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Post by crowblack on Feb 28, 2019 17:39:05 GMT
many theatres need memberships to keep going In the long term wouldn't it be better for its appeal and survival if theatres didn't have all these mysterious perks for the rich which only increases the widely held (and not unjustified) impression many people have that theatregoing is a luxury for the wealthy and in-the-know rather than an art form open equally for everyone. |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2019 17:45:39 GMT
many theatres need memberships to keep going In the long term wouldn't it be better for its appeal and survival if theatres didn't have all these mysterious perks for the rich which only increases the widely held (and not unjustified) impression many people have that theatregoing is a luxury for the wealthy and in-the-know rather than an art form open equally for everyone. Membership isn't really a "mysterious perk" though is it? Most of the theatres will tell you what you get for your membership should you choose to join, it's not like it's a secret club where you need to be recommended twice before being invited to join. Perhaps without memberships ticket prices would have to be even higher and those cheap tickets everybody loves will become even rarer. A theatre won't survive on £15 tickets and a few day seats. |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2019 18:00:45 GMT
It would be interesting to look at who buys what tickets and when.
I’ve always taken it as read that those who can afford a membership are able and willing to buy tickets at a higher price, to subsidise those less able to pay (even £80 a year would be seen as unwarranted expenditure by many). Why would they not continue to pay for that membership if those tickets were priced normally until public booking opens? They would still be at levels cheaper than the full price, so the membership is still getting the early access which most seem to feel is the real benefit, plus they get a double or more chance to get tickets for popular shows. The other result would be first timers, those for whom going to the theatre is not a regular thing, would find affordable tickets more available to them.
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Post by crowblack on Feb 28, 2019 18:40:49 GMT
It is, in my experience as an 'outsider'. Are all seats released to members? Do they (as it appears) get the pick of the litter regarding the best seats / bargain seats / bargain days? I'm in quickly when public booking opens and there's rarely anything left in some theatres (Donmar, Almeida) if there's a good cast or whatever. |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2019 18:41:39 GMT
In the long term wouldn't it be better for its appeal and survival if theatres didn't have all these mysterious perks for the rich which only increases the widely held (and not unjustified) impression many people have that theatregoing is a luxury for the wealthy and in-the-know rather than an art form open equally for everyone. Membership isn't really a "mysterious perk" though is it? Most of the theatres will tell you what you get for your membership should you choose to join, it's not like it's a secret club where you need to be recommended twice before being invited to join. Perhaps without memberships ticket prices would have to be even higher and those cheap tickets everybody loves will become even rarer. A theatre won't survive on £15 tickets and a few day seats. Bear in mind this is some VERY basic maths/economics to illustrate a point, but the purpose of Memberships is 'money in the bank' as in if you've got 100 memberships at £10 each well that's £1000 before you start that you aren't going to lose either way. While in theory you could make more by selling out your 100 seats at £10 than only selling 1/3 of them at £50 or whatever, you need that capital to keep the 'lights on' as it were in the first place. And anyway all to say, no memberships aren't some big mysterious thing. And honestly anyone I know who has one generally sees it as 'yes i get the perks but also I want to support the arts more broadly and I'm in a position to do so' as well. I don't disagree that much like the Amex system they should hold back some of the cheaper seats for general sale, but also that's the theatre's prerogative etc (and maybe just nobody has pointed this out to them) |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2019 19:20:02 GMT
It is, in my experience as an 'outsider'. Are all seats released to members? Do they (as it appears) get the pick of the litter regarding the best seats / bargain seats / bargain days? I'm in quickly when public booking opens and there's rarely anything left in some theatres (Donmar, Almeida) if there's a good cast or whatever. If you were a member (say for example you felt passionately about a particular theatre or wanted to treat yourself or someone bought it for you as a gift) would you only buy the most expensive seats when you got the chance even if there were some of those £15 tickets available? If you got the chance to buy tickets earlier than others because of that membership, would you take advantage of that or would you wait until public booking opened? I'm genuinely interested. |
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Post by crowblack on Feb 28, 2019 19:29:05 GMT
yes i get the perks but also I want to support the arts I understand the economics of it but theatre has an image problem as being something for an elite and the 'early access for the wealthy' thing plays into that. If it felt more welcoming and accessible, more part of the community in general, maybe it would attract more people over the threshold and wouldn't need a few with very deep pockets to keep it ticking over. It's unusual, as an art form, in that where you sit has a direct bearing on the quality of your experience and can completely transform it. I really like studio productions because all seats are the same price and if you are enthusiastic enough to be prepared to wait you'll get a great seat and if you'd rather be in the bar till 7.30 you won't, so the quality of your experience isn't predetermined by wealth. I appreciate that's obviously not practical for large old fashioned theatres - the issue with membership is quite often you don't even have the chance to buy a decent stalls seat even if you do have the money because they've gone by the time public booking opens. |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2019 19:31:23 GMT
Yes, but (sorry Mods this is a tangent) but there is no magic money tree is there? fact is we need rich people to support the arts so the less well off can have the cheap tickets.
And I say that as one of the broke-as-hell folks who can't afford membership. Ironically because I work in the arts.
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Post by crowblack on Feb 28, 2019 19:37:33 GMT
Most people I guess off-set the membership by the ticket price. But for those of us from out-of-town you have to factor in that we're probably aiming for a Saturday matinee and I'll generally spend more on travelling than the ticket itself. What I do is get a crap seat, buy advance train tickets and then keep checking for a better seat through returns if it's a theatre that's enlightened enough to do them and let me swap. Some West End ones don't, even though the ticket you are trying to return is a £10 upper circle massively restricted view and the one you want is a much pricier stalls! |
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Post by crowblack on Feb 28, 2019 19:44:55 GMT
we need rich people to support the arts so the less well off can have the cheap tickets. Yes, but my original point was that in some cases the cheap tickets are snapped up by those with memberships before there's a chance for the general public to get them. I note the Royal Court flags up that only a limited number of advance cheap Monday seats are available to members before their public release, membership is anyway fairly cheap so accessible - £35 - and it's a theatre that attracts a younger, more diverse crowd than most London venues. |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2019 19:58:45 GMT
we need rich people to support the arts so the less well off can have the cheap tickets. Yes, but my original point was that in some cases the cheap tickets are snapped up by those with memberships before there's a chance for the general public to get them. I note the Royal Court flags up that only a limited number of advance cheap Monday seats are available to members before their public release, membership is anyway fairly cheap so accessible - £35 - and it's a theatre that attracts a younger, more diverse crowd than most London venues. Look I think we're all talking completely at odds and getting nowhere, so I for one am calling it a day (also because possibly people do want to discuss Cate and her nylon underwear in this thread and who am I to stop them). |
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Post by mathh on Feb 28, 2019 20:40:46 GMT
(also because possibly people do want to discuss Cate and her nylon underwear in this thread and who am I to stop them). Five days since I've seen the play and I'm still thinking about them... |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2019 21:01:35 GMT
Yes, but my original point was that in some cases the cheap tickets are snapped up by those with memberships before there's a chance for the general public to get them. I note the Royal Court flags up that only a limited number of advance cheap Monday seats are available to members before their public release, membership is anyway fairly cheap so accessible - £35 - and it's a theatre that attracts a younger, more diverse crowd than most London venues. Look I think we're all talking completely at odds and getting nowhere, so I for one am calling it a day (also because possibly people do want to discuss Cate and her nylon underwear in this thread and who am I to stop them). Quite right. So that dildo huh? Had a bit of an odd curve to it, did it not? No wonder Stephen Dillane kept his scanties on in the curtain call. I hope someone scans his dressing room post-show... |
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Post by xxx on Feb 28, 2019 22:38:00 GMT
Look I think we're all talking completely at odds and getting nowhere, so I for one am calling it a day (also because possibly people do want to discuss Cate and her nylon underwear in this thread and who am I to stop them). Quite right. So that dildo huh? Had a bit of an odd curve to it, did it not? No wonder Stephen Dillane kept his scanties on in the curtain call. I hope someone scans his dressing room post-show... exactly....was wondering what made them choose this particular one....  btw - does anyone know why they had the tape over their mouth in the beginning? it did not seem to have any real purpose and they took it off quickly anyway.... |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2019 22:56:32 GMT
Quite right. So that dildo huh? Had a bit of an odd curve to it, did it not? No wonder Stephen Dillane kept his scanties on in the curtain call. I hope someone scans his dressing room post-show... exactly....was wondering what made them choose this particular one.... btw - does anyone know why they had the tape over their mouth in the beginning? it did not seem to have any real purpose and they took it off quickly anyway.... Control - setting the ground rules as to who gets to speak and when and who gets to use language and how (a lot of the time the observers are also made to parrot lines as opposed to the main couple who also get to improvise around the scenarios). Class, language and power and how they are intertwined is an important aspect of the novel it is based on. Probably something to be said about the ownership of other orifices, too.....
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Post by nash16 on Mar 1, 2019 0:22:54 GMT
Quite right. So that dildo huh? Had a bit of an odd curve to it, did it not? No wonder Stephen Dillane kept his scanties on in the curtain call. I hope someone scans his dressing room post-show... exactly....was wondering what made them choose this particular one.... btw - does anyone know why they had the tape over their mouth in the beginning? it did not seem to have any real purpose and they took it off quickly anyway.... The tape thing was added in later previews. Completely pointless if you ask me. The first previews just had them coming on one by one, with Cate coming on last. No tape involved. Just preparing. And not through the garage door, which now seems to The the case, but through the stage left door. |
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Post by peggs on Mar 1, 2019 7:32:23 GMT
They had a fully functioning garage door initially for no reason? What a luxury, it looked to work much better than my garage door.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 1, 2019 8:46:08 GMT
They had a fully functioning garage door initially for no reason? What a luxury, it looked to work much better than my garage door. I did enjoy the gravel by the door, and the crunching sound of feet on it as they entered/left. |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 1, 2019 11:42:20 GMT
They were milk snakes, Monkey.  |
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Post by crowblack on Mar 1, 2019 22:54:47 GMT
Was just scrolling through the #whenwehave etc hashtag on Twitter tonight and an Audi advert popped up!
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Post by tmesis on Mar 3, 2019 9:37:07 GMT
Meanwhile back to the play...
I saw it last night and Blanchett and Dillane were fantastic.
As to the play itself, the only positive thing I can say is I expected it to be excruciating and it was merely very painful.
One member of the audience giving out flowers again (to the whole cast) with a a special present to Cate in a gift bag so I couldn't see what it was (gold-plated dildo?)
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Post by altamont on Mar 3, 2019 10:06:45 GMT
A question about the actor playing Ross - in the programme and website, he is listed as Craig Miller - however when we saw this on Friday, it certainly wasn't him - and I can't see any mention of understudies in the programme. Does anyone know who he was?
Thanks
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Post by peggs on Mar 3, 2019 10:43:39 GMT
Similarly wondered that, was presumably same actor last Monday but no mention of who he was in programme, free cast list or website.
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Post by andrew on Mar 3, 2019 11:34:39 GMT
A question about the actor playing Ross - in the programme and website, he is listed as Craig Miller - however when we saw this on Friday, it certainly wasn't him - and I can't see any mention of understudies in the programme. Does anyone know who he was? Thanks According to Twitter it was David Rawlins. |
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Post by tmesis on Mar 3, 2019 11:49:03 GMT
Last night a guy who hadn't been in the play took his bow with the rest at the end. He was injured with a splint on lis hand/wrist. Can't be sure but looking now at the cast photos he looked like Craig Miller.
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