West End celebs and ticket prices

[mkmswain]

Posted: 5/4/16 at 6:28am

Director Jamie Lloyd has attacked the high ticket prices in the West End, often justified by big-name casting. Do you think it's a problem, or is it worth paying a bit more to see celeb actors in the flesh?

[devonian.t]

Posted: 5/4/16 at 11:01am

I'm not sure I agree with his choice of the word "corrut", but I do think some producers are being exploitative.

In the long term this is really bad for theatre: we need a broad audience.  The last thing we should be teaching peole is that theatre is only for the rich folk.

[Spotlight61]

Posted: 5/5/16 at 4:40am

Jamie Lloyd has brought in Kit Harrington at a small theatre and is ensuring ticket prices are kept at an affordable price in order to attract a new audience to theatre and this is to be welcomed. It gets theatre talked about and often by people who are not natural theatre goers.

This is achieved by ensuring the company are paid a company wage and no undue pressures are placed upon revenue streams by paying inflated fees to those star names.

However, other producers see a star name as an opportunity to inflate prices and this would be in keeping with paying their 'market value' worth to the production but this often denies those with less disposable income the opportunity to see their 'idols' on stage.

I'm delighted to hear that Star Wars actor John Boyega is to star in a production of Woyzeck as part of the new season at The Old Vic.

This is a wonderful piece of casting and will attract a whole new audience, one would expect, to the theatre and knowing that this is in an adaptation by Jack Thorne, I imagine that this will be a thrilling and accessible production. However, here's hoping that the theatre keeps a range of tickets at an affordable price in order to develop and cultivate new audiences.

 

[Mike Cowell]

Posted: 5/5/16 at 5:26am

Hike in theatre tickets may result in decrease in interest of middle class audience towards theatre and this is not good for theatre and its audience.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 5/5/16 at 8:21pm

In NY, Broadway is rapidly becoming only for the well to do.

[yankeefan7]

Posted: 5/7/16 at 10:31am

I was in London and saw three shows ( Curious Incident, Matilda, The Play That Went Wrong) and compared to Broadway I considered the price quite reasonable. All shows I had tickets in the stalls and was in the 4th row for "Curious Incident" and "Matilda".