2024 Theatre Resolutions

[toomasj]

My personal one is that I am very much someone who like to repeatedly give things a try. I’ll try the jukebox musical version even if I don’t like the film - for example - or will think “perhaps this will be different” if I can’t stand the director’s previous work. It’s always a FOMO for me - maybe my view will change and I’ll be won over to work/creator this time.

I’ve started to realise if I hated prawns, it doesn’t matter what the dipping sauce is because it’ll still be prawns with a slightly different taste at the end of the day, so I’d rather order chicken.

I’ve somehow seen three productions of Grease despite knowing already I can’t stand it. Oliver! is another show I really dislike, and there’s amazing buzz here for the West Yorkshire Playhouse production. But what I need to remember is it will still be Oliver! along with all the reasons I don’t like it, no matter how great the production is. Same with Lloyd’s Sunset Boulevard and others I strongly suspected I would dislike due to prior experience/my own personal taste.

So my resolution is to not see things I suspect in advance I won’t enjoy, because 9 times out of 10 I am right, and I could’ve put that ticket money towards other productions I probably would enjoy more.

If that makes any sense at all after a bottle and a half of plonk.

[viserys]

Dec 26, 2023 17:53:32 GMT toomasj said:

So my resolution is to not see things I suspect in advance I won’t enjoy, because 9 times out of 10 I am right, and I could’ve put that ticket money towards other productions I probably would enjoy more.

I fully agree with that. It's been a resolution I have successfully managed to implement for me in the last 2-3 years, avoiding shows completely, when I found the whole idea boring or offensive or the music I heard bored me. Was the best decision I've made.

For years I battled FOMO, now I've made my peace with saying that I'm simply too old for many of the shows aimed at a teenage audience or that I just can't deal with sexist nonsense on stage anymore.

I've also found London rather disappointing post-pandemic which, in combination with hotel prices having gone insane, has led me to cut back on my trips. At least it means that my two 2024 trips so far already feel filled with highlights - the two Ghibli shows (Totoro and later Spirited Away), Stranger Things (love the TV show) and both Hadestown and Starlight Express are already booked twice.

[theatreliker]

Not necessarily resolutions, but some initial thoughts:
1. I like visiting theatres I've never been to before. So far I have tickets booked for Hadestown at the Lyric and Standing at the Sky's Edge at the Gillian Lynne, both of which will be my first visits to those theatres.

2. I promised my wife I'd take her to see Next to Normal. We were both meant to see it at the Donmar but she was ill sadly. I got a standing ticket out of my credit on a solo trip to London so have seen it. We have tickets for the West End transfer in June.

3. I'd like to support my local amateur theatre group more even if just buying a ticket to one of their plays.

4. More regional theatre. I see a lot in Leicester. Perhaps Sheffield, Manchester or Birmingham.

[Ranger]

My resolution is to get to at least one show a month. But for me it has to be on weekends, so it’s not going to be that easy. If I get behind on my goal, I might use my holiday time at work for a stay at home go to see theatre vacation.

[theatremiss]

I need to slow down in 2024. I’ve been doing 2 shows most weekends with the odd number of midweek ones (usually concerts)and with rail strikes etc it’s made for difficult rescheduling and I’ve lost money when shows haven’t had dates I could return to. Having said that, other than this Sat I don’t have a weekend free until end of March, so I’m already failing.

[G]

Dec 27, 2023 18:54:11 GMT theatremiss said:

I need to slow down in 2024. I’ve been doing 2 shows most weekends with the odd number of midweek ones (usually concerts)and with rail strikes etc it’s made for difficult rescheduling and I’ve lost money when shows haven’t had dates I could return to. Having said that, other than this Sat I don’t have a weekend free until end of March, so I’m already failing.

Similar as above: slowing down, being more selective, mostly to achieve a different pace at the weekend.

I live in London and I tend to mostly go to the theatre at the weekend. But I won't be cramming them full of shows anymore - 1-show weeks may be the new course - and this will mean carefully pruning and selecting over block booking. It will mean accepting to miss out on some good shows.

There will be fewer theatres for which we'll be "completist", booking in advance of knowing much about a production. I'll be more careful for venues where I tended to blind-book lots before - this will include Young Vic, Old Vic, Menier, Regent's Park, Barbican, and a a lot of the West End theatres. 
We'll be waiting for reviews for venues which are more "uncertain". Sadly, this may mean less advance booking for new writing: I got burned one too many times at the Royal Court to book in advance (or, sadly, to book at all nowadays). Due to time constraints I may now do the same for Hampstead, Southwark Playhouse and the like, waiting for thoughts on this board/reviews ahead of booking.
I will still blindly pre-book for venues which in my book solidly deliver (Olivier, Lyttelton, Donmar, Almeida) and for some of the "buzzy" West End productions which may otherwise become unaccessible due to dynamic pricing.

I'll be looking into better seats in some occasions - the £20 tickets at the National are an institution that must be preserved, but I didn't enjoy missing lots of the upper floors from the colossal set in The House of Bernarda Alba at the Lyttelton by sitting in second row.

Hopefully there will be more travelling throughout the UK and we'll try to visit local theatres wherever we end up (which I hope includes Bath, Sheffield, Liverpool, Manchester). Maybe a visit to Stratford.
After discovering the gem that is the Orange Tree Theatre, we'll be looking also into smaller houses we haven't yet visited - Arcola, Finborough, Park, Bush theatres, and more trips at the Kiln.

[zahidf]

Try to see more new theatre. Visit the Bush theatre more. Avoid Shakespeares I've seen a million times before like King lear

[panda]

Dec 18, 2023 15:53:07 GMT threeletteracronym said:

I used to live in Taunton and one of the draws of moving to Manchester was the theatre!

I'm compiling my usual list of Things To See but there's nothing that's really exciting me as yet. Hamilton and The Book of Mormon are both on my 'see again' list as I enjoyed them both the first time around.

So far, my list is:
National Theatre Jekyll and Hyde (Lowry)
Animal Farm (Bolton Octagon)
Twelve Angry Men (Lowry)
Blue Beard (Home)
Drop The Dead Donkey (Lowry)
A Taste of Honey (Royal Exchange)
Sweat (Royal Exchange)
& Juliet (Opera House)
The Lieutenant of Inishmore (Liverpool Everyman)
A Chorus Line (Lowry)
Peaky Blinders (Ballet Rambert) (Lowry)
Come From Away (Lowry)

I would like to get down to London to see The Motive And The Clue too.

There is a £10 ticket offer for Blue Beard on Manchestertheatres.com

[pws]

Resolution?
To see more, smaller, local theatre, to avoid over-hyped and over-priced West End productions and to actively recommend anything I enjoy.

[solotheatregoer]

Dec 18, 2023 17:53:01 GMT solotheatregoer said:

I have a few:

1. See more musicals (99% of shows I see are plays but I have been inspired recently by Sunset Boulevard to branch out). I have already booked Hadestown and Standing at the Sky's Edge. Will probably book Next to Normal too.

2. See a show at the Royal Opera House. I've always wanted to go and tempted by Swan Lake next year.

3. Find more ways to get cheaper tickets. I looked at my Excel sheet today showing how much I paid for tickets in 2023 and had a mini heart attack. Really need to find better ways of securing cheaper seats and being more willing to sit outside the stalls.

Is it too early to start looking back at our 2024 resolutions? 

1. More musicals - out of 32 shows for me, 4 were musicals (one Hadestown and three Sunset Boulevard).  Still more musicals than what I would typically see. 

2. Royal Opera House - my intent was to see one show, I ended up seeing 8. A new passion for ballet emerged! 

3. Cheaper tickets - epic fail. Need to get better at this in 2025 and ease the pressure on my bank balance!

[Jon]

I've seen more shows in 2024 compared to 2023, up 11 with another one pencilled which is works out as just under one extra show per month compared to 2023.

I visited the Orange Tree Theatre for the first time as well as the Troubadour Wembley Theatre so achieved the goal of going to new theatres, still haven't been to the Duchess!

[rumbledoll]

A couple of mine:

1. Never go see a show for the cast only, go for writers and directors instead. Better see a topic that moves you with a bunch of actors you don't know (you might discover your future favourite though!) rather than a brilliant actor in a play that does nothing for you (it was Homecoming with Jarred Harris for me this time). I personally need to stop booking anything Pinter, even if they'd pay me money for that..

2. Don't afraid to be spontanious and listen to your intuition. If you planned smth 8 months in advance doesn't mean you cannot change your mind and go some place else on a whim.

[viserys]

Dec 26, 2023 20:11:54 GMT viserys said:

I've also found London rather disappointing post-pandemic which, in combination with hotel prices having gone insane, has led me to cut back on my trips. At least it means that my two 2024 trips so far already feel filled with highlights - the two Ghibli shows (Totoro and later Spirited Away), Stranger Things (love the TV show) and both Hadestown and Starlight Express are already booked twice.

Well... that was a bummer. Only the two Ghibli shows truly enchanted me. Didn't like the new Starlight Express at all, the London cast of Hadestown was a major disappointment and Stranger Things a damp squib after the spectacular opening scene.

Glad I cut down on my London trips really and developed an unexpected new obsession elsewhere.

Still I live in hope and 2025 is starting to look better already in London with some good new stuff announced (and booked) and hotel prices seem to have returned to a somewhat sane and acceptable level as well.

Should we not start a new thread with resolutions for 2025 now to look back on at the end of next year?

[lt]

Mine has been to never spend more than £25 on a ticket, so that means being really organised to book ahead for the cheaper previews, opening offers etc and ruling out shows that are above this (I have twice broken the rule this year to spend £35 on tickets.)

I think I've only really missed a couple of productions I would otherwise I've gone to see, if they had been cheaper. For several others, I've been able to get Rush tickets.

And of course, many of the fringe/off WE shows are cheaper than £25.

So this year, I've seen more shows than I have ever seen before and largely there doesn't seem to have been any relationship between quality and the price I've paid.

[blamerobots]

Definitely should have a 2025 thread. I've made one just for organisation's sake.

[Dawnstar]

Dec 2, 2024 13:20:41 GMT solotheatregoer said:

2. Royal Opera House - my intent was to see one show, I ended up seeing 8. A new passion for ballet emerged! 

I think ballet should come with a "May Be Addictive" warning! I saw the Royal Ballet for the first time in October 2018, after 14 seasons of only seeing opera at the ROH. Last night I saw my 28th RB performance of 2024.