Soho Cinders - Charing Cross Theatre

[stevej678]

This looks so empty tonight (and indeed for most upcoming performances). Where did it all go wrong for the Charing Cross Theatre?

[Someone in a tree]

Did it ever get it right? With the exception of Titanic I can't think of a successful run of any show.

I think the auditorium could do with another reconfiguration and the theatre some major rebranding.

[showtoones]

I think the issue is there isn't much publicity and tourists don;t even know about thew theater. Its a cute space, if not a bit dated. They need to do tube posters and out of the box thinking for pitches to media. The leads - Luke and Millie - aren't household names and the fans of Six and Jamie may go once or twice but this isn't a large enough group to make a dent. This was seen when Oak from Hamilton went into Great Comet on Broadway. They thought he'd have the "hamilton" factor and bring over Hamilton fans but that didn't happen.

Plus it is a destination theater, like the Menier - you don't happen upon it on Shaftsbury Avenue. You go with the intent of going...

They also need a stronger social media campaign. This shouldn't be discounted as it's replaced the importance of traditional media. Getting some young lad or lass as an intern who is a wiz at social media would be the way to go.

They also need to create partnerships with local businesses, restaurants, etc so these businesses can act as ambassadors for the shows. There also should be promotions like bring your ticket to a restaurant partner after a show to get a free glass of wine with the purchase of an entree?

Just my two cents...

[Mark]

There was also a bit of a falling out with TodayTix around the time of “The Woman in White”. TodayTix always used to sell tickets for here and it all suddenly stopped.
For a show like this, TodayTix is how a lot of people will get exposure to it.

Also, pricing it an issue. You can see one of the big West End shows for a comparable price.

[jess173]

Do they comp all of those tickets close to showtime or does it really stay that empty for the show?
I’ve got a ticket for mid December. So far 32 other tickets have been sold for that performance. Do I have to stay put in my seat in the back row or will they allow me to get a little closer? 🙈

[stevej678]

It doesn't look like they're comping tonight. Twelve rows are still completely empty for this evening's performance with eighty minutes to go.

Hard not to feel sorry for the cast. Certainly quite a different experience for Millie after playing to full houses at Six every night.

[n1david]

Is it just too soon for a revival of Soho Cinders? It's only three years since it was at the Union, and while I enjoyed it, I don't think it closed with an enormous amount of pent-up demand for more shows...

[intoanewlife]

Sounds like the whole scenario is a rather lucrative tax write-off for the people involved...

[amp09]

Nov 13, 2019 18:22:40 GMT intoanewlife said:

Sounds like the whole scenario is a rather lucrative tax write-off for the people involved...

Oh interesting, how does this work?

[amp09]

Nov 13, 2019 18:08:13 GMT jess173 said:

Do they comp all of those tickets close to showtime or does it really stay that empty for the show?
I’ve got a ticket for mid December. So far 32 other tickets have been sold for that performance. Do I have to stay put in my seat in the back row or will they allow me to get a little closer? 🙈

I’ve not seen it pop up on any sites I’m a member of.

[highonahill]

Nov 13, 2019 18:34:52 GMT amp09 said:

Nov 13, 2019 18:08:13 GMT jess173 said:

Do they comp all of those tickets close to showtime or does it really stay that empty for the show?
I’ve got a ticket for mid December. So far 32 other tickets have been sold for that performance. Do I have to stay put in my seat in the back row or will they allow me to get a little closer? 🙈

I’ve not seen it pop up on any sites I’m a member of.

I've booked for the 27th in the back row. Partly because the friend I'm going with likes to be further back and on an aisle, but I'm hoping to get moved closer. When I saw Violet (which I loved) and had booked 2nd row for, the audience was told to sit in the front four rows only as there were so few sold. Shame for the theatre really if things don't sell as I've enjoyed much of what I've seen there.

[dippy]

I definitely saw a Woman in White poster in the tube, but haven't seen a tube poster for any of their shows since.

[Deleted]

Nov 13, 2019 18:20:47 GMT n1david said:

Is it just too soon for a revival of Soho Cinders? It's only three years since it was at the Union, and while I enjoyed it, I don't think it closed with an enormous amount of pent-up demand for more shows...

It's kinda not a revival? Kind of is, kind of isn't. Haha. It's the same creative team and alot of the same cast as the Union. I never saw the one at the Union but I'm pretty sure that rehearsals were short and intense like 2 weeks, 10-10 because alot of the cast already knew what they were doing. I think the only major difference between this production and the Union is the set.

[Deleted]

Also, pretty sure I saw a tube poster for It Happened in Key West and maybe even Mythic. I don't mind the Charing Cross Theatre. I just wish they hadn't made it traverse/in the round. For me, it just doesn't work in this layout. Or, should I say, I'm yet to see a show that works in this layout.

[xanady]

^Some great ideas by showtoones to boost attendance.It is a shame if it is not selling as I feel it could do well if more people knew about it.Word of mouth could help sell it,but publicity,box office etc all feels a little half-hearted.A real missed opportunity.

[Someone in a tree]

Nov 13, 2019 18:08:13 GMT jess173 said:

Do they comp all of those tickets close to showtime or does it really stay that empty for the show?
I’ve got a ticket for mid December. So far 32 other tickets have been sold for that performance. Do I have to stay put in my seat in the back row or will they allow me to get a little closer? 🙈

You can move forward, the two nuns and your mother will not notice. I moved twice during Queen of mist and no one batted an eye lid.

[Jane Parfitt]

[freckles]

That's nice, but someone should tell their website...

[dippy]

It seems to be working now which is good.

[jamb0r]

Though it looks like they've just raised the price of the back row tickets from £18.50 (which is what the price was last time I checked) to £23.50 so they're still the same price as they were previously after you apply the discount!

(I may have misremembered the price of the back row and got confused with the balcony seats which are still £18.50 thinking about it!)

[Someone in a tree]

They have raised the price because everyone is flocking to this show. Not.

[jess173]

I bought my back row ticket in early October and already paid 23,50£...

[freckles]

Nov 19, 2019 14:54:53 GMT jamb0r said:

Though it looks like they've just raised the price of the back row tickets from £18.50 (which is what the price was last time I checked) to £23.50 so they're still the same price as they were previously after you apply the discount!

(I may have misremembered the price of the back row and got confused with the balcony seats which are still £18.50 thinking about it!)

Oh. I'm glad it's not just me - I was getting very confused there.

[southstreet]

Pretty sure that my friends paid 18.50 for their back row tickets a couple of weeks ago, it was definitely less than £20. Just to confuse things even more.

[Theatre Fan]