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Post by Deleted on Nov 29, 2018 10:50:12 GMT
Interesting read.
The average top end ticket price is £76.94, an increase of 30% [since 2012].
Cumulative inflation rate increase since 2012 has been 12.22% so thats an increase over double that of inflation. A good point is made in that the price increase has come from direct ticket sellers - and therefore possibly a reduction in touts - so money is going back into the theatre industry. |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 29, 2018 11:13:30 GMT
Yes, I thought the point about touts was interesting and this hadn't occurred to me - theatres hanging on to tickets so they can sell them to people with more money than sense rather than touts doing it!
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Post by grannyjx6 on Nov 30, 2018 23:35:07 GMT
We were in London for three days last week and managed 5 shows which I had either previously bought on special offer, or got day seats for. The most expensive one was £23.00 and the cheapest £10 (Caroline or Change preview). I went to my local theatre to book a show yesterday and it was nearly £50 for top price seats, going down to about £25.
I have learned loads from reading the posts on this forum on how to get the best value for money tickets. Unfortunately my local theatre NEVER discount, so it's take it or leave it. (I usually take it, but ask for theatre vouchers for birthday and Christmas to help offset the cost).
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Post by jojo on Dec 1, 2018 17:45:08 GMT
I can’t tell you the number of people I know who have never been to the theatre (or not been in over a decade) and use the excuse of the ticket prices, but then ignore me when I find great deals for them for under £20. The ticket price excuse is not always the most honest answer from some. I sometimes do it when people ask why I go to plays and musicals but not opera or ballet. Ticket prices are a small factor for why I’ve never been to the ballet, but if someone offered me a cheap ticket tomorrow I’d probably still turn it down. It's just a rote answer for some, based on the assumption that it is expensive, and they really aren't interested enough to find out if they are wrong. Either that, or their only experience is hearing people talking about the most in demand shows, or if they only want the very top price tickets. I keep seeing people complaining about how on earth can a family afford to see the Harry Potter play, as if the only tickets in existence are the premium ones. They might be the only ones left, and the same people will complain when there aren't any available at any price as if a show's creatives should somehow feel guilty about having a hit on their hands. When you consider how much thousands of people pay on a weekly basis to go to the football, theatre is not hugely pricey. The difference is that football is predictable, and most season ticket holders will hang out with the same people each week and they know where to catch the bus for the away matches and so on. Buying theatre tickets is a bigger risk, and travel to London and the peripherals make up a substantial contribution towards the cost of a theatre trip. |
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Post by n1david on Dec 4, 2018 16:22:02 GMT
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Post by Jon on Dec 4, 2018 16:49:39 GMT
I would criticise but actually OLS has always been expensive and the £35-40 tickets are essentially the premium seats that other cinemas other and it's only limited to a handful of seats. I'm impressed they're offering cheap seats at the back
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Post by Deleted on Dec 5, 2018 7:50:39 GMT
Yes, just had a look at a Saturday screening and all the seats in the circle (which are actually the best for view of the screen!) are £10 for the back row or £20 or £23 for seats further forward. Which is pretty much in line with other cinemas in Leicester Square. And the £20/ £23 ones are the "Luxe" seats which are very comfy and have much more room than the average cinema seat (they have the same ones in the Odeon Swiss Cottage and Haymarket)
The stalls seats are "Luxe Recliner" seats which are apparently nicer and roomier than the Luxe seats, and £40 is for the very central seats with ones at the side for £25. So I think is the same as news stories seizing on the highest premium ticket price!
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Post by ellie1981 on Dec 5, 2018 8:10:02 GMT
Odeon’s response stating the price was in line with live events like sports and theatre is however ridiculous. What they should be doing in the press is promoting their Limitless scheme, where the charge for these premium seats is a simple £5 uplift.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 5, 2018 8:22:47 GMT
That *is* a ridiculous response. Yeah, maybe that's how much we the audience might budget for a special afternoon or evening out, but part of the reason I'm happier to pay more for theatre and sport than cinema is scarcity. If they were only showing the films once a day because they only had one copy of them and didn't want that to wear out, then that might be a reasonable explanation, but it's not like you only have one set of actors or athletes and therefore by necessity there's only one or two performances/matches/whatevers a day when it comes to cinema. Plus if you miss out at the cinema, you can always get the DVD later, whereas if you miss a play, then that's it, it's gone. What an absurd comparison!
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Post by kathryn on Dec 5, 2018 8:45:41 GMT
As a Limitless holder I got an invite to their ‘dress rehearsal’ day on 20th Dec, so I’m going to try the circle seats out.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 5, 2018 9:06:25 GMT
Very good point on Limitless - I ditched my membership while the Odeon Leicester Square was closed but it is a very good deal at £19.99 per month including West End.
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Post by Rory on Dec 5, 2018 9:07:50 GMT
Two points:
1. Odeon are being greedy. Pure and simple. Cinema cannot be likened to theatre or sporting events for the reasons outlined in the post above.
2. West End theatre prices are now prohibitive. A work colleague yesterday excitedly told me she had booked flights and a hotel to visit her sister in London next year and that they had tickets for All About Eve. She said they would have booked another show but just couldn't afford to. If you don't live in London, day seats just aren't an option.
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Post by Mark on Dec 5, 2018 9:09:25 GMT
My local cinema (Empire) is I think £4.50 on a Tuesday, £3.25 on a Weds with Meerkat Movies, and £6.10 at peak times.
Even when I’m in London I can get £7-£8 tickets through “perks at work” mostly. I never realised how expensive cinema can be!
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Post by Mark on Dec 5, 2018 9:11:05 GMT
Going to firmly disagree with you there. Anyone is capable of logging onto Todaytix at 10am if they live in London or not. Or getting out of their hotel bed and rolling into town. In fact, it’s probably easier for a lot of visitors to dayseat than those who live in London
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Post by Deleted on Dec 5, 2018 9:16:32 GMT
It depends why you're dayseating. If you're dayseating because you can't afford tickets any other way, then it's unlikely you're going to be able to drop a bunch of money on a hotel room. And the TodayTix rush isn't the same as dayseating, as the nice thing about dayseating is that if you turn up early enough, you're guaranteed your ticket, whereas if you're all relying on the TodayTix app, it's more important to be lucky than dedicated. Plus you still have to be close enough to London that a same-day ticket purchase isn't entirely impractical.
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Post by peggs on Dec 5, 2018 9:51:05 GMT
Day seating in the week for me is pointless, I live outside of London and so travelling in early is so expensive you'd end up spending more than buying expensive seats in the first place.
My local cinema costs about £18 A film now, more if it's a big popular one so those circle seats seem quite a good deal.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 5, 2018 9:56:45 GMT
Or getting out of their hotel bed and rolling into town. In fact, it’s probably easier for a lot of visitors to dayseat than those who live in London That doesn't help much if you're not a tourist. Ordinary people with jobs have to get out of bed and roll into work.
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Post by Mark on Dec 5, 2018 10:14:56 GMT
Or getting out of their hotel bed and rolling into town. In fact, it’s probably easier for a lot of visitors to dayseat than those who live in London That doesn't help much if you're not a tourist. Ordinary people with jobs have to get out of bed and roll into work.
That’s why I’m saying it’s probably easier for tourists to dayseat |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 5, 2018 10:47:39 GMT
If you really want to see a show anyone can arrange their schedule to be able to day seat if they really don't want to advance purchase - holidays from work are a thing, and cheap accommodation is perfectly possible to find in London just as it is anywhere else. It all depends on whether you are willing to compromise (for example a shared bathroom in your accommodation) - if you aren't, then it isn't the theatre ticket price that is preventing you from seeing a show.
And similarly, ticket prices are not prohibitively expensive full stop - that's not the whole story. If you are insistent on centre stalls tickets then they may well be out of your price range, but there's nothing to stop you sitting in the Upper Circle instead for much less money even if you aren't able to day seat. It's all about personal priorities.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 5, 2018 10:48:52 GMT
I’m saying it’s probably easier for tourists to dayseat Depends where they are staying, and how early the lines start. On the one hand, the line may form before the tube opens so they won't be near the front. On the other, many people will find getting up at being in line from 7am, then seeing the show at 7.30pm leaves them too tired to enjoy it that much. Fine if you are younger and can cope, not so much as you get a bit older. If you are a tourist you have the option of going to back to your hotel to rest though, which is more time consuming for people coming in from the outskirts of the city or day trip distance beyond. |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 5, 2018 10:53:40 GMT
And for the record, I also find it a total shame that the last vast cinema in London is no more. It's how I remember cinema-going before they were all sub-divided then we moved to multiplexes, and it was far more special than today. That's all. Actually as I understand it, the main screen is still the same size as it was, they've just reduced the number of seats to fit the Luxe seats in. The smaller screens are in the bit which was the Odeon Mezzanine next door. |
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Post by Rory on Dec 5, 2018 11:05:16 GMT
Going to firmly disagree with you there. Anyone is capable of logging onto Todaytix at 10am if they live in London or not. Or getting out of their hotel bed and rolling into town. In fact, it’s probably easier for a lot of visitors to dayseat than those who live in London Thing is, if you've only got two nights or so in London, and theatre isn't your be all and end all, you're probably not going to have the time or inclination to get up at the crack of dawn and spend time in a day seat queue. Too many other things to do. It's a break after all! You also want to plan your trip. My colleague was saying she was looking at seat prices for The Price and just thought they were too expensive/ unaffordable so she and her sister didn't book. |
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Post by Rory on Dec 5, 2018 11:29:55 GMT
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Post by ellie1981 on Dec 5, 2018 12:35:19 GMT
I paid £30 maximum for a cinema ticket and that was for a Gala Premiere screening at the London Film Festival where the stars are there. For £40 I’d want Emily Blunt and Lin Manuel Miranda dancing on stage in the flesh.
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Post by Jon on Dec 5, 2018 15:56:48 GMT
The OLS pricing wouldn't work elsewhere but I think they may be able to pull it off because they've made the back of the house which used to be £18-25 much cheaper. I notice that for The Favourite and Stan and Ollie, it's much cheaper so it seems it also depends on the film.
The West End cinemas tend to be more expensive anyway, the Cineworld Leicester Square for example has three different formats that cost between £20-23 but clearly they have no problem selling them. All three LS cinemas have been refurbished to a high standard and while tickets are expensive in those cinemas, it's clear that they're all putting money back into making them look clean and comfortable, the old flea pits of old aren't going to cut it.
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