Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

Just had an email about the "Friday Forty"

www.harrypottertheplay.com/ticket-information/


Every Friday at 1pm we will release 40 tickets for every performance the following week, for some of the very best seats in the theatre, at an amazingly low price. These tickets will be known as ‘The Friday Forty’.

To purchase these tickets, you need to visit THIS webpage just as the countdown clock turns to zero. At 1pm every Friday, the countdown will change into a ‘book tickets’ button. Click the button and you will be taken through to an online virtual queue. Customers will then be selected at random for the opportunity to buy tickets online. The first release of The Friday Forty will be on Friday 3 June for reduced price preview performances commencing 7 June. Subsequent ticket releases will take place each Friday for performances taking place the following week.

Tickets will be located in great seats throughout the theatre and will be priced at £30 during previews (£15 per part from 7 June until 30 July) and £40 (£20 per part from 3 August after the Official Opening) and will secure a seat for both Part One and Part Two in consecutive performances. You will be able to purchase a maximum of two tickets for both Part One and Part Two in one transaction. To ensure that as many people as possible have the chance to access these great value tickets, they will only be available to buy online. It will not be possible to purchase these tickets in person at the Palace Theatre or anywhere else.

Returned and other late-release tickets may also become available at short notice. These are not guaranteed, but any tickets that do become available will be sold on a first-come-first-served basis, online or in person at the Palace Theatre box office at full price.

Here's hoping part 2 runs significantly shorter if that's the case

Far from a youngun. I can cope. Not sure the market for this will

Thanks for the info!

Maybe they'll have extra security checks.

Pretty sure the recommendation for an hour is just aimed at the large numbers of people who don't go to the theatre regularly and/or people from other countries where things may be different at the theatre. Pretty sure those of us who know where we're going could manage with half an hour (or a 10 minute dash!!)

I assume it means they're going to be strict on not allowing latecomers in, so they're painting a worse-case-scenario stern-face picture now to ensure smoother running when the time actually arrives, much like the Bendybus Oswaldtwistle Hamlet ID kerfuffle. Scare people into arriving early, no need to worry about latecomers, but obviously you won't penalise the people who dare to turn up a mere 20 minutes in advance.

Has anyone else noticed this production has, effectively, been delayed?

We were told when sales were first starting that performances before June 7th would be sold at a later stage, specifically performances starting late May.

Does that point to delays in rehearsals, or simply that they realise it'll be such a juggernaut that they needn't rush to do extra performances..?

Yup, and that they're savvy enough to avoid the negative publicity of people having booked flights and accommodation to see performances they had to cancel. They knew the most devoted fans would buy the first tickets released, for an early as possible in the run, and they're the most likely to be travelling a long way.

All true - just worth noting that they seem to have pushed back their schedule at one stage or another. I'd agree it's the right thing to do - start later then announce extra performances if possible. No one will remember that they once said they wanted to start earlier, but plenty of people would remember if they need to cancel their first week of previews!

Not as if it makes one jot of difference in the end - Matilda delayed their opening by a week, for example. Don't think it impacted their business..

I have a general rule of 'If the actors don't need to be here yet neither do I' for people insisiting on being there stupidly early. That said if I'm doing a 2 show day and your theatre has space to loiter (NT I'm looking at you) then I will be there taking advantage of seats and wifi. 

Reminds me of a conversation I had with a friend yesterday about a comedy show where she said "I'm sure we'll find a seat, as long as I'm there early enough to buy a drink first"