|
Post by Deleted on Apr 12, 2016 12:05:45 GMT
I love 2:30 Saturday matinees - it's when I always go to the theatre. I've only been to 7:30 shows if I have to due to seats, stars only at evening shows or the way it works.
I wonder why shows do midweek matinees sometimes twice a week? I didn't think midweek matinees did very well due to not many people being able to go?
|
|
638 posts
|
Post by theatremiss on Apr 12, 2016 12:12:02 GMT
I rather like a mid-week 3pm matinee as I have to take a half day off work to catch the 1259 train which gets me in Waterloo at 1420. I can't make a 1430 matinee even if it was in the Old Vic as I can't guarantee the train won't be late (generally it gets in at 1422) so a 1500 start is OK. On a Sun I prefer a 1430 start again due to trains only running every 2 hours and I get back home early evening. I suppose it's all personal preference. What does irritate me however, are plays that only run for 1hr 55 and they start at 2000 so by the time I clear the theatre I miss the 2215 train home and have to wait until 2340.
|
|
215 posts
|
Post by galinda on Apr 12, 2016 12:36:00 GMT
I like a 2.30 matinee on a Saturday so I have time between shows for food etc and get to the next theatre (always a rush when you see two fringe shows) but prefer 3 or 4pm starts on Sunday as my trains are less frequent/take longer and I do like a lie in!
I love how almost everyone on here does double show days!
|
|
2,557 posts
|
Post by viserys on Apr 12, 2016 12:57:51 GMT
I love 2:30 Saturday matinees - it's when I always go to the theatre. I've only been to 7:30 shows if I have to due to seats, stars only at evening shows or the way it works. I wonder why shows do midweek matinees sometimes twice a week? I didn't think midweek matinees did very well due to not many people being able to go? Pensioners.... they have time and money and are glad to go on midweek outings, plus they often don't like to stay up late. Could also see these matinees work well for school trips from outside London, so the kids don't get home too late. More and more shows are also geared towards tourists anyway. Come a rainy day and museums are regarded as being too brainy, they'll be happy to spend the afternoon at a theatre instead. The older I get, the more I appreciate earlier start times, too. Don't mind in London so much, where I'm in my hotel bed quickly after a show, but around here, I really am no longer keen on the usual start time of 8:00 which means I'm rarely at home before 11:00 or 11:30. Soon enough I may only be looking at matinees myself.
|
|
724 posts
|
Post by basdfg on Apr 12, 2016 13:08:52 GMT
Midweek matiness also work for birthday treats. Plus in the school holidays for families and those of us who don't like travelling home too late( even on routes with frequent trains)>
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Apr 12, 2016 13:15:24 GMT
I love 2:30 Saturday matinees - it's when I always go to the theatre. I've only been to 7:30 shows if I have to due to seats, stars only at evening shows or the way it works. I wonder why shows do midweek matinees sometimes twice a week? I didn't think midweek matinees did very well due to not many people being able to go? Pensioners.... they have time and money and are glad to go on midweek outings, plus they often don't like to stay up late. Could also see these matinees work well for school trips from outside London, so the kids don't get home too late. More and more shows are also geared towards tourists anyway. Come a rainy day and museums are regarded as being too brainy, they'll be happy to spend the afternoon at a theatre instead. The older I get, the more I appreciate earlier start times, too. Don't mind in London so much, where I'm in my hotel bed quickly after a show, but around here, I really am no longer keen on the usual start time of 8:00 which means I'm rarely at home before 11:00 or 11:30. Soon enough I may only be looking at matinees myself. Pensioners, tourists, students, people with non-standard-Monday-to-Friday working, the independently wealthy, working actors taking advantage of their Thursday matinee to go see their mates in a Wednesday matinee, people who've just booked some time off work because there aren't enough Saturdays for all the theatre they want to see, there's really no end of people who are in London on a weekday for non-work-related reasons, so why wouldn't they take in a matinee?
|
|
|
Post by cat6 on Apr 17, 2016 16:30:28 GMT
I tend to attend matinees at home (NYC)and not in London. In NYC I am happy with the 2 pm start... followed by an early dinner! For some reason plays make me hungry; especially the ones where there is talk of food and there seem to be more and more of these. Plus on-stage cooking :-)
Oh, I don't do matinees in London, b/c I'd rather be out during the daytime, since my time there is so limited. The 7:30 evening performances start is just right.
|
|
397 posts
|
Post by maggiem on Apr 18, 2016 10:46:57 GMT
I prefer 2:30pm starts.
When I go to London it's usually for a Saturday matinee, and I tend to book the 10:55am train down from Manchester (I have a packed lunch on the train), arriving at Euston at 13:05pm. It gives me time to get to the theatre and settle in (loo/programme/seat)without dashing. After the show, I usually have time to have a look in FOPP or Forbidden Planet before getting my train back at 18:40pm
It's 18:40 now because of the Old Vic's "The Crucible" in 2014. If it hadn't been for some of you guys seeing the previews I wouldn't have known about the long running time and been caught out with my original train booking of 18:20 It still annoys me 2 years on (silly, I know!)
|
|