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Post by BurlyBeaR on Feb 3, 2016 13:35:32 GMT
We've had several discussions about the unreserved seating policy at SP in the musicals section recently. So I emailed them a few weeks ago to ask if there were any plans to change it. I had given up on getting a reply but this arrived today
Dear xxxxxx,
Thank you for your feedback and apologies for the delayed response. We have taken your feedback and that of many other customers on board and are looking very seriously at the possibility of introducing allocated seating in future.
This would be a very big change for us as a venue and for the producers we work with so it is something that is unlikely to be introduced immediately but we very much appreciate you taking the time to contact us and rest assured we do take your comments very seriously and are working hard to determine the feasibility of doing this in future.
Kind Regards,
Virginia
Southwark Playhouse Team
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Post by Deleted on Feb 3, 2016 13:41:24 GMT
If it's introduced, everyone will start moaning about the seats which they've been allocated ...
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Feb 3, 2016 13:48:11 GMT
When I was at Grey Gardens the other week the queue was right back into that second room at the point where I arrived (about 2:20) and by the time they opened to doors it had doubled back again into the main bar area.
Anyone wanting to actually eat or drink in the hour before performances must get well annoyed at a load of people crushing up against their tables and watching them eat their Avocado and chickpea salad.
It's not a pleasant experience for anyone really.
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Post by partytentdown on Feb 3, 2016 13:52:24 GMT
I don't think they should do reserved seating (I like the equality of the place, and it would inevitably lead to tiered pricing and premium seats) but they should do some kind of 'called in order' for busy shows i.e. you get a number as you arrive, sit down and get a drink, then they let people go in in batches of 50 or whatever. Would remove the long queues and probably increase the bar takings.
I do like the fact I can get a ticket for £15 and get the best seat if I arrive in decent time.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 3, 2016 14:07:34 GMT
The Admin Team are pretty ropey in my experience; you always have to wait forever to get an email reply to a query. If you leave a message on their answer-phone (they don't always answer the phone) you could wait days for a return call, by which time the performance you wanted has sold out. They really need to pull their socks up and start matching the standard of the shows they put on.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 3, 2016 14:25:06 GMT
If it's introduced, everyone will start moaning about the seats which they've been allocated ... I don't think they're dumb enough to introduce it for a show without having sold said show as having allocated seating, which would render it basically the same as EVERY OTHER THEATRE, so this comment is really reaching for something to moan about. |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 3, 2016 14:49:56 GMT
Good for you - I hate the stress of unallocated seating. Even when I have a seat, watching the faff of everyone else trying to find a seat, refusing to budge up or admit that their bottom is taking up two seats, and insisting that 12 people need to sit together despite that being clearly impossible makes me want to slit my wrists.
In the case of Grey Gardens, I got there early enough to get a decent seat but because they opened the door at 7pm, that meant more sitting down in uncomfortable seats than I'd have chosen otherwise.
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Feb 3, 2016 15:16:53 GMT
I don't think they should do reserved seating (I like the equality of the place, and it would inevitably lead to tiered pricing and premium seats) but they should do some kind of 'called in order' for busy shows i.e. you get a number as you arrive, sit down and get a drink, then they let people go in in batches of 50 or whatever. Would remove the long queues and probably increase the bar takings. I do like the fact I can get a ticket for £15 and get the best seat if I arrive in decent time. This seems like a happy medium, and I suggested it in my email. Everyone has to present at the box office already so as well as giving them a ticket give them a coloured token. Then at 7pm someone can shout "OI YOU LOT EVERYONE WOTS GORRA YELLER YA CAN COME IN NAAAAAAR"  |
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Post by jaqs on Feb 3, 2016 21:28:32 GMT
I'm all for a deli ticket to prevent the stupid queue. I also think you should get a lower number if you buy a meal or drink, maybe tiered, meal gets you in the first slot, drinks into the second then the rest.
The only rpoblem is one person getting an early ticket then saving loads of seats for friends.
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Feb 3, 2016 22:20:51 GMT
I'm all for a deli ticket to prevent the stupid queue. I also think you should get a lower number if you buy a meal or drink, maybe tiered, meal gets you in the first slot, drinks into the second then the rest. The only rpoblem is one person getting an early ticket then saving loads of seats for friends. OMG so now you have to buy food to get a better seat? That's hideous. |
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Post by jaqs on Feb 3, 2016 22:23:07 GMT
Why? It would reward people spending more money, fringe venues need to maximise their revenue streams not have people standing in a queue putting people off buying a drink.
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Post by anniel on Feb 3, 2016 22:29:57 GMT
The unreserved seating policy makes me so cross! I went to Grey Gardens on a Saturday afternoon and it started the afternoon off badly.
it was really hot, there isn't enough room to queue properly, there were lots of old people there who couldn't stand for a long time, I felt a bit pushed about by people attempting to get into the queue, you can't go to the loo if you're on your own in the queue, if you've had a good walk to get there your feet might be tired, you might have heavy bags / coats to hold.....it's so bloody uncivillised.
Because the venue is so small there aren't really any bad seats.
it's the twenty first century and I refuse to believe that there isn't a better way to organise getting into a theatre.
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Feb 3, 2016 22:34:02 GMT
Why? It would reward people spending more money, fringe venues need to maximise their revenue streams not have people standing in a queue putting people off buying a drink. Ok so why not just charge more for allocated premium seats and save us all the hassle of arriving early to eat cheese buttys we don't want? |
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Post by longinthetooth on Feb 3, 2016 23:43:53 GMT
As I said somewhere before, if I can't have an allocated seat, then I'm not going. Too old to mess about with this seating farce.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 4, 2016 7:15:37 GMT
Isn't part of the issue that when they start selling tickets, they haven't quite worked out the layout of the seating as each production is different? They can't show you a seating plan for the production so they can't allocate seats at the point of sale. At the moment they simply shift a number of seats per performance and we queue up on the day... With regard to spending more money on food/drink in a fringe venue, I'd be more inclined to do so if I could relax, knowing my seats were reserved.
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Post by alece10 on Feb 4, 2016 8:20:39 GMT
As I said somewhere before, if I can't have an allocated seat, then I'm not going. Too old to mess about with this seating farce. You are missing some excellent shows if you dont go to this venue just because you cant reserve seats. I agree on the whole about having reserved seating as its a bit of a pain having to queue but for £14 to see a preview of what is usally a great show, then I just grit my teeth and happily join the queue. My worry is that if they introduce reserved seating then ticket prices could go up to cover the extra administration. With regard to another comment about allocating seats due to the changing seating plans, the Menier has a similar layout where seating is flexible depending on the show but they can still do reserved seating, so it is possible. |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 4, 2016 8:56:20 GMT
It has been a whole lot better since they started opening the house 30 minutes before, we've just joined the queue at that point and got great seats. It's when then only open up 5-10 minutes before that everyone gets really antsy. I do agree though, if the Kings Head, which is tiny, can pre-allocate seats, surely Southwark can. As for changing the auditorium, just plan earlier, like the Menier obviously does.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 4, 2016 9:24:39 GMT
It took the Menier a looooooooong time to get there, and now we have the tier system with Chocoholics and all that nonsense!
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Post by Deleted on Feb 4, 2016 9:28:58 GMT
Which is why they'd be smart to adopt something like the Union's method of handing out numbered (or coloured or whatever) tokens at the box office when people collect their tickets, so that people know they can safely relax until their group is called for seating. It works for aeroplanes, and the people who were keenest to get the first choice of seats would turn up early enough - and know that they wouldn't have to spend most of their time queuing down a drafty corridor - that they may very easily decide it's worth spending lots of money on food and drinks while waiting for their group to be called.
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Post by Someone in a tree on Feb 4, 2016 9:30:36 GMT
I'm happy to pay extra to avoid the bum scrum for seats as it's greatly reduces my middle class theatre anxiety
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Post by Someone in a tree on Feb 4, 2016 9:31:42 GMT
But if it isn't introduced I will always attend. So many great productions
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Post by Deleted on Feb 4, 2016 9:37:47 GMT
I've seen some great shows there, but very few that were fully worth the stress of queuing. I went to nearly everything they did when they were at London Bridge, but in the new place I don't even have a PAYG anymore. I hate unreserved seating and work very hard to avoid theatres that have it. I go to the Young Vic and the Tricycle SO MUCH MORE these days than back when it was an uncivilised battle to get into the auditorium.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 4, 2016 10:45:35 GMT
I'm not a big fan of unreserved seating and would avoid it if I possibly could but I am of the mind that if someone has the time and energy and desire to get there so early to hang around and queue up to get the best seat then good luck to them.
If I'm honest I've never really had a problem at the Southwark Playhouse. The audience at the Young Vic when it was unreserved on the other hand? Truly vile.
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Post by SamB (was badoerfan) on Feb 4, 2016 14:15:03 GMT
I went yesterday and was expecting it to be horrible, but it was actually fine. In fact, when we arrived at 6:40, there was no queue at all. I went back outside to eat the sandwich I'd bought and then went to the loo - after that we joined the queue which was only just starting to form.
They started letting in at 7, by which time the queue did stretch into the bar area - but I suspect if we'd only just joined it then, we'd have got perfectly good seats. It really isn't too much of a problem for a production like this where there's barely a bad seat in the house.
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Post by Snciole on Feb 4, 2016 17:30:10 GMT
Crucially GG is the exception to the rule. Most unreserved venues such as Bush, Finborough etc don't sell out their productions. Orson's Shadow in the summer was half-empty.
To introduce allocated seating for a half empty play would be ridiculous and quickly undermined by the audience, who would buy cheap seats and move to premium.
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