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Post by Deleted on Aug 28, 2016 15:10:02 GMT
Like many on here I presume, I spend a lot of time sitting in a theatre auditorium. On average, I generally see a show at least every other week, if not once a week. My partner enjoys going to the theatre as much I do, however he tries to encourage us to take the odd break from it once in a while, as he feels that what was once an event, has now become routine, and "less special". Whilst I initially protested this, now that I haven't been for nearly five weeks, I'm even more looking forward to our next trip on Saturday.
So, my point here is, does anyone else here feel the same. Has theatre-going lost some of its shine, because of the frequency of visits? Or do you wish you could pack in more or are you happy with the regular trips to shows? I'm genuinely interested to know. Discuss.
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Post by ptwest on Aug 28, 2016 15:18:34 GMT
The more I've seen I find that I get less excited about the prospect of seeing different shows than i used to, but still get the same buzz when I see something I really love.
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Post by Mr Wallacio on Aug 28, 2016 15:32:03 GMT
I could probably happily see a show a week. I do however average more than that in a year. Working in a school and not living in London I will always try to come to London for a couple of days in each school holiday and see a handful of shows. Add to that the various touring productions and amatuer shows I see at home and this adds up and after a large binge I find it hard to enjoy the shows at the latter end of my schedule unless they are completely 'blow me away' amazing. Of course I could cut down and see less, but due to the limited times which I can get to London and the limited runs of some shows I am in a situation of 'If I don't see these X shows this week then they will close and I will miss them.
Also, money......
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Post by n1david on Aug 28, 2016 15:48:16 GMT
Interesting question. I did pull back a bit over the summer - I had got into the habit of "everything at the NT, everything at the Donmar, everything at the Almeida...." and I realised I was seeing too much stuff that I really wasn't enjoying and that I hadn't been looking forward to just to say I'd seen it. I was doing 2 or 3 shows a week, now I try to plan for only one a week but reserve the right to book for another show but only on positive word of mouth (usually from here!) rather than on the basis of playwright, actor or venue.
I think it is possible to get a bit jaded - as ptwest says above, the good can still be astounding, but too much stuff which is "just OK" can definitely dull the passion. Hubby and I are planning a two-month holiday next year to celebrate our joint retirement, so it will be interesting to see how absence from London theatre for that time affects me. And retirement is going to require a move to cheaper seats and/or fewer shows, so maybe there are fewer shows in my future than my past...
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Post by Deleted on Aug 28, 2016 15:58:12 GMT
Mr WallacioI work in a school too (Primary) which does contribute to my decisions also. I'm also very aware that studying full time is going to further impact on my frequency of booking too. And, the fear of missing out on shows is very real I agree. n1davidYour post sums up a lot of my thoughts perfectly, re: becoming jaded. Whilst I love going to the theatre, stepping back I can see that a lot of shows I've seen recently have been purely because it's another one to add to a list.
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Post by maggiem on Aug 28, 2016 16:20:05 GMT
I don't see as much theatre as some of you guys. For me (as I've said on other threads), it has to be something or someone that I really want to see. It's also a day out (I try to go for Saturday matinees) or part of a weekend if it's in London. The main constraint for London is the need to book 12 weeks in advance (for the cheapie train tickets). The cinema relays have made it a lot easier to see good theatre from Stratford and London, and should my ability to pay for/travel to either be curtailed, I can always rely on my trusty Unlimited card for cheaper tickets and the best seat in the house!
Having said that, there was one performance I was determined to see.... Benedict C playing Hamlet at the Barbican. A year's wait just for the tickets to go on sale, only to miss out because I had to take Mum to the hospital on that day and they vanished like cakes at a kids' party! Months later, I saw a message here saying there were some returns, so I managed to bag a £10 back-row-in-the-gods seat, booked the train and an overnight stay.... and then... I got a recall after a scan, requiring further tests, so everything was up in the air again! That was one theatre visit I really appreciated because it was so hard won.
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Post by couldileaveyou on Aug 28, 2016 16:29:31 GMT
I moved to London from Milan last September and I've been watching at least a show or two every week for the whole uni year... I have to say that by March it didn't really feel the same.
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Post by 49thand8th on Aug 28, 2016 16:37:54 GMT
I moved to NYC five years ago and this past July was the first time I went a month without seeing any theatre at all. It was a rather nice break.
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Post by showgirl on Aug 28, 2016 16:58:14 GMT
Even if some of the plays or shows I see are disappointing, I always book because on paper they appeal, and I don't have a policy of booking "everything at" (etc); if anything, the more productions per venue, the more I cherry-pick, though it's also true that there are some theatres (e.g.Hampstead Downstairs, the Park Theatre) which programme so much work which appeals to me that I do end up seeing almost everything there.
I do sometimes find that, having to book so far ahead for certain things, I'm really not in the mood for whatever it is when it comes round, but if it's good it will win me over, and if I'm forced to skip one of my normal theatre days or, worse, to see nothing for a week because I'm away and there is no theatre in the area, I get withdrawal symptoms and can't wait for my next theatre trip.
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Post by Jon on Aug 28, 2016 16:58:32 GMT
I love going to the theatre but I think going every week is a bit excessive, there are plenty of activities that you can do like see a film, go to the museums/galleries, drinks with friends etc there are some months where I don't go to the theatres and other times my month is solely theatre for 2 or 3 weeks
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Post by showgirl on Aug 28, 2016 17:00:30 GMT
Crumbs, I see 4 - 5 plays per week, plus a couple of films and I NEED my cinema and theatre fixes!
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Post by viserys on Aug 28, 2016 17:30:49 GMT
Being a foreigner, I can only travel to London 3-4 times a year to see stuff. This mostly prevents me from revisiting shows even I want to, because I rather use the time to see new things.
While I'm sore that I sometimes miss things I'm keen on, I also don't want to add more London trips. Like right now, I'd give an arm and a leg to see Groundhog Day, Children of Eden and Allegro, but I've held off and just accept that I can't see every show I want to see.
I ALSO want to spend vacation time and money on regular vacation stuff, be that relaxing on a sunny beach somewhere, exploring a new town or country or a city trip to other interesting big cities. I know of some German "musical tourists" who spend 10-15 days in London and cram about 20 shows if not more into their trips, which is something I wouldn't do either. I feel that after 4-5 shows my brain is starting to overload and I rather want every show to feel special and not congeal into a huge blur of things.
Since I see 3-4 shows on each trip, I think that would even out to about one show per month plus a few other shows on this side of the channel. Right now I've been going through a drought since my last London trip in July. I will be seeing a ballet next month and an opera but my next musical won't be till late October and my next London trip in November. Such is life.
If I lived in London, I might go more often but I don't think I could do more than 2-3 shows per month.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 28, 2016 17:33:45 GMT
I get to go atleast once a month but sometimes more than that if it's a special occasion (e.g someone's birthday and we go to the theatre). I would love to go more often though and see a wider range of stuff like more plays but I am incredibly lucky to go as much as I do  |
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Post by talkstageytome on Aug 28, 2016 17:50:28 GMT
I definitely feel the same as some of you. I used to go REALLY infrequently (5-6 times a year, 1-2 of those being west end shows) but now I go at least once a week, frequently more often than that. It does often feel like I'm waiting for something amazing to come along, whereas I used to get excited over everything. However, I don't think becoming more critical is a bad thing at all. If going ever started to feel like a chore I don't know what I'd do.
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Post by showgirl on Aug 28, 2016 18:04:47 GMT
It's all relative, isn't it? To so many things, such as lifestyle, income, location, taste, time available and so on. My OH thinks he goes to the theatre "a lot", whereas on the basis of the half dozen things he sees per year I'd categorise that as "hardly ever". In a way it puzzles me that some people do this, i.e. go infrequently, because surely if they really enjoyed it, they'd go much more, whereas going so rarely, well - why bother at all? But then I am an "all or nothing" person, so instead of wondering at others who do show a sense of moderation, I should probably admire them!
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Post by clair on Aug 28, 2016 19:22:29 GMT
If I go more than 5-6 weeks without seeing anything live I get quite grumpy (just ask my work colleagues) but that does include concerts so not just theatre. Over a year I probably average once or twice a week. If I ever find I don't get that feeling of excitement as the lights go down then I'll know it's too much! That said I am more choosy these days simply because of the cost of tickets so if something has little appeal I won't go just in case I like it the way I used to do.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 28, 2016 19:27:47 GMT
This may sound ridiculous, but for me, theatre is genuinely therapy. Especially this past year with some of the crapmthat has happened in my personal life, if I am ever having a down day, going to or discussing theatre makes me perk up out of my down days. I realise this will sound crazy, but theatre really has a power to just make me feel alive and happy. It's why going to Kinky Boots for the first time made me pove the show so much, it was the first time I smiled in weeks because of the events of last Summer. |
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Post by Jon on Aug 28, 2016 19:44:53 GMT
This may sound ridiculous, but for me, theatre is genuinely therapy. Especially this past year with some of the crapmthat has happened in my personal life, if I am ever having a down day, going to or discussing theatre makes me perk up out of my down days. I realise this will sound crazy, but theatre really has a power to just make me feel alive and happy. It's why going to Kinky Boots for the first time made me pove the show so much, it was the first time I smiled in weeks because of the events of last Summer. I guess you haven't watched many dark and harrowing plays then! While I do love a good musical, I do think it's good to see something that's not going to have a happy ending and maybe makes you think about the subject matter and that applies to film and television not just theatre. |
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Post by Phantom of London on Aug 28, 2016 19:48:40 GMT
Attending theatre is down to; how much you love the genre, how much you can afford it (this doesn't mean just theatre tickets), how much spare time you have, how available the theatre schedule fits in with your own commitments and how available theatre is to where you live,
I see a lot sometimes up to 4-5 times a week I live and work in London so very lucky that way, so may see something on my way home from work a matinee normally and I do spend most Saturday's seeing something normally. I don't show my love for theatre, by how much money I lay down at the box office, I wheel and deal to get the cheapest tickets possible - so I show my love for theatre by how much I attend and not how much I pay.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 28, 2016 19:50:38 GMT
This may sound ridiculous, but for me, theatre is genuinely therapy. Especially this past year with some of the crapmthat has happened in my personal life, if I am ever having a down day, going to or discussing theatre makes me perk up out of my down days. I realise this will sound crazy, but theatre really has a power to just make me feel alive and happy. It's why going to Kinky Boots for the first time made me pove the show so much, it was the first time I smiled in weeks because of the events of last Summer. I guess you haven't watched many dark and harrowing plays then! While I do love a good musical, I do think it's good to see something that's not going to have a happy ending and maybe makes you think about the subject matter and that applies to film and television not just theatre. I've seen a couple of dark showd in my time, it always depends what I am feeling. The theme doesn't always matter. Just being in a theatre, having people make believe for you, is magical! |
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Post by Hamilton Addict on Aug 28, 2016 19:53:38 GMT
I don't really have a schedule that I stick to on how much theatre I see. Sometimes it'll be once a month, sometimes it'll be once a week. It depends on stuff like if I get any press invites, if there is anything local that we can get really cheap tickets for, there are several factors to it. Sometimes I may see 4 shows in one week and then not see any for ages, it really does change a lot.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 28, 2016 19:54:05 GMT
Attending theatre is down to; how much you love the genre, how much you can afford it (this doesn't mean just theatre tickets), how much spare time you have, how available the theatre schedule fits in with your own commitments and how available theatre is to where you live, I see a lot sometimes up to 4-5 times a week I live and work in London so very lucky that way, so may see something on my way home from work a matinee normally and I do spend most Saturday's seeing something normally. I don't show my love for theatre, by how much money I lay down at the box office, I wheel and deal to get the cheapest tickets possible - so I show my love for theatre by how much I attend and not how much I pay. I got to the bit where you wheel and deal to get the cheapest tickets possible, so you show your... and my heart missed a beat! It was where the line broke in your original post... |
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Post by Dawnstar on Aug 28, 2016 20:16:46 GMT
I probably average 3 weekends in 4 of theatregoing in London, which is 2 shows in 1 day. Plus occasional week nights for 1-off events or local theatre. I just did a quick tally & in both 2014 & 2015 my theatregoing count was 88 (a mixture of musicals, opera, plays & concerts). 2013 was 70 & 2012 68 while this year I'm up to 67 already and we're only two thirds of the way through. I guess that shows the addiction is getting worse! I do tend to get twitchy if I can't go to the theatre for a few weeks - being a temp I sometimes have to cut back if I don't have work.
ETA - Actually, counting further back, I somehow managed to see 126 shows in 2009. Even with Zorro I have no idea how I managed that. So maybe my addiction isn't getting worse!
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Post by andrew on Aug 28, 2016 23:09:38 GMT
I moved to London after university specifically to go to the theatre, so I'd be doing myself a disservice (particularly with these living expenses...) if I didn't go often. The main problem with working in a hospital is the irregularly long hours and preponderance of nights and weekends.
BUT I've just done a calculation on my time since moving here, and I've seen a production of something every 10.7 days on average. My average ticket price is around £25 as well, which I think is pretty good.
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Post by d'James on Aug 28, 2016 23:31:10 GMT
Annoyingly, I think my friends see me as some sort of guinea pig for new shows and always ask my opinion on them, once I've seen them. This is why I end up going to some shows multiple times. (Other times it's my fault.) This year I would say that I've been to a lot more Theatre than I ordinarily would have, experimenting with shows etc. It definitely has become a run of the mill thing. I'm already cutting back.
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