Linbury bookings

[JNC]

So this morning when general booking opened the Cross Currents mixed bill in the Linbury was completely sold out. Meaning that all ticket were sold to friends/members of ROH. 

 

I have no issue with members getting priority booking as I know this is an important revenue stream for ROH, and accept that a lot of good tickets (cheaper and or best of price banding) go to members for this reason.

 

What I do have issues with is the principle that all tickets for a certain production or performance go to members and there are no tickets available at general booking. I believe the ROH have a policy that they need to keep some tickets back for general booking, but it appears this only applies to the main stage performances. As far as I’m aware Linbury tickets are not available through Friday rush either. Which means anyone who isn’t a member and wanted to see this performance can’t (subject to returns which are not to be relied on). 

 

I accept there are only 4 performances over 2 days and other Linbury productions seem to have ticket availability so hopefully this a rare occasion. However unless none of government grant funding is spent in the Linbury (and surely you can’t separate this and why would you want to?) I believe that Linbury performances should be subject to the same ‘some tickets available to the public at general booking’ policy. Are the ROH essentially saying they are happy to exclude non paying members from Linbury performances? 

 

Anyway I’ve raised this with ROH so we’ll see what they say (if they respond). 

 

To note that this post definitely isn’t me criticising members - of course if tickets are available to buy you will buy them. If I decide to become a member one day it shouldn’t be because I feel I have to in order to even attend a performance. 

 

I’m wondering if friends who wanted to attend where able to do so, or if they too struggled due to supply vs demand? 

 

 

[Bruce Wall]

I tend to agree with much of what you say, JNC.  I had a smooth purchase on the ROH site this morning for a large number of tickets for which I was keenly grateful - although I don't remember spending quite so much in the past.  (I see that as a good thing.  So much to choose from and so much I'm eager to see.)  Still the situation you describe is I fear simply the way that things may go in the future and I'm now priming my brain just to accept it as best I can.  At a certain point - and I know this has happened with some friends in terms of the opera - we may simply feel priced out.  It is there, of course, but perhaps not now as much for all as before.  As it is the ACE funding for the ROH is being curtailed on the edges and with the Linbury specifically I still wonder that they still remain selling at greater cost, say, than for mixed bills in the main house several standing places in the 'renewed format' with virtually NO viewing sight line AT ALL.  The market it seems is bearing much ... at least at the moment.  

 

 

 

Edited August 7, 2019 by Bruce Wall

[Dawnstar]

15 minutes ago, JNC said:

I’m wondering if friends who wanted to attend where able to do so, or if they too struggled due to supply vs demand?

 

I only decided to get Friends membership the day Friends booking opened & by the time I had visibility of tickets that evening all the performances were already sold out. Perhaps someone who had access as soon as Friends booking opened can say if there were tickets available then or if they had all already gone to the higher levels of Friends?

 

Linbury lack of availability seems to be much more a problem now than it used to be before the refurbishment. I saw a couple of things in there back around 2015 & don't recall any problems getting tickets when general booking opened. However now almost everything in there seems to sell out & returns also seem to be very infrequent. I spent several weeks checking every day for returns for Berenice back in the spring before finally managing to get a ticket on the day of the penultimate performance.

[JNC]

Thanks Bruce and Dawnstar.

 

I know there were similar issues with availability for La Forza for example (although that was main stage), and that Linbury due to its size will understandably have proportionately higher demand (?). 

 

Interesting if even regular friends are unable to get tickets. 

 

I really think that some tickets should be available at general booking regardless as a minimum. I appreciate there’s probably no completely fair way to do it but this seems to be the best way. Perhaps also having staggered releases across friend levels so that lower levels of friends are able to get tickets too. 

 

I’ll admit I wasn’t devastated not to be able to go as I’d already spent what was for me a significant amount on main stage bookings, but I am annoyed at the principle that I didn’t even have an option - it wasn’t even a matter of x date selling out or x seat section not being available, it was all tickets for all dates gone. 

 

[bangorballetboy]

The availability for the Cross Currents bill was poor, even early on the day booking opened for premium 2 friends.  If tickets were held back for public booking, I imagine they will have been snapped up very quickly.

[Pulcinella]

Well I was straight on to that bill when booking opened at 9 and there was still a Buy button by the earlier performance on the Friday but when I clicked on it it came up with no tickets available. The other performances were already showing Sold Out.

[Dawnstar]

1 hour ago, bangorballetboy said:

The availability for the Cross Currents bill was poor, even early on the day booking opened for premium 2 friends.  If tickets were held back for public booking, I imagine they will have been snapped up very quickly.

 

Isn't Premium 2 Friends the highest level? If not many tickets were available to the highest level of Friends & few or none were held back for public booking then who is actually getting the tickets for these performances?

[SusanR]

I am keen to buy a ticket for Astana Ballet in the Linbury but I am not sure where to sit. I have read some negative comments about sightlines. Perhaps someone could enlighten me? I am thinking of the stalls.

[cackles]

I was online for Friends booking at 9am on the opening day and was unable to buy any tickets for Cross Currents then.

[JNC]

1 hour ago, Dawnstar said:

 

Isn't Premium 2 Friends the highest level? If not many tickets were available to the highest level of Friends & few or none were held back for public booking then who is actually getting the tickets for these performances?

 

Indeed. Perhaps some have been kept back for patrons or guests of management? 

 

Perhaps there should have been more performances scheduled (especially if ROH were holding back a good chunk of tickets for their guests). Perhaps they weren’t aware of the demand here in fairness, but considering the effort gone into rehearsals (or so I imagine) only two days seems a bit of a shame anyway. 

 

 

[Dawnstar]

1 hour ago, JNC said:

 

Indeed. Perhaps some have been kept back for patrons or guests of management? 

 

Perhaps there should have been more performances scheduled (especially if ROH were holding back a good chunk of tickets for their guests). Perhaps they weren’t aware of the demand here in fairness, but considering the effort gone into rehearsals (or so I imagine) only two days seems a bit of a shame anyway. 

 

 

I'm sure some are being held for guests, press, etc. but with there being 4 performances in a nearly-400 seat theatre surely they wouldn't hold the best part of over 1500 tickets?! It's not that I partiularly want to see this programme - I think it'll be too modern for me - but that I'd love to know why in general some Linbury productions have been so difficult to get tickets for since the re-opening. If it is going to continue then maybe they should mark off the perofrmances as not for public sale, like they do for the schools' performances. It seems wrong to advertise a performance as if tickets will be available to the general public if in fact they won't be.

[capybara]

All this is very unsatisfactory as every performance I have attended in the new Linbury has had many empty seats.

[Lizbie1]

I’m dreading trying to get tickets for the so-called Heritage programme next May - seems guaranteed to be a real scrum for the thing I most want to see all season

[AnneMarriott]

3 hours ago, SusanR said:

I am keen to buy a ticket for Astana Ballet in the Linbury but I am not sure where to sit. I have read some negative comments about sightlines. Perhaps someone could enlighten me? I am thinking of the stalls.

The seating in the stalls varies according to the programme - the front few rows can be removed to accommodate an orchestra, for example.  From personal experience I would avoid the stalls side gallery seats nearest the stage, especially Row B.  If you are tall I believe the seats in the front row of the Circle and Upper Circle have very poor leg room.

[JNC]

2 hours ago, Lizbie1 said:

I’m dreading trying to get tickets for the so-called Heritage programme next May - seems guaranteed to be a real scrum for the thing I most want to see all season

 

I can’t even find this listed on the ROH website? 

 

Hopefully they’ll be more performances...

[Lizbie1]

I don’t understand how in this day and age seating and sightlines can apparently be an afterthought. It’s such a missed opportunity!

[Lizbie1]

2 minutes ago, JNC said:

 

I can’t even find this listed on the ROH website? 

 

Hopefully they’ll be more performances...

 

It was announced and is in the season brochure which Friends received, but we’re short on details and there doesn’t appear to be a production page yet.

 

If, as planned, it’s included in the Spring booking period, it shouldn’t be too long before we learn more.

[Lynette H]

There are more tickets available for the previously completely sold out Cross Currents bill available now, for all performances, up to 25 available. The ROH Box Office moves in mysterious ways. 

[JNC]

5 hours ago, Lynette H said:

There are more tickets available for the previously completely sold out Cross Currents bill available now, for all performances, up to 25 available. The ROH Box Office moves in mysterious ways. 

 

Thanks Lynette. Utterly bizarre, I actually managed to pick up a ticket when they released a few randomly last week as well (also due to being notified by this forum!).

 

Why they can't just release at general booking (and or keep a certain number back for Friday Rush as per main stage) is quite frustrating as without checking the ROH website constantly (and or this forum) one would assume it was sold out and give up on tickets.