Theatres refusing to sell single seats

[ali973]

No single seats at all or no single seats that would leave a single seat unpurchased?

[Rozzi Rainbow]

I've often come across this, but mostly have been able to buy the seat I wanted as I often leave it till not long before the show to buy my ticket. (I don't like booking in advance, in case a better show appears in another place.) York Opera House created the most fuss and said I had to sit in a more expensive seat so as not to leave a single seat. I said I shouldn't be penalised into having to pay more just because I was on my own and they reluctantly let me have the seat I wanted. By the time the show started, the seat next to me had been sold to another single theatre-goer, so point proved!

[niallpalmer]

It is particularly frustrating. Working in a West End box office, and having worked at TKTS, and being single, I can see this from both sides...but I can't defend refusing someone a ticket simply as it leaves a single if there's no equivalent seat nearby. It does make sense to set systems up to avoid people leaving single seats willy nilly as they are harder to sell, but it often penalises people just trying to book the seat they want.

Like an earlier reply said (from Admin), there's a pretty easy way around it, but I can't really explain it here without annoying theatre owners

[showgirl]

Since I suggested highlighting venues/producers who don't place this obstacle in our way, I'd like to praise a few theatres where booking the single seat of your choice is never an issue.

For example, the NT, the Royal Court, the Park, Southwark Playhouse, the Orange Tree, the Young Vic. I know we seem to be talking about West End theatres and major regionals (eg the RSC in Stratford) and that it depends on your theatre-going habits, taste and location, but at least for me the problem doesn't arise too often. Just that when it does rear its ugly head, it's like stepping back into the Dark Ages!

Also, just as critics don't have to consider ticket cost, some probably have no experience, or even awareness of what it's like to be an ordinary member of the public trying to book theatre tickets and grappling with this and other online booking bugbears such as long queues when booking opens for a popular show/season etc.

[Deleted]

Good idea. The Barbican is another one for the praise list.

[schuttep]

Just booked a single seat on the RSC website and left a single seat next to me. Good on them!

[showgirl]

Oct 3, 2016 9:34:41 GMT schuttep said:

Just booked a single seat on the RSC website and left a single seat next to me. Good on them!

Wow, an achievement indeed!  Though maybe they have amended their system.  Last time I had this issue with them - for a London performance - I had to ring Stratford before I was allowed to book my chosen seat.

[Deleted]

Oct 3, 2016 6:51:28 GMT @xanderl said:

Good idea. The Barbican is another one for the praise list.

Yes, Thank You to whoever left an excellent single Barbican Theatre seat for me to step into to see Michael Clark Company at very short notice.

Because I Must

[talkingheads]

So glad there's a thread for this. This is one of my most irksome pet hates, because I more often than not go to the theatre on my own, trying to buy a good ticket in the front few rows and then denied because it'll leave a single seat. However what really got me was this morning when I tried to book two tickets and was again denied because it left a single seat. The outcome being that I decided not to bother at all. So, in essence, they'd rather I didn't splash the cash on two tickets because of the possibility of a party of three coming along at some point? I have realised there's a very easy way round this, going on Private Browsing, selecting the single seat then gong back to the main one where you're now able to book, but it's a lot of faff for one ticket.

[Deleted]

Oh, THERE'S a thought. I've often done the sneaky thing of placing the single seat I would like to leave in my basket in Internet Explorer, purchasing the ticket(s) I actually want in Chrome, then setting the unwanted unpurchased single seat in IE free. It hadn't occurred to me to try using an incognito tab instead of a separate browser. Does that truly work? And, if so, would it also work when joining a queue on booking day; could I join the queue in normal Chrome and join the same queue in incognito Chrome and be treated as two separate people, with two separate queue numbers?

[talkingheads]

Jun 6, 2018 9:50:05 GMT @baemax said:

Oh, THERE'S a thought. I've often done the sneaky thing of placing the single seat I would like to leave in my basket in Internet Explorer, purchasing the ticket(s) I actually want in Chrome, then setting the unwanted unpurchased single seat in IE free. It hadn't occurred to me to try using an incognito tab instead of a separate browser. Does that truly work? And, if so, would it also work when joining a queue on booking day; could I join the queue in normal Chrome and join the same queue in incognito Chrome and be treated as two separate people, with two separate queue numbers?

I imagine that would work. Hell, I used two tabs in the same browser window once and it treated me as two different transactions.

[christya]

That works great if you're buying a pair of tickets and it won't let you take two and leave one free.

When you try to book the single, you can put it in your basket because it still leaves two tickets. Then buy the remaining pair in the other window and release the single.

You can do a similar thing with one out of two seats sometimes, if the same seats are available from more than one ticketing site. They don't all apply the same restrictions.

I've gotten used to a few tricks of this type, since I get so annoyed at being denied the seat I want that I'll just not go if I can't find a way to get it.

[daisy24601]

That's a good trick! I couldn't get two for Les Mis recently as it left one empty but I rang the box office and they did it for me.

[ivy]

I've just run into this problem when attempting to book to see Lea Salonga at the Marlowe in Canterbury. I was horrified, after all the begging to support theatre after it was ravaged by Covid.

It's a problem I've known about for years but this is the first time it's stopped me from being personally able to attend a show, and for an artist I've been desperate to see for years. A ticket to this was going to be a much needed treat to myself during the most difficult time in my life but my money isn't good enough.

I'm distraught and disgusted.

[ptwest]

Ticketmaster are offering single seats for that particular performance. I hope you are able to find something.

[Jan]

Jun 6, 2018 14:44:25 GMT christya said:

That works great if you're buying a pair of tickets and it won't let you take two and leave one free.

When you try to book the single, you can put it in your basket because it still leaves two tickets. Then buy the remaining pair in the other window and release the single.

Yes we had a thread about this years ago when the loathsome ATG started imposing restrictions at the Old Vic and elsewhere, this trick used to work fine. 

[robertb213]

Often theatres will accommodate single seat bookings if you ring them.

[NorthernAlien]

May 26, 2022 6:08:38 GMT robertb213 said:

Often theatres will accommodate single seat bookings if you ring them.

Yes - I rang the Bridge after it wouldn't let me buy a solo ticket online (and whilst they were still 'Social Distancing' - so it felt like a very odd restriction). The person at The Bridge was very helpful and sorted it out for me over the phone with excellent service, which given that I was also buying at the cheapest price point I felt was very good of them to be so patient - they did suggest that there was some sort of quirk in their system at the time that had meant I wasn't able to buy it online, and that I should really have been able to do so. 

But to agree with others in this thread, as a frequent solo attendee, this annoys me - although if you're solo and able to be spontaneous, you can sometimes get a good bargain if they reduce the price of the scattered lone seats because they think no-one will want them!

[Deleted]

I fully agree as often I prefer to fly solo going to shows. I negate by booking late but not ideal if you want to see a popular show

[robertb213]

Back on the topic of solo theatregoers, one of my reviewer friends has sent up a Twitter community for people looking to find other stagey friends and maybe meet up when they have spare tickets etc. Thought it may be useful to anyone looking to maybe make some new theatre chums 😁

twitter.com/i/communities/1567431904131010560

[joem]

A new twist (for me) on the annoying "computer says no" techno-pedantry where you are unable to buy two seats because there's three available together - clearly due to the theatre/ticketseller leaving those three seats unsold. Sadler's Wells will not sell you two tickets next to a restricted view, you have to buy the restricted view as well.

Are there many threesomes amongst theatregoers or do these tickets end up eventually being sold?

I do really hanker for the old days of human contact and where theatres preferred to employs their own box office staff rather than farm this off to anonymous behemoths obviously increasing the price of tickets to the punters.

[yokollama]

Reserve the single seat. You should then be left with 2 seats available for booking.

Otherwise call up box office.

[steve10086]

Yeah, had this exact thing this week. Just reserved the single seat on another device, than booked the 2 I wanted.

[fiyerorocher]

My current gripe is with TodayTix's software not letting leave a single seat, but also not letting you buy two different price bands at once. So when there are only two seats together and each is a different price, it is impossible to buy either one...

[TallPaul]

It does suggest that some theatres don't appear to know who their audience is. Single theatre seats are bought by people who, for whatever reason, go to the theatre singly. As we all know from this forum, there are many thousands of us.