#London venues are seeing some ridiculously high-priced seats, and while audiences may book at these prices, it’s more likely that the producers don’t expect tickets at these prices to sell, but rather to make others look better by showing them alongside the lower prices of seats around them. Some people have raised ethical questions about these pricing policies, which are used as a means of making seats in the lower price brackets look attractive, but theatre is a brutally commercial business and it’s just a method that’s been around for a long time and is widely used across the hospitality industry – airlines, hotels, etc…
In the July issue of Korean Theatre Review, I write about the call for transparency in ticket prices and production costs that is currently happening in London.
It is said that plays particularly in the west end mass market, has only 9 weeks to recoup production costs and make a profit.
It’s the theatres, not the production companies, that make the extra money from food and drink sales in the bars, programmes and VIP packages; high ticket prices that seem to be aimed at short-term financial gain for some production companies, producers, rather than a move to share the profits with the creative team, which has always been the case; and fundamental questions about the public perception of theatre and who plays and musicals are really for.
For more details, see the July issue of #KoreanTheatreReview.
