking the reasons for the early curtain, I'm told this is something they do as a "straight from work" show so that people working in the city can see the show without having to hang around.
Now the standard time in the UK seems set on 7:30, and 2:30 matinees. Broadway is standardly 8pm, and two show days 2 and 8. Of course there are shows (family shows, long runtime) which buck this trend.
Do you think an early curtain say one night a week could work in London? I know some Broadway shows have one show a week earlier at 7pm, but we never really get an earlier start in London than 7:30 unless it's a 3hr plus job. For most people who work in London, seeing a midweek show means not getting home until gone 11pm. It was really great tonight to see a full length musical that was finished just before 9pm.
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Post by oxfordsimon on Mar 27, 2018 23:00:43 GMT
The Oxford Playhouse has a very idiosyncratic schedule
7.30pm for all evening shows apart from Fridays - where they don't start until 8pm
The rationale that is always trotted out is to allow Oxford residents who work in London time to get back to see the Playhouse offering of the week.
All it means in reality these days is that Friday night shows finish really late.
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Post by Stephen on Mar 27, 2018 23:16:32 GMT
I don't mind a 7.30 start too much although i'm usually halfway through a delicious dessert when I have to get to the theatre. The occasional 8pm start wouldn't bother me!
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Mar 27, 2018 23:41:18 GMT
Shriek 7pm always leads to people rolling up late and disturbing everyone. Rocky Horror 8pm because it’s “edgy”? Not really. They just want people to get tanked up in the bar.
Let’s just go for 7.30 then we all know where we are.
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Post by david on Mar 28, 2018 6:45:01 GMT
Personally, a 7.30pm start for a show isn’t an issue. I certainly wouldn’t want to be finishing work and then dashing off to the theatre straight away. The 7.30pm start allows me to have a bite to eat and chill before a show. As BurlyBeaR stated, how many more people would show up late and cause disruption by having an earlier start. If people are turning up late for a 7.30/8pm show, this would definitely be worse for an early start.
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Post by ellie1981 on Mar 28, 2018 6:58:28 GMT
I think 7:30pm is just about right, especially for anyone wanting a meal before when coming from work. What I like about theatre so much is how reliable the times are.
Just to hijack the topic for a second - What I don’t like is varying start times for Pop/Rock concerts. Almost universally tickets say that doors open at 6:30pm, when sometimes a support act might not even start until 8pm and main act not until as late as after 9pm. Encouraging people to turn up more than 2 hours early is purely a ploy to get people to buy food and drink.
You will often see people leaving shows early in order to catch their trains home. I don’t have a problem at the moment myself as I live quite central with good 24 hour bus services, but I’ve seen people around me looking at the time constantly and leaving only halfway into a concert before. It doesn’t help that some of the major London concert venues (The O2, Brixton Academy, Wembley) are on the far end of their tube lines, so the last trains are quite early. Seriously what difference would it make to event organisers and performers to just start a show an hour earlier, particularly on a Sunday?
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Post by jek on Mar 28, 2018 7:00:39 GMT
The London Symphony Orchestra has started programming what it calls a six thirty fix which are concerts of about an hour in length starting at 6.30 pm. They ran Bernstein's Wonderful Town as one of these and tonight they have a programme of Stravinsky and Debussy in the same format. The idea is that it is something you can pop in to on your way home from work. They are also slightly less formal than the LSO regular concerts with the conductor introducing the pieces and the audience encouraged to use the Encue app on their phones during the concert to follow what is going on. One thing I have noticed booking them though is that they are not noticeably cheaper than the regular concerts. But they do sell, as with all LSO concerts, the bargain £5 tickets anywhere in the hall for the under 18s (really helpful if, like me, you have a child doing A Level music).
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Post by Deleted on Mar 28, 2018 7:14:27 GMT
I'm delighted for people from the north if they can leave work in time to get to a 6pm show... I don't think that's going to work for many people in London.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 28, 2018 7:20:28 GMT
I like 7:45pm as a curtain time. If I'm coming into London on a weekday evening, that 15 minutes is just enough to take the pressure off and let me eat dinner at a slightly more normal speed without being long enough to make me significantly later home afterwards. I also appreciate it when Sunday performances start earlier than other days' performances (such as the Globe's 1pm and 6:30pm compared with every other day's 2pm and 7:30pm) just because it takes the edge off a little come Monday morning.
If I were seeing a show in London that started at 6pm, I'd appreciate the idea of getting home early in theory, but in actuality I bet you anything I'd be fishing around for a late show to squeeze in afterwards (almost certainly at the Soho Theatre, but the VAULT Festival is pretty good for that too if it's the right time of year). It would be especially nice if I worked near the theatre so I could avoid rush hour tubes. I'd be a little sad about not having time to eat first though, dinner time is 6:30-7 around our way.
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Post by Someone in a tree on Mar 28, 2018 7:38:36 GMT
One night a week, mon or tue a 6.30 or 7 pm start would be great. I would be inclined to book them
Early starts must be very useful for people with caring responsibilities or early birds
On the subject of late starts why does the MCF normally start at 8 pm? It makes for a long night
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Post by Deleted on Mar 28, 2018 7:41:22 GMT
I don't know, but I'd guess it might be something to do with encouraging people to eat in the restaurant before seeing a show? I do like their 3:30pm matinee time though, that's been very helpful for me in the past, for squeezing in an early matinee at the Unicorn beforehand or for getting a return when my 2:30pm matinee the other side of town has been cancelled.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 28, 2018 7:44:34 GMT
Funny enough I was at a 7pm show yesterday. On one hand I spent the preceding hours cursing it for being just that bit earlier. On the flip side being only an hour to was praising it that I was home by 9....
That said I think most people would struggle getting into/across London for 6pm starts. Hell traffic in Cardiff would make that a struggle.
I do like the odd 3.30pm or 5.30pm shows - either to squeeze in an extra one, or just for a “get home early” situation now and then.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 28, 2018 7:45:21 GMT
Of course this entire thread makes me want to do my best Roy Cohn “Eight O’Clock, theatres always at 8...f***ing tourists”
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Post by viserys on Mar 28, 2018 7:58:30 GMT
I don't care much in London since I'm always just a short walk/tube ride from the hotel afterwards and don't have to get up early next morning, but I'm very glad that we have one early midweek show here that starts at 6.30.
I tend to book that one especially when I'm on my own as I don't do a big dinner on my own anyway. I can just leave work at five, wander into town, have a snack, be at the theatre around six and happy to be home by nine or so. Of course that does work best for locals - we had booked the early 6.30 performance for Tarzan last December and got stuck in abysmal rush hour traffic on the way there, so dinner felt very rushed.
Anyway, I think I like the Broadway/German solution of ONE earlier midweek performance, so people can choose for themselves which one they prefer. (Gasp, I can't believe I said something positive about German theatre).
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Post by Deleted on Mar 28, 2018 7:59:24 GMT
Wasn't it The Exorcist in London recently that had odd times? Something like 4:30pm, 6pm, and 9pm or something like that?
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Post by bellboard27 on Mar 28, 2018 8:16:58 GMT
I’m sure convenience for diners determines much ROH timing. Usually a 7.30 start, but earlier for longer productions. However, short productions seem to start later. For example, From The House of the Dead started at 8 pm, but I would have preferred getting home earlier!
I visit Belgium quite a lot and start times often tend to be 8 pm. I’ve seen this with operas ending at 11.30 pm, which seems a bit late for many mid week audiences.
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Post by shady23 on Mar 28, 2018 8:27:30 GMT
I'm sure Rock of Ages in the West End used to have a Friday night show at 5pm and then one at 8. Can't imagine that is as fun for the actors.
The Band do a 5pm show as well as a matinee in tour so assume they'd do this in the West End too. It's great for those on holiday but probably to early for those at work.
I love them though! I know it's more busy in London but I certainly don't like travelling back late from shows in the North East as it's usually earily quiet apart from drunks and teenagers acting up
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Post by kathryn on Mar 28, 2018 8:50:20 GMT
If I were seeing a show in London that started at 6pm, I'd appreciate the idea of getting home early in theory, but in actuality I bet you anything I'd be fishing around for a late show to squeeze in afterwards (almost certainly at the Soho Theatre, but the VAULT Festival is pretty good for that too if it's the right time of year). It would be especially nice if I worked near the theatre so I could avoid rush hour tubes. I'd be a little sad about not having time to eat first though, dinner time is 6:30-7 around our way. I doubt I'd be able to fit in dinner before a 6pm start after finishing work (I normally finish between 5.15pm and 5.30pm), so the time I'd gain by finishing early I'd lose by having to eat straight after - unless I just scoffed a sandwich down in the interval. I'd probably end up getting the same train home. Although if I was an early bird who finished work at 4.30 pm it might work - early dinner, early show, and early to bed!
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Post by andrew on Mar 28, 2018 9:21:24 GMT
6pm as standard just won't work in London, 7.30 is pitched perfectly for finishing work, having a meal and getting to the theatre. It's also relatively convenient for tourists who classically have long days and don't want to be sitting down to dinner at 10pm after the show or munching their Garfunkels at 4.30pm.
I finish work at 6pm and generally squeeze a quick fast food bite to eat before heading to the theatre, 7pm starts mean no dinner. It would be nice on work nights not to have to go to bed late to see a 2 act show, but hell I start work at 7.30 or 8 in the morning and I seem to manage fine. Leave it as it is.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 28, 2018 9:22:30 GMT
Rock of Ages had a 5.30 Friday show on tour.
Equally the late matinee/early evening are handy in NY either to catch a later cabaret show after or just get a much needed early night one evening of the holiday!
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Post by CG on the loose on Mar 28, 2018 9:33:08 GMT
7.30pm is usually OK - allows for food, etc, etc, but for someone who has a minimum 2 hour journey home from London and infrequent trains past the commuter rush, one night a week with an earlier start time would make life both a bit less stressful and a whole lot less knackering, especially for shows with longer run times. On balance I'd rather make it home after the show than have a leisurely meal before it!
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Post by Deleted on Mar 28, 2018 9:50:05 GMT
If the curtain time was earlier than 7.30 I simply couldn't go on a weeknight - not everyone finishes work at 5.30pm! As it is a 7.30pm start for me means a sandwich on the Tube for dinner or I won't get there in time.
I hate the fact that lots of Proms now start at 7pm as it basically bars me from seeing them as I can't get to Kensington in time.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 28, 2018 10:36:24 GMT
No earlier than 7:30 please. If it is moved earlier then I shall always buy a ticket in the middle of the stalls and arrive late with my G&T making every single one of you stand up so that I can get to my seat.
And I'll do it at the interval too. Just for spite.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 28, 2018 11:12:56 GMT
All this talk of eating before shows has made me wonder if we’ve ever had a thread on best places to eat near each theatre. The website hotdinners did a great post on best family friendly restaurants that aren’t dreadful tourist traps near major tourist spots (https://www.hot-dinners.com/Features/Hot-Dinners-recommends/great-restaurants-to-take-kids-out-to-in-london?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=180327&idU=3) (apologies, I have not worked out how to do nice embedded links in posts on a mobile device)
I’ll start the thread if there’s interest. In the spirit of full disclosure, I used to moderate a restaurant Internet forum, so I will do my best to reign in my more opinionated, obsessive tendencies.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 28, 2018 11:39:50 GMT
All this talk of eating before shows has made me wonder if we’ve ever had a thread on best places to eat near each theatre. The website hotdinners did a great post on best family friendly restaurants that aren’t dreadful tourist traps near major tourist spots (https://www.hot-dinners.com/Features/Hot-Dinners-recommends/great-restaurants-to-take-kids-out-to-in-london?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=180327&idU=3) (apologies, I have not worked out how to do nice embedded links in posts on a mobile device) I’ll start the thread if there’s interest. In the spirit of full disclosure, I used to moderate a restaurant Internet forum, so I will do my best to reign in my more opinionated, obsessive tendencies. Probably a good time to resurrect this thread: theatreboard.co.uk/thread/1566/best-show-eateries
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