4,214 posts
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Post by anthony40 on Jun 4, 2018 19:54:27 GMT
So I was out at a very popular musical last week and at the interval the guy comes out with his little table selling ice-creams. £4.50 per tub! Blimey! (ooh get me. I sounded English there for a bit).
For that price I can go to Sainsbury's and buy a tub nearly three times the price for less than that!
One has to question at what point in the theatre going experience do you get so caught up that despite forking out money for the ticket, you also want to pay additional money for ice-cream.
Is it just me? Do other people feel the same way?
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Post by Deleted on Jun 4, 2018 20:07:40 GMT
I only buy ice cream at regional theatres where they cost less or if a family member hands me a note and tells me to get one for myself.
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1,250 posts
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Post by joem on Jun 4, 2018 20:24:06 GMT
So I was out at a very popular musical last week and at the interval the guy comes out with his little table selling ice-creams. £4.50 per tub! Blimey! (ooh get me. I sounded English there for a bit). For that price I can go to Sainsbury's and buy a tub nearly three times the price for less than that! One has to question at what point in the theatre going experience do you get so caught up that despite forking out money for the ticket, you also want to pay additional money for ice-cream. Is it just me? Do other people feel the same way? I suppose there's always enough people to scalp for them to make plenty of money with the ice-cream. The rip-off prices put me off so that I rarely have one these days, except where the prices are more reasonable. It is annoying when you feel they are trying it on with EVERYTHING. Not enough to have high ticket prices and booking fees and transaction charges, no let's also have rip-off ice-cream and drinks you need a mortgage to pay for. |
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3,321 posts
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Post by david on Jun 4, 2018 20:25:26 GMT
It’s definitely a British tradition isn’t it to have ice cream at the interval. I don’t know where or how this originated, maybe other board members might have some knowledge on this. I just feel sorry for the theatre staff who have to clear all the mess after each show. I also wonder what non uk based theatre goers think when the ice cream trolley appears at the interval.
I have to agree, it is expensive for the amount you get, but in the current hot weather, it’s definitely welcomed in order to try and cool down. Though in terms of economics, it is a bit weird that some theatres charge the same for a programme as they do for ice-cream. At least you can take the programme home with you!
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Post by Deleted on Jun 4, 2018 20:53:51 GMT
I never buy an interval ice-cream now. Far too expensive, and I’ve usually just eaten a meal before the show. Plus they’re always a bit on the melted side after spending an age queuing up to buy them, giving you very little time to eat them before the start of Act Two. I can’t bear the scraping that goes on for a couple of minutes once the lights go down.
But... an interval ice-cream does conjure up wonderful memories of childhood, when you’d be taken to the pictures by your mum and dad, and for an added treat you’d be given some extra pocket money and be allowed to walk all the way down to the usherette at the front, in the dark, and peer into the lit up tray she’d be carrying on a strap around her neck. And you’d pick a tub and maybe even a Kia-Ora orange juice. The fact that the Walls vanilla ice-cream tasted like wax, and the orange juice was like flavoured water made no difference whatsoever. You’d made the journey to the front on your own, and you were walking all the way back to your seat knowing that you were going to watch a Walt Disney film after the silky curtains swished aside.
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1,863 posts
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Post by NeilVHughes on Jun 4, 2018 20:59:17 GMT
Agreed david, definitely a British Tradition, spent a few minutes traipsing round the Theatre on my first visit to Broadway looking for the ice cream, fortunately there was a Ben & Jerry’s on Times Square which was on my back to my Hotel to satiate my craving. Rarely buy one now, calculated for the cost of the ice cream and/or wine consumed each month was equivalent to an extra Theatre visit or two. One thing I do not understand is why people buy bottled water, most Theatres have free water at the extremities of the bar, do hate the Theatres where you have to ask for tap water and always make a sure I ask for ice in these instances. |
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Post by profquatermass on Jun 4, 2018 21:22:20 GMT
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3,321 posts
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Post by david on Jun 4, 2018 21:29:39 GMT
Agreed david , definitely a British Tradition, spent a few minutes traipsing round the Theatre on my first visit to Broadway looking for the ice cream, fortunately there was a Ben & Jerry’s on Times Square which was on my back to my Hotel to satiate my craving. Rarely buy one now, calculated for the cost of the ice cream and/or wine consumed each month was equivalent to an extra Theatre visit or two. One thing I do not understand is why people buy bottled water, most Theatres have free water at the extremities of the bar, do hate the Theatres where you have to ask for tap water and always make a sure I ask for ice in these instances. On my first ever trip to NY in 2016, I must admit it was a really odd feeling not having the ice cream cart out at the interval. I had landed at JFK a few hours earlier, and on a whim wanted to see a show as the jet lag hadn’t kicked in yet. So Fiddler on the roof it was. How desperate was I at the interval for an ice cream. I looked high and low, but couldn’t see a selling station. I was in bits! The jet lag had started to kick in and all I wanted was a vanilla ice cream! Like you after the show, I managed to find one in Times Square. Thankyou lord for late night closing! |
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529 posts
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Post by ruby on Jun 4, 2018 22:26:41 GMT
I only buy ice cream at regional theatres where they cost less I've paid £4.50 at the Bristol Hippodrome but not more than £3.50 at any West End theatre. Yes, they are expensive but I don't normally have any other food or drink there so it's part of the experience. |
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5,062 posts
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Post by Phantom of London on Jun 5, 2018 0:00:58 GMT
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5,062 posts
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Post by Phantom of London on Jun 5, 2018 0:07:05 GMT
No ice cream on Broadway.
But if you are in need of calories, check out Juniors which is behind the Lion King, it does the best New York cheesecake on the planet.
If you need an Ice Cream fix, check out Ccldstone Cremery on 42nd Street, just past the American Airlines Theatre and opposite Madame Tussaud’s, awesome ice cream.
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Post by learfan on Jun 5, 2018 5:44:17 GMT
Never buy food at the theatre, is and always was a rip off. Never got the odd British obsession with rushing for ice cream at the interval.
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8,162 posts
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Post by alece10 on Jun 5, 2018 5:54:53 GMT
If I go to the theatre alone I never buy an ice cream but if with friends we always seem to have one. It's a kind of a treat for a special night out.
Agree about prices which are outrageous.
Mind you now worse than in cinemas where you have to take out a bank loan for popcorn and a fizzy drink.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 5, 2018 6:19:53 GMT
I only buy theatre ice-cream at one place and that is Blackpool Grand Theatre where it is £1.50 for a small tub. You Londoners must be so jealous.
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19,793 posts
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Jun 5, 2018 6:53:34 GMT
ATG Manchester is £3.50 for 110ml or £4.50 for 180ml. Or a whopping £5.00 for a meagre 100ml of something called Oppo which I think is frozen yoghurt or something.
They must keep them in a super deep freeze here because when I see people having them they’re always rock hard and they’re jabbing away at it with those ridiculous spoons.
I’m usually sat near the sellers and confess to enjoying it when a novice customer gets served and is then asked for the best part of a tenner for two tiny tubs. You can almost see them recoil. Then the walk of shame when they come back to ask for spoons only to be told they’re in the lids 😬
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821 posts
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Post by ensembleswings on Jun 5, 2018 8:33:44 GMT
There’s no denying they’re overly expensive for what they are but on the very rare occasion I still buy them as a treat. I usually go to the theatre alone in which case I never buy ice cream or drinks or anything like that, but if there’s a group of us and we’ve gone for a particular reason/occasion then we go full out with the drinks and ice creams (well ice creams in the summer anyway).
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5,159 posts
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Post by TallPaul on Jun 5, 2018 8:45:14 GMT
I'm not 100% sure how much the tubs cost at Sheffield Theatres (about £3 I think), but those who do partake have the satisfaction of knowing they are supporting an enterprising local farm, located probably just five or six miles away, high on the hills.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 5, 2018 8:57:12 GMT
I'm not 100% sure how much the tubs cost at Sheffield Theatres (about £3 I think), but those who do partake have the satisfaction of knowing they are supporting an enterprising local farm, located probably just five or six miles away, high on the hills. . . stood a lonely goatherd? I never buy ice cream at the theatre. I usually distract the usher and steal one.* * Of course I don't, because that's wrong of course. One should never distract an usher while they are doing their job. |
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Post by Deleted on Jun 5, 2018 9:06:00 GMT
Its not limited to ice cream though.
Average price of a 500ml bottle of water in theatres is £2.50 - a bottle the same size at a corner shop or local/express supermarket would be around 80p.
A slab of 24 bottles of water from a wholesaler is around £4.50 - per bottle thats 18p! - They're making about £50 every 24 bottles of water they sell.
It's insulting.
I always bring my own water and encourage others to bring their own drinks as a result.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 5, 2018 9:13:17 GMT
But to be fair to the theatres, they're expensive places to run and maintain and if they have to keep on offering all the cheap and discounted tickets that everyone seems to want then they've got to try to make their money somehow.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 5, 2018 9:22:55 GMT
Yep, it's also cheaper to buy ingredients in bulk in a supermarket than it is to go to a gourmet restaurant, but if you choose the restaurant, you're paying for convenience and service and overheads just as much as (if not more than) you're paying for the meal. If you don't want to contribute towards the additional stuff, then fine, bring your own water. If you can afford to pay theatre prices for your drinks (and most people really don't go to the theatre anywhere near as often as we do, so it does count as a rare special treat night out for the bulk of the audience) and are happy to contribute in that way, then go for it. It doesn't make you an idiot or a mug if you weigh up your options and decide you're fine with the pricier one.
(It does make the theatres ethically dodgy if they flatly refuse to let anyone weigh up their options and choose to bring their own water in though, especially on a hot day. And I suppose there's an option that overseas tourists may not be familiar enough with our currency and our prices to know what the cost difference is, but even without knowing exchange rates, they can still work out if they're being charged a large portion of what they've set aside for their holiday spending or if they're being charged a tiny amount compared to the number of pounds they have to hand.)
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136 posts
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Post by Lemansky on Jun 5, 2018 10:21:18 GMT
They are very expensive, but if I'm at the theatre with family or friends we do always tend to get one. I don't if I'm seeing something for work, unless I'm with some of my colleagues from the US who think it's a quaint and fun thing to do...although in that case I'm not generally the person paying for it!
I am rather partial to sorbet though, so was very pleased to see the Coliseum had a few different flavours when I was there to see Chess on Saturday. The Old Vic had a lovely elderflower and pear one a couple of years ago which I've not seen since.
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19,793 posts
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Jun 5, 2018 11:44:08 GMT
I never buy them, as I can't digest them, alas. Best value locally is St Alban's Arena at £2.50 for a decent sized tub. Not even Ben & Jerry’s Chunky Monkey? Banana ice cream with banana shaped choccie chunks and NUTS. 🍌 🍫 🥜🍫🍌🥜🙈🍫🙈🍌🥜🍫🙈🥜🥜🍫🍌🍌🙈🥜🍫🙈🙈🥜🍌🍌🍌🍫 what a shame, I’ll have to have yours! |
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4,156 posts
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Post by kathryn on Jun 5, 2018 11:51:57 GMT
I never buy them, as I can't digest them, alas. Me too. Friday night before Young Frankenstein I treated myself to some chocolate and banana sorbets from the posh italian ice cream place just up the street instead - although I had to scoff it outside the theatre. |
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Post by talkingheads on Jun 5, 2018 12:05:21 GMT
I think it was Portsmouth Guildhall I went to see Joe Satriani. Three of us there, Mum asked me to get three ice creams, gave me a twenty. I came back with the three tubs and a fiver change. I'll never forget the look on her face (and on the faces of the people next to her when she turned the air blue complaining!)
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