The Royal Ballet’s Spring and Summer programmes 2021

[Rob S]

17 minutes ago, capybara said:

 

I guess that a number of us are becoming familiar with this nonsensical message?

We could not find 1 tickets together. Try requesting fewer tickets, or select a different area.

Suddenly memories of the nightmare of the Nutcracker general release has returned...struggling to find any single seat for any performance within the first 30-40 mins of opening but then having no problem at all finding availability for my original choices several hours later when  sitting in a puddle of tears (I assume) and all my pulled out hair. 
Also booking the open up performances (which ultimately got cancelled) was a breeze two hours after they were all released (because I had got the general release date wrong and the ROH email announcing it was now open was of use for the first time ever.)

[Bruce Wall]

1 hour ago, capybara said:

 

I guess that a number of us are becoming familiar with this nonsensical message?

We could not find 1 tickets together. Try requesting fewer tickets, or select a different area.

 

Speaks for itself, huh.  Would put a  but the reality almost hurts too much ... especially after all this time ...  As someone once said to me:  'You have to be philosophical about such things' .... Believe me, I'm trying.  Sincerely I am ... 

[FionaM]

I couldn’t get single seats anywhere ... time to reactivate the ‘seats for sale’ area of this forum .... I will be fully vaccinated and would be happy to double up with anyone else who also is.

 

that’s what fans at the Bolshoi have had to do when the theatre was 50% only ... they had ZERO single seats available. 

[FionaM]

1 hour ago, capybara said:

 

I guess that a number of us are becoming familiar with this nonsensical message?

We could not find 1 tickets together. Try requesting fewer tickets, or select a different area.

 
🤣🤣🤣 it’s all we can do!  
 

Fingers crossed 🤞 it won’t be necessary very soon.  
 

On the other hand, the box office have been very helpful to me personally today, when I double booked myself (blame pandemic ... my brain is fried).  They’ve taken the seats back and refunded me with no quibbles.  

[LinMM]

FionaE I will message you!! 

[alison]

Please do bear in mind that these vaccines are new, we have no idea how long they will remain effective (and indeed what their effectiveness is), and that they still don't necessarily prevent you from catching Covid-19 yourself and/or transmitting it to other people if you pick it up.  The last might prove important in particular if someone comes from an area where there is a more-virulent variant in circulation, because they could potentially contribute to spreading it.  We still need to be cautious.

[Dawnstar]

Looking at the ROH website, I see that the web pages for each of the 3 mainstage operas & ballet programmes now have this message:

Quote

Due to socially-distanced seating we are only able to offer a limited number of single seats, which have now sold out. All productions will be streamed on ROH Stream, and we look forward to being able to offer more seating options in the 2021/22 Season. We apologise for any inconvenience.

 

So presumably that means there aren't any single seats being held back for public booking. I'm not sure whether the message was there before Friends' booking or has been added since because I didn't try to book this morning. As I'm not due to have my 2nd vaccine until the start of July I decided it was better not to try to book any tickets. Though it sounds like I, as a solo attendee, almost certainly wouldn't have been able to get any tickets even if I had tried.

[LinMM]

Regards the vaccine status as long as you are not breaking any Gov rules then it’s a matter of personal risk assessment between any two people concerned. 
I believe from May 17th up to six people from different households can meet indoors. 
Nobody has to meet anybody at all of course but each individual ....within the rules ...will decide what to do with that. 

I won’t be going on holiday abroad this year as that’s a risk too far for me just at this point but many will go even in my age group. 

 

[Rob S]

33 minutes ago, Dawnstar said:

Looking at the ROH website, I see that the web pages for each of the 3 mainstage operas & ballet programmes now have this message:

Due to socially-distanced seating we are only able to offer a limited number of single seats, which have now sold out. All productions will be streamed on ROH Stream, and we look forward to being able to offer more seating options in the 2021/22 Season. We apologise for any inconvenience.

 

 

 

I need a cunning plan🤔
 

Edited May 6, 2021 by Rob S

[bridiem]

46 minutes ago, Dawnstar said:

Looking at the ROH website, I see that the web pages for each of the 3 mainstage operas & ballet programmes now have this message:

 

So presumably that means there aren't any single seats being held back for public booking. I'm not sure whether the message was there before Friends' booking or has been added since because I didn't try to book this morning. As I'm not due to have my 2nd vaccine until the start of July I decided it was better not to try to book any tickets. Though it sounds like I, as a solo attendee, almost certainly wouldn't have been able to get any tickets even if I had tried.

 

I see that this ROH statement only appears when you click for 'More Info' about the production; I went straight to 'Book tickets' since I didn't need more info, and it doesn't appear there, so I don't know if it was there this morning. But why doesn't it also appear when you click on 'Book tickets'? That's where it's really pertinent!

 

And I have booked the livestream for the Balanchine/Robbins bill; but a) it's really not the same, and b) it's not the first cast (especially, it's not Muntagirov as Apollo). I just hope that he will dance it again very soon.

[Saodan]

It seems pretty bad form if they have not held any single seats back for public booking. It’s difficult to be too critical given the circumstances, but it does give the impression that the ROH consider some parts of the audience to be disposable.

 

I have pretty much made my peace with not being able to attend this run of performances. But, if the same restrictions are in places when the 2021/22 season starts booking, its going to really hurt. I know it’s necessary, but it’s not great for single out-of-towners on a budget!

[LinMM]

I think they could have made more concessions if only for ONE performance from each programme so only singles and doubles able to be booked and everybody Friend or public restricted to two tickets per performance. 
Even better .....that except for student performances ....everybody restricted to two tickets. This could then allow more tickets to be sold as singles in any area of the house not just dump a large number of singles into restricted view seats etc. 
Im pretty sure they would have still sold the same number of tickets as so many keen to go at this point. 
I can accept there will be less single tickets on sale whilst theatre is only half full but to have NONE  at all by public booking ....and even by ordinary Friends booking date by the look of it .....then it is definitely unfair. 

 

 

[LinMM]

For the first time in my entire regular ROH going which started around early 1972 when I went to live in London as a young teacher I’ve sent an email of complaint to them. 
Im not expecting a reply but just wanted to get the huge disappointment off my chest that there are NO single tickets available for the summer season. 
I was very generous to the ROH back in the Spring donating all my cancelled tickets from back then to them but feel more than a little miffed at what feels like discrimination against people who for various reasons often have to go to theatre on their own. 

 

[FionaM]

7 hours ago, LinMM said:

Am waiting nervously to hear how ROH Friends get on with booking today!!

Can anyone looking at Thursday June 10th tell me how it’s looking for that day 🤔 

It’s impossible to tell as you apply for tickets in an area and then get allocated at random, it doesn’t say how many are still available, just either available or sold out.

[Jan McNulty]

22 hours ago, Jan McNulty said:

Not the ROH but don't talk to me about discrimination towards single ticket bookers...

 

Going back to my comment before, when performances had the dates changed and went from being fully seated to socially distanced my all-front-row seats went anywhere between half way back and the back row!!!  I was not amused that all my tickets suffered like that so I wrote and complained.  I got an email back saying that the marketing team had looked at trends and single bookers were very much in the minority.

 

Anyway I wrote and complained again and whoever took over the complaint must have looked at my account and seen how much I spend on tickets at that theatre because suddenly I got (not front row) much better seats!  I don't necessariy agree with favouritism but I didn't turn them down.

[Lizbie1]

1 hour ago, Jan McNulty said:

I got an email back saying that the marketing team had looked at trends and single bookers were very much in the minority.

 

This may be true but I think it's likely we're more hard core than couples and groups, so more likely to turn up under less than ideal circumstances.

[AnneL]

I got an error message in the email which was entitled ‘booking confirmation’ when I made my booking. Has this happened to anyone else? 

[SPD444]

41 minutes ago, AnneL said:

I got an error message in the email which was entitled ‘booking confirmation’ when I made my booking. Has this happened to anyone else? 

Yes, I did. I have checked what tickets I bought in the “Events” section of my membership file if they are their and they are so all seems well but to make sure I copied the error message to the box office and asked them to confirm. No reply so far.

[bangorballetboy]

1 hour ago, Lizbie1 said:

 

This may be true but I think it's likely we're more hard core than couples and groups, so more likely to turn up under less than ideal circumstances.

 

To be honest, I think that’s a sweeping generalisation that’s probably not correct.

[Richard LH]

10 hours ago, LinMM said:

Am waiting nervously to hear how ROH Friends get on with booking today!!

Can anyone looking at Thursday June 10th tell me how it’s looking for that day 🤔 

Unfortunately there are currently no singles available for that performance ...let's hope there are some returns later.

[Rob S]

Should we be planning some sort of strategy to avoid too many tickets being offered for sale on here?

Edited May 6, 2021 by Rob S

[Peony]

21 hours ago, alison said:

Didn't we find that singles started appearing later last time, once there was a clearer idea of which seats were selling, or am I imagining it?

There was definitely a significant second release during general booking last time. My ticket numbers weren’t allocated until some time after booking (amphitheatre), I presume that was so that they could manually book and maximise seat availability. 

[Cheshirecat]

3 hours ago, SPD444 said:

Yes, I did. I have checked what tickets I bought in the “Events” section of my membership file if they are their and they are so all seems well but to make sure I copied the error message to the box office and asked them to confirm. No reply so far.

Hello, this problem also happened to me today. I emailed the Box Office and later called them. They confirmed my booking and sent me another confirmation email.

 

This booking process has been so stressful! I managed to get some single tickets but the choice was incredibly limited so I am not sure how good these seats will be...

[Jan McNulty]

Hello Cheshirecat and welcome out of the lurking shadows!

[Anna C]

17 hours ago, FionaE said:

It’s impossible to tell as you apply for tickets in an area and then get allocated at random, it doesn’t say how many are still available, just either available or sold out.

 

This is a system that absolutely does NOT work for Access members.  I know roughly which seats are and are not suitable for my disability, but still have to book using the seat plan, so I can double-check on the interactive map.  Going back to the bad old days of Ticketmaster-style booking is a complete no-no for me, so it’ll have to be live-streams only for the foreseeable future.  So disappointing because I was longing to see Naghdi and Muntagirov in “Apollo”. 

[Rob S]

As per last time, booking a seat(s) comes up with an error page if using my laptop but it's ok on my phone

[bangorballetboy]

5 minutes ago, Anna C said:

 

This is a system that absolutely does NOT work for Access members.  I know roughly which seats are and are not suitable for my disability, but still have to book using the seat plan, so I can double-check on the interactive map.  Going back to the bad old days of Ticketmaster-style booking is a complete no-no for me, so it’ll have to be live-streams only for the foreseeable future.  So disappointing because I was longing to see Naghdi and Muntagirov in “Apollo”. 

 

Have you tried calling the box office?  They answered really quickly on Wednesday.

[alison]

One would hope they still had a dedicated Access line - or am I out of date here?  I do hope the ROH (and everyone else in the world, for that matter) is sufficiently disability-aware by now to know that not all disabled people are in wheelchairs.

[Richard LH]

Yes the box office has been really helpful this week although with general booking now open things may be a bit more frantic.

[Bruce Wall]

That was an act of absurdity.  This newish booking system - with its insultingly truncated message for single bookers - is truly for the birds .... and even they I think might complain .... WITH REASON.  (Who would blame them?)   I just pray that once things are again 'opened up' we go back to the system as it was before.  Not perfect, no ... but at least workable.  This one???? .... erm .... NOT.  

 

Edited May 7, 2021 by Bruce Wall

[Saodan]

It seems the lack of single seats was not an exaggeration. It feels really strange being told the day before booking that I am, in essence, barred from the theatre. I don’t like being negative about something I love so much, but…

 

I guess I’m going to have to outsource casting data collection for these performances!

Edited May 7, 2021 by Saodan

[Peony]

I booked this morning and it seemed to me that they only had pairs of tickets? No 3s or 4s appeared at all. So not only did I have to pay for 2 hangers on (kids!) but also for an imaginary friend! To be fair the prices seemed lower and the total was about what I’d expect to pay for the 3 tickets, if not less. I’m just over the moon to be going at all really (fingers crossed this time!)

[Anna C]

3 hours ago, bangorballetboy said:

 

Have you tried calling the box office?  They answered really quickly on Wednesday.

 

I haven’t, to be honest - I hate booking by phone.  It wouldn’t have been as annoying had the Access form arrived on time (you have to fill it out and actually post it back 🙄) but it didn’t arrive until this morning.  

 

Weird, because as other venues are finally joining the 21st Century in letting disabled people book online from a seat plan, the ROH seems to be going backwards.