| | Never mind the house price boom, in the theatre prices are escalating as high as they can go. The threshold is constantly being advanced by greedy producers (or needy, they would say) as they bring in new shows: so the prospect of Maggie Smith and Judi Dench, on stage together for the first time ever, justifies the next hike for a straight play in the West End to £40 for the best seats - as for instance when they open in The Breath of Life at the Haymarket in October. Setting a new high Musicals, of course, have already reached and exceeded those prices - and despite generally appalling reviews, We Will Rock You is set to rock the West End by setting a new high of £47.50 for weekend tickets in its next booking period. Meanwhile, another indifferent current production, My One and Only, takes a different tack, offering 'premium seats' for a whopping £55 for a package that "includes champagne, programme and use of Royal Room". Finding a West End bargain: While most producers don't differentiate anymore on prices between previews and after the show opens officially, Sleuth which began previews this week is offering a two-for-the-price-of-one preview discount. When the RSC take up residence at the Haymarket later this month, transferring their production of Anthony and Cleopatra to London, preview prices will range from £5 - £20 (after opening, they increase to £12 - £36).  Meanwhile, the current Haymarket attraction, Rose Rage, offers a hugely enlightened incentive for you to book both parts of this show at the same time: you can get best seats for both shows for just £20 or £30 - ie. just £10 and £15 each.
Outside of the commercial sector, there are good deals to be had at the Royal Court (£7.50 for all tickets on Monday evenings) while the National offers any remaining seats at discounted prices two hours before the performance. And don't forget that for just £5 you can mingle with the 'groundlings' at Shakespeare's Globe: you may have to stand, but you do get the best view of the stage of anyone. |
Oxygen required  | | Kiss Me Kate: a bargain at only £7 or £8 |
But you don't HAVE to buy the best seats: for many West End shows, including Les Miserables, Kiss Me Kate, My Fair Lady and Stones in His Pockets, seats are available for as little as £7 or £8.
You may be stuck behind a pillar or as high as it's possible to be without the need for oxygen, but at least you're in the building. It was perched in seats like these that I discovered my own love for the theatre. But producers' greed is compromising even those seats now: the bottom price for Noises Off, at the Comedy Theatre, is an incredible £23 - and that for the distant back row of the upper circle or the restricted view rear stalls seats! |
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