Fair shares for all šµ
Let's talk ticket prices, plus deals from Ā£10
Welcome! Iāve had a little flurry of new subscribers this week after a nice mention from the brilliant Fergus Morgan (thanks!) He wrote a piece about ticket prices - a topic very much on peopleās lips right now. Thereās been comments on skyrocketing costs for a while, but conversations have definitely resurfaced in recent weeks with Olivier winner Paddington requiring more than Ā£200 for some of its nearest available tickets (in June!), and the National Theatre stating they now use dynamic pricing. But there really is more to it than headlines. Like Fergus says ācan we have a better conversationā about it?
Itās interesting - off the back of his article I had a look at some of my early newsletters. I was researching something Iāve been noticing for a while - the slow increase of lower price tickets. Almost all of the rush tickets back in my 2022 emails were Ā£25 or less. Look at the TodayTix app now and more than half of the rush shows are around Ā£30. And itās not just last-minute tickets. The Young Vicās lucky dip has crept up a couple of pounds. The Old Vicās Ā£10 previews donāt exist anymore. Some Pay What You Can schemes have a set starting price (not Ā£1 as it should be like the current fantastic PWYC Lottery for Romeo & Juliet). Even āseverely restrictedā seats for Dracula in the West End are Ā£30! The cheapest seats in the house are going up, and that is not ok.
It may be an unpopular opinion, but Iāve said for years that I donāt really care about top ticket prices. If people are willing to pay Ā£1,000 for a family of four then thatās on them. I care about the other end. I care about the people who once a year scramble to pull together Ā£25 for a Band E bench in the back row of the balcony, just so they can experience the West End. And itās very clear that the increase in top prices is not subsidising keeping the lower ones low.
In the article, the National Theatre said it has introduced dynamic pricing to continue to āsupport [its] ability to offer a large quantity of accessibly priced tickets at Ā£30 or underā. I recoiled when I read it. Ā£30 is not accessible. I donāt think the industry realises that theyāve slowly accepted this price into the accessible bracket. Even in the current climate, where James Graham stated at the Art Cure book talk a few weeks ago that producers just arenāt making money these days, itās not ok. We simply cannot pass the cost on to those struggling the most.
Donāt get me wrong, thereās many organisations doing amazing things in the background and getting people into theatre who cannot afford it. Thereās the likes of Go Live Theatre, Tickets for Good, FanzClub and Munya Chawawaās Black Boys Theatre Club. Most theatres have young person discounts. And despite the above comments, I can still praise the Nash for keeping their rush tickets at an affordable Ā£10. But the big guns arenāt playing their part, and if anyone can afford to, itās them. If theyāre going to raise prices, they canāt be lowest ones, and we must keep speaking up about it.
Happy ticket-buying!
Rochelle šš«
Carrying the banner
In the news this weekā¦
āSummer of disruptionā: West End workers contemplate strike action over pay
Cynthia Erivo halts Dracula performance after spotting audience member filming
Get Into Theatre merges with Masterclass to forge āclear pathā into industry
Strictly Come Dancingās Karen Hauer to star in new revival of Stepping Out
Hey big spender
Hereās your discounts, offers and cheap seats this week.
š New rush alert! You can now get Ā£25 tickets for Sherlock Holmes and Ā£30 tickets for The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind through the TodayTix rush.
Thereās Ā£10 tickets for Our Public House in Prescot.
Get Ā£12.50 tickets for Derriere on a G String.
Thereās still loads of amazing Ā£15/Ā£15.60 tickets for The Karate Kid: The Musical in both Wimbledon and Manchester.
Get Ā£17 tickets for Kinky Boots.
Thereās Ā£17.50 tickets for Heartsink.
Get Ā£20 tickets for Brainiac Live!
Thereās Ā£25 tickets for Bank of Dave: The Musical in Manchester.
Get Ā£25 tickets for Teeth ānā Smiles.
Thereās the last few Ā£26 seats available on this offer for Double Indemnity in Manchester this week.
Get best seats for Ā£25 for Malory Towers in Bath. Use code MTOWERS25, 4 & 5 May evenings only.
Get Ā£33 tickets for The Hunger Games on Stage.
And thereās some really good Ā£35 dress circle seats for Cyrano de Bergerac.
Donāt throw away your shot
Competitions, on-sales and announcements.
Keira Knightley and Luke Thompson will star in a new adaption of the film The Lives of Others in the West End. It opens in October at the Adelphi - tickets are on sale now.
Rent will return to the West End this Autumn! Thatās pretty much all the info we have right now, but you can sign up on the website to be the first to hear more.
Iām Every Woman ā The Chaka Khan Musical will transfer to the Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre this summer. Tickets are on sale now.
Mischief Theatreās Christmas Carol Goes Wrong will return to the West End and have another UK tour this festive season. West End tickets go on sale at midday on 1 May. Check tour venues for tickets and on-sale dates.
Another exciting West End return - Rob Madge will bring their hit show My Sonās A Queer (But What Can You Do?) back to London for the final time! Tickets are on sale now.
Theatre Royal Drury Lane is hosting a star-studded concert on 23 August. You can sign up for presale tickets or buy through general sale which opens at 10am on 1 May.
And finally, win a Ā£1,000 Theatre Token!
Thatās all for this week. If you enjoyed the newsletter, please tell your friends. Iām also open to suggestions and requests for certain discounts, so do drop into my DMs. Right, time to get a cross stitch project out. šŖ”
