44 replies to this topic

[xanderl]

Seat quality on tkts depends I guess on how the show is selling. I've had some great bargains from there for the ENO which tends to knock out stalls seats for £25 (down from £99) for slow selling shows.

It's worth keeping an eye on sites like theatremonkey for discounts on other shows - I always check those before booking anything. I only pay full West End prices in advance for things likely to be strong sellers (eg The Audience, Much Ado - so probably about one a year!)

[fringefan]

Bargain Theatreland and Showsavers are two more sites worth checking.  The latter is a sort of ATG bucket shop, as the offers undercut those offered to members in the normal way.  If a member tries to book one of these deals, the system doesn't recognise membership and still tries to charge fees (which members don't pay), so you have to ring instead.  Even for non-members the prices are sometimes so low (e.g. £10 recently for Blue/Orange, valid on top-price seats) that they would still be a steal.

[Kathryn2]

If you're in Twitter, follow Bargain Theatre, they tweet all the main deals and will also take search for offers for a particular show if you ask them.

[Pharaoh's number 2]

Fringefan, do you have the link to Showsavers. I've done a google, but can't find anything ATG related?

[fringefan]

http://theatrenet.am...ty=371&ref=city

I see the link doesn't call the site Showsavers, but that's how I first heard of it.  You have to select the location/region from the drop-down menu.  At present the offers don't seem that good (e.g. the £10 offer for Blue/Orange isn't shown; instead there's a much older, less advantageous one).  But a site always worth checking, even if not using.

[ST52]

That is not the case.  Any marketer who sends an email to someone who has already booked (especially with a special offer on it) is not doing their job properly.  Any computerised box office system allows you to filter out existing bookers and only the most primitive venue would have a database that is not integrated with sales histories.  There's no excuse for this. It's about as basic as email marketing gets.  I'm an experienced theatre marketer btw.

In reply to:

"That sort of thing is actually suprisingly difficult to manage, as the booking system is invariably different from the marketing database, and they're never compatible with each other, you either need to have a feed from one to the other, or a third system dealing with taking the info from the booking system and applying it to the info in the marketing database. Or, you know, a human being comparing the list of people who have booked with the email addresses for each email run.

Trust me, it's far more difficult, time consuming and expensive than you think to do that kind of stuff!"

[Kathryn2]

Well, I'm glad where you work has better systems than where I do. Ours are a pain in the backside.

[KevinUK]

All excellent points raised, but I think if you want to be a regular theatre goer, you must either have someone to go with, or be prepared to do it alone.

If you are going as a pair, then there's the sense of needing to buy top price tickets to ensure a view - I believe there's a strong fear attached to the idea that cheaper tickets mean a "reduced quality view". Unless you're a frequent theatre goer you won't want to compromise because you won't know if you're making a good decision or not.

Plus a couple having a night out can spend £130 on just two tickets, which is not a cheap hobby - is it really worth spending so much, when £130 is a good portion of someone's ****? Obviously people do sit in places other than the stalls, but I suspect that becomes a case of what a person can afford and how much they feel watching the show is worth.

But - the cost of top price tickets for a good view must be what puts a couple off going to the theatre regularly - because most often you find that the night becomes coupled with a meal before hand and drinks after. It's all very well enjoying theatre, but when it could cost £200 for a good night out with nothing but the memory of the show... is it really worth it?

Yet someone who goes on their own, I guess isn't bothered too much about compromising on a good view for a lesser priced ticket, as I you're alone there's no one but yourself to blame. Then you get to learn what kind of views you get in different parts of different theatres... and only then do you get to realise that actually, the west end isn't as expensive as all the advertising would make you believe.

[RedRose]

It's usually not necessary to pay the top price for West End shows - with some rare exceptions - the always sold out hot shows. You otherwise always find discounted tickets. But you only know that as a regular theatregoer it seems. This year I only paid once full price - for Matilda. Last year I did for Much Ado and Richard III with Spacey. I probably will do for The Audience as I need to go on a special day.

Things like Get Into London Theatre - do they really reach new audiences? I doubt so. I found out that even regular theatre goers among my friends had never heard about it.

[David J]

What still concerns me is my height, and I keep hearing that the upper levels are not the best places to go.

And do I take it that choosing a single seat with a restricted view is not that bad if I was to take the plunge