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Post by Deleted on Feb 20, 2019 11:00:36 GMT
I think the point that has been sorely missed by a particular poster here as well is is regional lot DO plan in advance. I mean hands up who had Company tickets or CFA tickets or Waitress tickets months in advance? What we all tend to do is book a key show or shows months out then add in extras around it hoping for discounts closer to the time and/or a lucky rush day.
And yes for regional, I book a mix of fringe and big tours for me and friends and it’s always a nicer surprise when “4 for x show” is £40 rather than “one for x show” is £45
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Post by Deleted on Feb 20, 2019 11:01:47 GMT
Ah, the ignorance of Londoners - finding out the reality of the actual non-bubble world. Imagine wanting to book things months in advance so you can, you know, actually see shows when in London that you want to see rather than wait for the day in question and hope you can bag a bargain or have a day wasted or end up at a show you have no interest in as its whats was on offer. Oh us rural hicks wanting to be sure of where we are going before we arrive in the crime cesspit that is your nations capital. #prayforus Mind you this board does reinforce how conservative the Londoners are in their theatre choices, maybe they should move to the hillbillyside and see the far more exotic programme of productions that most areas put on compared to the 73rd year of Wicked, Mamma Mia etc that London thrives on. Here its easy to avoid the latest tired tour of Les Mis or the next in a long line of former Soap stars appearing in new versions of plays from the 70s and 80s and see a far far wider variety of performance shows, styles and experimentation than you can find in the stuffy confines of the Thames area. I see far better shows outside of London than I do when I'm there and (back on track) most of them are cheaper. I don't really do sarcasm so you'll have to forgive me .. All I was arguing is that cheap theatre- for the high profile, must see plays (I can't stand musicals so have no idea if it would work for them) - is still an option for those who live further afield with forward planning. I was not 'Mansplainig' a ridiculous term I had never heard until this morning and neither had the women in my office who I relayed the story of this thread to.(They actually said 'people need to get a grip') I was offering an opinion, no more, no less. There are some great theatres and great productions outside London - I have had the pleasure of attending performances at a number of them - and if the thread had been about 'regional' theatres I would have offered an opinion on those Alas, this is about London. One small point to pull you up on though... You may be being sarcastic but London is far from being in the middle of an uncontrollable crime wave. With a population of nearly 10m there's always going to be more crime here than in Eastbourne but it is an incredibly safe place to visit. I am proud of my City and hate the thought of just a single person being too frightened to visit it just because of what they've seen on the news |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 20, 2019 11:03:59 GMT
I think the point that has been sorely missed by a particular poster here as well is is regional lot DO plan in advance. I mean hands up who had Company tickets or CFA tickets or Waitress tickets months in advance? What we all tend to do is book a key show or shows months out then add in extras around it hoping for discounts closer to the time and/or a lucky rush day. And yes for regional, I book a mix of fringe and big tours for me and friends and it’s always a nicer surprise when “4 for x show” is £40 rather than “one for x show” is £45 You don't have to speak about me as if I am Lord Voldemort! We had a disagreement but we're both adults... |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 20, 2019 11:18:12 GMT
All I was arguing is that cheap theatre- for the high profile, must see plays (I can't stand musicals so have no idea if it would work for them) - is still an option for those who live further afield with forward planning. What you said was it's as easy for non-Londers as it is for Londoners to get to the theatre cheaply. Which a number of people have reasonably discredited. I think what you failed to acknowledge in your initial response was your reply was to a number of seasoned theatre goers all posting about how they have been affected by the rise in prices, as if they are all unaware of the concept of planning early and getting cheap(er) tickets. |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 20, 2019 11:20:10 GMT
I think the point that has been sorely missed by a particular poster here as well is is regional lot DO plan in advance. I mean hands up who had Company tickets or CFA tickets or Waitress tickets months in advance? What we all tend to do is book a key show or shows months out then add in extras around it hoping for discounts closer to the time and/or a lucky rush day. And yes for regional, I book a mix of fringe and big tours for me and friends and it’s always a nicer surprise when “4 for x show” is £40 rather than “one for x show” is £45 You don't have to speak about me as if I am Lord Voldemort! We had a disagreement but we're both adults... Well you got most offended about a post in which I didn’t name you so thought it best to be cautious of your delicate sensibility... Anyway I don’t know who Cate Blanchett is I can’t possibly be expected to know who Voldemort is |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 20, 2019 11:35:05 GMT
You don't have to speak about me as if I am Lord Voldemort! We had a disagreement but we're both adults... Well you got most offended about a post in which I didn’t name you so thought it best to be cautious of your delicate sensibility... Anyway I don’t know who Cate Blanchett is I can’t possibly be expected to know who Voldemort is You don't know who Blanchett is??? I'm not delicate, I just thought it was bad form to be critical but respectful on here but mock me behind my back on another platform. Mock me on here if you want where I can defend myself but if my friend hadn't alerted me to your tweets I wouldn't have known. Poor form and it does increase the possibility of a clique forming or extending which is surely something the board can go without. Anyway, we've both had a say and we move on. |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 20, 2019 11:44:06 GMT
The Blanchett remark was a joke... first rule of theatrboard assume sarcasm until told otherwise and you’ll do well.
(Second rule accusing people of cliques for disagreeing with you won’t go down well)
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Feb 20, 2019 11:57:37 GMT
Does anyone fear that they (if things carry on as they are) will simply be priced out of West End theatre for good? (especially people who do not live and/or work in greater London and don't have the flexibilty necessary to get cheap day tickets) Maybe I'm showing a Londonder's ignorance but me buying a cheap ticket 6 months in advance and getting to the theatre by bus is surely as easy as those who live further afield buying a cheap ticket and an advance off peak train ticket? You can get £20 return tickets to London from Manchester - for example - 3 months in advance and the last train back is well after the end of an evening performance which means you could take in two plays.I'm not saying the costs wouldn't mount up throughout the year if you did that regularly but you can see deploy the same flexibility as Londonders to some degree. Things must have changed since you were last in Manc for the footy! An advance single train ticket is £24 so minimum £48 return. They’re released 3 months ahead, if you book as far as 6 months ahead you’ll pay more because the offfer isn’t available then. Last train back from Euston to Manchester on a Saturday evening is 21:43 It’s possible to do a matinee on Saturday and head home after that for under a hundred quid all-in but that journey back is a bit of a buzzkill! |
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Post by shady23 on Feb 20, 2019 11:59:06 GMT
As soon as train tickets go on sale they are already ridiculously priced from my neck of the woods these days. They have gone up so much since being taken over my a new train company.
My days of frequently travelling by train to London are long gone.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 20, 2019 12:16:31 GMT
Maybe I'm showing a Londonder's ignorance but me buying a cheap ticket 6 months in advance and getting to the theatre by bus is surely as easy as those who live further afield buying a cheap ticket and an advance off peak train ticket? You can get £20 return tickets to London from Manchester - for example - 3 months in advance and the last train back is well after the end of an evening performance which means you could take in two plays.I'm not saying the costs wouldn't mount up throughout the year if you did that regularly but you can see deploy the same flexibility as Londonders to some degree. Things must have changed since you were last in Manc for the footy! An advance single train ticket is £24 so minimum £48 return. They’re released 3 months ahead, if you book as far as 6 months ahead you’ll pay more because the offfer isn’t available then. Last train back from Euston to Manchester on a Saturday evening is 21:43 It’s possible to do a matinee on Saturday and head home after that for under a hundred quid all-in but that journey back is a bit of a buzzkill! I use split ticket tricks so a ticket from London to Stoke return and then a return from there to Manchester, just for example. Virgin Trains via Crewe are brilliant for getting one over the system. Honestly have never paid more than I claimed doing this and I was last in Manchester in September. |
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Post by groupbooker on Feb 20, 2019 12:55:35 GMT
After over 42+ years of bringing groups up to the West End for shows, I have had enough. Not only for us coming from darkest Cornwall is the ridiculous price now of mainly musicals but the problems with parking a coach, dropping some of our disabled people near a theatre. We have disabled blue badges on the windscreen but stop and 3 wardens appear from behind a lamppost! Westminster and Camden don't not take blue badges either so we are told by wardens. Coming from Cornwall and with a lot still working we cannot really do weekdays for shows, so we are stuck with Saturday matinees and a hotel. There are a lot of shows they would like to see but the prices are getting that to work out a cost for show/hotel/coach is getting stupid. They certainly would not want to pay £100+ for any ticket, £80/£85 is good for us but not in the back rows of theatres. I have good seats for CFA and Waitress at a good price but Poppins will be the last of 3 coach trips in London.
I did try a small group by train on a Saturday but even that with tickets (they want good seats) and train tickets (group3 now some sort of a saver) came to around £160 each. Slightly more and they can get half board at a hotel outside London. We cannot do day tickets etc, every thing needs to be in place before we arrive.
What will happen now is that is we will wait for the shows to tour and we will go to either Bristol or Cardiff where you are not a commodity but a person and they are far more willing to give you time to sort the group out at reasonable rates.
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Post by Mark on Feb 20, 2019 13:12:36 GMT
Certainly been an interesting read!
I live in Sunderland so have Sunderland Empire and Newcastle Theatre Royal as my two local “big” theatres. Newcastle have a great scheme of standby tickets two hours before the show (any remaining seats sold half price, and I’ve never had an issue). Sunderland on the other hand is always majorly overpriced and never really discount. This leads to a lot of performances being very quiet - it’s a very big venue!
West End on the other hand, I find I can usually get a decently priced ticket on the day, with many shows offering online rush/ standby deals (National Theatre). TKTS often has good deals. Online lotteries. Dynamic pricing. And then Sunderland still trying to charge £50+ a ticket for something less than 25% sold.
True my job means I often have to book hotels in London or stay with friends, but there are cheap options available. I always combine my work stays with a theatre trip in the evening. Heathrow Central Travelodge is often a bargain and available under £30 a night, it’s about 40 mins tube ride into central London.
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Post by david on Feb 20, 2019 13:31:02 GMT
I think the point that has been sorely missed by a particular poster here as well is is regional lot DO plan in advance. I mean hands up who had Company tickets or CFA tickets or Waitress tickets months in advance? What we all tend to do is book a key show or shows months out then add in extras around it hoping for discounts closer to the time and/or a lucky rush day. I’m definitely in the group of planning well in advance. Everytime a new booking period opens up, I’m sat at my dining table with the pens, diary and laptop trying to sort out all the stuff I want to see along with sorting out trains and accommodation. It’s like some sort of military operation trying to coordinate everything to get the cheapest deals. The only thing that stuffs it up is when you get an announcement like the Dame Maggie Smith performance, then it’s back to the drawing board to try and fit it in, even if it means sacking off something else I had previously pencilled in. Thankfully, with the regional stuff I’ve managed to pick up a lot of cheap tickets for Manchester (Royal Exchange) and Liverpool (Playhouse and Everyman) to help balance out the cost of the London trips. |
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Post by kathryn on Feb 20, 2019 14:37:03 GMT
Well you got most offended about a post in which I didn’t name you so thought it best to be cautious of your delicate sensibility... Anyway I don’t know who Cate Blanchett is I can’t possibly be expected to know who Voldemort is You don't know who Blanchett is??? I'm not delicate, I just thought it was bad form to be critical but respectful on here but mock me behind my back on another platform. Mock me on here if you want where I can defend myself but if my friend hadn't alerted me to your tweets I wouldn't have known. Poor form and it does increase the possibility of a clique forming or extending which is surely something the board can go without. Anyway, we've both had a say and we move on. You were not being mocked. You were not named or linked to, and neither was the board or the thread. The idea that train tickets are cheap and easy to get was being reacted to painfully by someone who had just had to buy a very expensive one! And agreed with by several of us who also have to spend a fortune on them (my season ticket was nearly £4K this year!) Who among us has not wanted to laugh-cry when faced with paying for expensive train tickets? Honestly, there’s no need to take it so personally. |
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Post by justfran on Feb 20, 2019 15:19:22 GMT
Certainly been an interesting read! I live in Sunderland so have Sunderland Empire and Newcastle Theatre Royal as my two local “big” theatres. Newcastle have a great scheme of standby tickets two hours before the show (any remaining seats sold half price, and I’ve never had an issue). Sunderland on the other hand is always majorly overpriced and never really discount. This leads to a lot of performances being very quiet - it’s a very big venue! West End on the other hand, I find I can usually get a decently priced ticket on the day, with many shows offering online rush/ standby deals (National Theatre). TKTS often has good deals. Online lotteries. Dynamic pricing. And then Sunderland still trying to charge £50+ a ticket for something less than 25% sold. True my job means I often have to book hotels in London or stay with friends, but there are cheap options available. I always combine my work stays with a theatre trip in the evening. Heathrow Central Travelodge is often a bargain and available under £30 a night, it’s about 40 mins tube ride into central London. If Sunderland don’t often discount tickets then this is because the producers of the shows are choosing not to. The venue can advise but can’t make a producer discount if they don’t want to. I agree with others that it is a very expensive hobby travelling to see theatre. Train tickets can be on sale to London up to 6 months ahead and it’s not always easy to plan that far ahead, but otherwise closer to travel dates then trains can be ridiculously expensive. We are lucky though that much more and bigger shows tour than years ago 😊 |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 20, 2019 15:19:57 GMT
I think the point that has been sorely missed by a particular poster here as well is is regional lot DO plan in advance. I mean hands up who had Company tickets or CFA tickets or Waitress tickets months in advance? What we all tend to do is book a key show or shows months out then add in extras around it hoping for discounts closer to the time and/or a lucky rush day. I’m definitely in the group of planning well in advance. Everytime a new booking period opens up, I’m sat at my dining table with the pens, diary and laptop trying to sort out all the stuff I want to see along with sorting out trains and accommodation. It’s like some sort of military operation trying to coordinate everything to get the cheapest deals. The only thing that stuffs it up is when you get an announcement like the Dame Maggie Smith performance, then it’s back to the drawing board to try and fit it in, even if it means sacking off something else I had previously pencilled in. Thankfully, with the regional stuff I’ve managed to pick up a lot of cheap tickets for Manchester (Royal Exchange) and Liverpool (Playhouse and Everyman) to help balance out the cost of the London trips. 'Regional people don't plan.'  |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 20, 2019 15:41:41 GMT
I’m definitely in the group of planning well in advance. Everytime a new booking period opens up, I’m sat at my dining table with the pens, diary and laptop trying to sort out all the stuff I want to see along with sorting out trains and accommodation. It’s like some sort of military operation trying to coordinate everything to get the cheapest deals. The only thing that stuffs it up is when you get an announcement like the Dame Maggie Smith performance, then it’s back to the drawing board to try and fit it in, even if it means sacking off something else I had previously pencilled in. Thankfully, with the regional stuff I’ve managed to pick up a lot of cheap tickets for Manchester (Royal Exchange) and Liverpool (Playhouse and Everyman) to help balance out the cost of the London trips. 'Regional people don't plan.' That is one sexy spreadsheet if you don’t mind my saying so ... |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 20, 2019 15:43:48 GMT
'Regional people don't plan.' picThat is one sexy spreadsheet if you don’t mind my saying so ... Why thank you. I am quite proud of it. Usually shows/dates past are grouped and hidden for ease of use, but thought I'd expand it back up to demonstrate the point. |
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Post by david on Feb 20, 2019 16:00:29 GMT
That is one sexy spreadsheet if you don’t mind my saying so ... Why thank you. I am quite proud of it. Usually shows/dates past are grouped and hidden for ease of use, but thought I'd expand it back up to demonstrate the point. Now that is how you plan your theatre visits! That's a work of art. You've now set the standard of theatre planning that we should all be aspiring to. |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 20, 2019 16:41:21 GMT
Why thank you. I am quite proud of it. Usually shows/dates past are grouped and hidden for ease of use, but thought I'd expand it back up to demonstrate the point. Now that is how you plan your theatre visits! That's a work of art. You've now set the standard of theatre planning that we should all be aspiring to. Thanks! ... It goes to show the extent some of us non-Londoners have to go to to get cheap(er) tickets and plan theatre visits in general. |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 20, 2019 16:47:44 GMT
Now that is how you plan your theatre visits! That's a work of art. You've now set the standard of theatre planning that we should all be aspiring to. Thanks! ... It goes to show the extent some of us non-Londoners have to go to to get cheap(er) tickets and plan theatre visits in general. But did you know if you book train tickets in advance they’re cheaper? |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 20, 2019 16:56:35 GMT
Thanks! ... It goes to show the extent some of us non-Londoners have to go to to get cheap(er) tickets and plan theatre visits in general. But did you know if you book train tickets in advance they’re cheaper?  |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 20, 2019 17:02:37 GMT
But did you know if you book train tickets in advance they’re cheaper? We don’t have trains in Wales. We still have carts pulled by Sheep anyway. |
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Post by TallPaul on Feb 20, 2019 17:08:11 GMT
Carts!!! Surely that would require someone inventing the wheel? 😉
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Post by Deleted on Feb 20, 2019 17:26:35 GMT
Well THAT would make the cart rides less bumpy and no mistake.....
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