Are theatre tickets a rip off?
- How to see great shows without breaking the bank
Katie Rushton
Picture the scene. I am attempting to purchase tickets to a West End show (which shall remain nameless!); I pick the seats I want which seem to have a decent view and proceed to checkout. All seems to be going well, but wait a second… HOW MUCH IS THIS ALL COSTING? £145 for 2 tickets!
Some may attempt to rationalise this amount by claiming the show will be worth the money, or the actors deserve to be paid high salaries. In reality 56% of actors earned less than £10,000 from 2012-13. So what exactly does your money pay for? A cramped seat in a stuffy theatre for 2 1/2 hours of entertainment. Even for the very best shows this seems a little steep. Understandably some money must go into paying for costume, set and employing the backstage and front of house staff, but is it really necessary to be paying this much for a theatre ticket?
Fear not because help is at hand! Luckily there are ways to see great shows for less! Here are 5 tips that will help you see the shows you want without it breaking the bank:
Shop around- there are many websites such as lastminute.com, lovetheatre.com and TKTS which offer discounted theatre tickets. These are great if you want to buy tickets last minute as prices are often reduced due to theatres wanting to sell off any unsold seats to ensure there is a full house.
Be wary of Leicester Square ticket booths- anyone who’s been to Leicester Square will know that it is jam packed full of ticket booths all claiming to offer the best price for shows. However some of these booths can increase the price of the ticket to way beyond its ‘face-value’ (the price of the ticket without a booking fee) by charging enormous fees for booking with them. To ensure you are buying from a legitimate seller, look out for the STAR (Secure Tickets from Authorised Retailers) symbol.
Don’t avoid seats classed as ‘restricted view’- although the official theatre ticket website may class the seat as ‘restricted view’ in actual fact the view might not be too bad. A great website for checking seats is theatremonkey.com. It includes reviews of seating sections and has a colour coded seating map, with green and white seats being the best for view. Go for a restricted view seat if you are desperate to see the show and don’t mind a small section of the stage being obscured and if you don’t mind heights (restricted seats are often in the Grand Circle which is very high and steep.)
Don’t avoid the Upper or Grand Circle and consider standing places- the Upper and Grand Circle seats are often better view than the stalls (ground level seats.) These seats are higher up so they offer a more panoramic view and you can see all the way to the back of the stage. Stalls seats can often leave you with neck ache after having to look up at the stage due to the seat being too near the front which is not comfortable after 2 1/2 hours! Standing seats are also a good option if you want to see a show and the only seats left are at premium prices.
Enter Ticket Lotteries- an import from across the pond on Broadway, ticket lotteries offer 20 front row seats from around £15-20. Simply turn up to the theatre 2 1/2 hours before the show starts (so 12:00pm for matinees and 5:00pm for evening performances), fill out a form and if your name is drawn in the lottery you get to see the show for a bargain price! Try your luck at shows such as: Aladdin, The Book of Mormon, The Lion King, Matilda and Harry potter and the Cursed Child.
Some may attempt to rationalise this amount by claiming the show will be worth the money, or the actors deserve to be paid high salaries. In reality 56% of actors earned less than £10,000 from 2012-13. So what exactly does your money pay for? A cramped seat in a stuffy theatre for 2 1/2 hours of entertainment. Even for the very best shows this seems a little steep. Understandably some money must go into paying for costume, set and employing the backstage and front of house staff, but is it really necessary to be paying this much for a theatre ticket?
Fear not because help is at hand! Luckily there are ways to see great shows for less! Here are 5 tips that will help you see the shows you want without it breaking the bank:
Shop around- there are many websites such as lastminute.com, lovetheatre.com and TKTS which offer discounted theatre tickets. These are great if you want to buy tickets last minute as prices are often reduced due to theatres wanting to sell off any unsold seats to ensure there is a full house.
Be wary of Leicester Square ticket booths- anyone who’s been to Leicester Square will know that it is jam packed full of ticket booths all claiming to offer the best price for shows. However some of these booths can increase the price of the ticket to way beyond its ‘face-value’ (the price of the ticket without a booking fee) by charging enormous fees for booking with them. To ensure you are buying from a legitimate seller, look out for the STAR (Secure Tickets from Authorised Retailers) symbol.
Don’t avoid seats classed as ‘restricted view’- although the official theatre ticket website may class the seat as ‘restricted view’ in actual fact the view might not be too bad. A great website for checking seats is theatremonkey.com. It includes reviews of seating sections and has a colour coded seating map, with green and white seats being the best for view. Go for a restricted view seat if you are desperate to see the show and don’t mind a small section of the stage being obscured and if you don’t mind heights (restricted seats are often in the Grand Circle which is very high and steep.)
Don’t avoid the Upper or Grand Circle and consider standing places- the Upper and Grand Circle seats are often better view than the stalls (ground level seats.) These seats are higher up so they offer a more panoramic view and you can see all the way to the back of the stage. Stalls seats can often leave you with neck ache after having to look up at the stage due to the seat being too near the front which is not comfortable after 2 1/2 hours! Standing seats are also a good option if you want to see a show and the only seats left are at premium prices.
Enter Ticket Lotteries- an import from across the pond on Broadway, ticket lotteries offer 20 front row seats from around £15-20. Simply turn up to the theatre 2 1/2 hours before the show starts (so 12:00pm for matinees and 5:00pm for evening performances), fill out a form and if your name is drawn in the lottery you get to see the show for a bargain price! Try your luck at shows such as: Aladdin, The Book of Mormon, The Lion King, Matilda and Harry potter and the Cursed Child.