Royal Ballet booking period 1 (2021) - casting and pricing

[JohnS]

Many thanks Lizbie1 - that’s very helpful and works for me.

[alison]

I've moved a lot of posts into a new "booking experiences" thread here:

Please use that if relevant, so we can keep this one for casting and other things.

 

Thanks!

 

[alison]

I'm shocked.  I just had to adjust some of my bookings for the "autumn" season, and discovered that the "behind the pillar" end-of-row seats in row H of the amphitheatre (with about 60% view if you sit back) are on at £43 for Romeo & Juliet.  They are £21 for Giselle, the same as the seats on the ends of the amphi sides, which is how they are usually priced.  This must surely be a mistake.

[Lizbie1]

6 minutes ago, alison said:

I'm shocked.  I just had to adjust some of my bookings for the "autumn" season, and discovered that the "behind the pillar" end-of-row seats in row H of the amphitheatre (with about 60% view if you sit back) are on at £43 for Romeo & Juliet.  They are £21 for Giselle, the same as the seats on the ends of the amphi sides, which is how they are usually priced.  This must surely be a mistake.

 

I noticed something similar with Amphi Row A - the single seats on either side with restricted legroom (A35 and A79 I think) because there's a support column or something in the way were showing as *more* expensive than the neighbouring seats, not less.

[alison]

??!!

[alison]

Can I say, BTW, how pleased I am to be able to see what has sold even before I'm allowed to book for it?  It's most useful - helps me to prioritise which dates I need to book first, and whether the sort of tickets I'm interested in are even available at all.

[Guest oncnp]

3 hours ago, Peony said:

I wonder what their ceiling price will be when they end up with unsold tickets?

 

They've not done any price adjustment (yet) for the three R&J matinees that are selling very slowly (and the amphi for all performances) I feel bad for Kaneko/Bracewell who got stuck with two of them. 

[alison]

Are those the ones with the silly starting times that people from out of town probably can't make because they're too early?

[Guest oncnp]

2 minutes ago, alison said:

Are those the ones with the silly starting times that people from out of town probably can't make because they're too early?

 

11:30 does seem pretty silly and the 1330 may be a tad early but the 1400 (Lamb/McRae as well) on a Sunday I would have thought might be more popular

[bangorballetboy]

2 hours ago, Lizbie1 said:

 

A quick glance at West End musicals, which I think is a decent reference for SL, suggests that they top out at about £125, so it's not that far adrift.

current top price for Hamilton is £175 (in 2018 it was £250!)

[Lizbie1]

2 minutes ago, bangorballetboy said:

current top price for Hamilton is £175 (in 2018 it was £250!)

 

Too quick a glance it seems - thank you!

[Jan McNulty]

7 hours ago, oncnp said:

 

11:30 does seem pretty silly and the 1330 may be a tad early but the 1400 (Lamb/McRae as well) on a Sunday I would have thought might be more popular

Not if you’ve got to use long distance public transport on a Sunday morning!

[bridiem]

8 hours ago, oncnp said:

 

They've not done any price adjustment (yet) for the three R&J matinees that are selling very slowly (and the amphi for all performances) I feel bad for Kaneko/Bracewell who got stuck with two of them. 

 

In the light of your post I've just looked at the 11.30am Kaneko/Bracewell performance on 9th October (to which I'm going, as a Londoner with a short journey!) and the number of non-sold seats is shocking. Also interesting if the Amphi generally isn't selling well. Perhaps they've now pushed the prices too far for those without deep pockets.

Edited September 28, 2021 by bridiem

[MJW]

Just now, bridiem said:

 

In the light of your post I've just looked at the 11.30am Kaneko/Bracewell performance on 9th October (to which I'm going, as a Londoner with a short journey!) and the number of non-sold seats is shocking. Also interesting if the Amphi generally isn't selling well. Perhaps they've now pushed the prices too far for those without deep pockets.

 

It's a shame - I'm also booked for that performance (I don't live in London but not too far). I do hope that most of the remaining seats sell in time.  I suppose there is almost a fortnight to go, so fingers crossed.

[JohnS]

I can readily make an 11:30 matinee travelling from Penrith midweek and Saturdays but Sunday travel as Jan suggests is hopeless - earliest arrival in Euston is 2:15.

[capybara]

And Kaneko/Bracewell is a cast to die for.

[Lizbie1]

Is there any sign of poster or print advertising? Or are they sticking with the digital-only strategy?

[LinMM]

Between and October and March travel at weekends on the railways is always problematic if you live any distance from London and especially Sundays! 
The Brighton to London line whether Southern Rail or Thameslink is regularly disrupted somewhere along it in this period which usually involves getting on a bus for part of the journey. And there are a lot more last minute cancelled trains! 
The last dance group I belonged to rehearsed on a Sunday but I left in the end because the travelling drove me mad!! 
I do think that 11.30 “matinee” is a bit strange definitely will stop many booking who don’t want to have to stay overnight in order to get there on time!! 
However as Kaneko and Bracewell together are “to die for” I’m risking the journey for the slightly later matinee at 1.30pm!
I’m pretty sure something will be going on too as it’s the first weekend of the half term always a green light for railway maintenance. 



 

[FionaM]

1 hour ago, capybara said:

And Kaneko/Bracewell is a cast to die for.

agree … my first choice.  

[San Perregrino]

12 hours ago, bangorballetboy said:

current top price for Hamilton is £175 (in 2018 it was £250!)

IMHO I think the RB gets a lot of unfounded criticism about it’s ticket prices. So, amusing myself on a long train journey today I have compiled the following non-scientific list of top ticket prices around London:

 

Back to the Future £139
Panto at the Palladium £149.50
Phantom £165
Cinderella £135
Frozen £150
Matilda £122.50
Sergei Polunin at the Palladium £149.70 (or £409.70 for a meet me & signed book package) 
Hamilton £175
Mary Poppins £165
Les Mis £175
Mamma Mia £152.50
Come From Away £125.00
The Mirror & The Light £127.50
Prince of Egypt £129.50
Polunin’s R&J at RAH £216.50
New Adventures The Midnight Bell £75
New Adventures Nutcracker £85
New Adventures The Carman £95.00
ENB Nutcracker £95.00
ENB Raymonda £95.00
Wicked £124.75
Hairspray £175.00
BRB Nutcracker at RAH £87.50 
Dear Evan Hansen £152.50
Hex (NT) £89.00

 

Both Polunin shows are the biggest money-grabbers, possibly because costs can be high for single performances. To my mind though they are still over the top and perhaps are better compared to the price of tickets to pop concerts rather than theatre in that Polunin likely sees himself as a rock star.

 

These prices are, for the most part, for dates in early December. Prices over Christmas/New Year can be higher and the above is before any booking fees.

 

Since Brexit everything I purchase from bread and milk to a meal in a restaurant to clothes and household improvements has risen in price by an average of 20% whilst my income has been reduced. Much as I wish RB ticket prices wouldn’t rise, given the undeniable quality of the RB product & the context of the wider economy, it is understandable that they have done. 
 

[alison]

Well done, prs59.  Although presumably a lot of those prices are for "Superseats", so might include such things as free programmes, a free drink or other sundries?  I really don't know how people manage to afford to go to much West End theatre these days

[Peony]

I went to book frozen and the top price was £99? lots available mid range and as a small theatre the mid price tickets still have a good view. Generally I think it’s much easier to book for a musical and get a good view  for around £50. 
I don’t blame ROH for increasing prices but I haven’t booked

and won’t be because it’s just too expensive to take a family. Many of the others including BRB and ENB and some musicals give considerable child discounts. 
The purpose isn’t to criticise ROH, just saying it will be interesting to see whether they can sell at those prices. The demand is less than for some other theatre shows and many people are struggling financially. Last minute reductions are a viscous cycle of people waiting to book to see if they can get a discount, unsold seats aren’t good for anyone either. 

[zxDaveM]

36 minutes ago, prs59 said:

Much as I wish RB ticket prices wouldn’t rise, given the undeniable quality of the RB product & the context of the wider economy, it is understandable that they have done. 

 

 

That list sure makes interesting reading!

Just my 2p worth, regarding the RB (ROH) pricing. They do rather seem to have shot themselves in the foot with the pricing in the Amphi. Anecdotally, it seems for the big war-horse ballets, that for all areas, the prices for the main, central blocks have gone up, what, £15-£20-ish (?). Now for more casual, wealthier patrons that may book for 2-3 performances a year, their seat in the Orchestra Stalls, central Stalls Circle or Grand Tier haven't gone up 'that much'. However, the ones in the Amphi, where the fans that go mutiple times to each production, seem to have gone up MORE than £20 per ticket (I don't often sit there, but vaguely remember front central rows being £60-65-ish - now £90+, though I appreciate my figures may be less than accurate). This is why I think there are so many unsold tickets at the moment, up in the Amphi. The regular fans won't pay that much especially for ballets they have seen a lot in recent seasons, and the more casual punters would prefer to pay a little more for better seats (which apart from the awkwardly timed lunchtime 'matinees', seem to have sold OK)

[Scheherezade]

I think it’s more a case of the level and volume of the cheaper seats since anyone who is looking at the top, or even middling to top, prices is presumably in a relatively good place anyway.

 

I would say that the number of cheap seats (by definition the only seats affordable by those who have to watch their budget) have noticeably shrunk at the ROH and this would seem to be reflected by the number of unsold amphitheatre seats.
 

A quick glance shows that the cheap seats in the amphitheatre have largely sold out but the middling to higher priced seats have not. The situation was so bad when a friend of mine attended a performance of The Magic Flute last week, the amphitheatre was closed and those with tickets in the amphitheatre were moved to the lower levels. 

 

I would prefer to see the coffers refilled by a batch of premium seats at premium prices in the lower levels and hope that more realistic pricing for the amphitheatre will be reintroduced before too long.  

[Scheherezade]

Sorry zxDaveM, we seem to be making the same point. 

[San Perregrino]

1 hour ago, alison said:

Well done, prs59.  Although presumably a lot of those prices are for "Superseats", so might include such things as free programmes, a free drink or other sundries?  I really don't know how people manage to afford to go to much West End theatre these days

Alison, these are simply the top ticket prices and don’t include any extras. Yes, they might be what are laughingly known as ‘premium seats’, in that they are centre stalls or thereabouts, but any extras: drinks, sharing platters, snack boxes, programmes etc are indeed additional to the ticket price.

[Lizbie1]

58 minutes ago, Scheherezade said:

The situation was so bad when a friend of mine attended a performance of The Magic Flute last week, the amphitheatre was closed and those with tickets in the amphitheatre were moved to the lower levels. 

 

Crikey - don't think I've ever heard of that at ROH before.

[San Perregrino]

1 hour ago, Peony said:

I went to book frozen and the top price was £99? lots available mid range and as a small theatre the mid price tickets still have a good view. Generally I think it’s much easier to book for a musical and get a good view  for around £50. 
I don’t blame ROH for increasing prices but I haven’t booked

and won’t be because it’s just too expensive to take a family. Many of the others including BRB and ENB and some musicals give considerable child discounts. 
The purpose isn’t to criticise ROH, just saying it will be interesting to see whether they can sell at those prices. The demand is less than for some other theatre shows and many people are struggling financially. Last minute reductions are a viscous cycle of people waiting to book to see if they can get a discount, unsold seats aren’t good for anyone either. 

Frozen is one of many productions that has introduced ‘airline’ style pricing which adjusts according to day of the week and to demand. I looked mainly at performances on the 4th December as advance booking in the way I would for ROH performances I consider ‘must see’ and therefore unprepared to gamble on prices dropping later on. For most shows outside the ROH*, there are ways and means of getting discounted tickets if I am prepared to take a gamble and play the waiting game.
* In fact, going back to the 1980s/90s, some of the very earliest tickets I ever bought were for RB Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella via discounts offered through Ms London and Girl About Town magazines.

[Peony]

I agree, it’s the amphitheatre seats which have proportionately changed price the most. 
and because ROH have so many priority booking classes the best value seats are extremely difficult to obtain by the general public. 
 

[Peony]

@prs59 that’s interesting to know thank you. That was a half term ticket but Makes sense that Frozen would be very popular in December!

[FionaM]

7 hours ago, prs59 said:

Both Polunin shows are the biggest money-grabbers, possibly because costs can be high for single performances. To my mind though they are still over the top and perhaps are better compared to the price of tickets to pop concerts rather than theatre in that Polunin likely sees himself as a rock star.

 

 

A couple of corrections regarding the two Sergei Polunin shows : 

 

(1) Regarding PALLADIUM on 15 October 2021:

 

- The top price for a ticket only seat to this show is £99.70.  Comparable to ENB.  
 

The £149.70 you quoted includes a signed copy of his book (RRP £45 for an unsigned book) 
 

The £409.70 seats (only 15 I think and only 1 remaining unsold … be quick!) include an exclusive after show meet&greet (selfies etc) with drinks AND a personal signing of the limited edition of his book.  
 

There are also tickets at £259.70 which include a personally dedicated and signed copy of the limited edition version of the book.  Collector’s item 😉 

 

There is no RRP for the limited edition version which is different to the standard version available at the usual booksellers.  The limited edition is only available at the Palladium with a seat package. 

(2) regarding R&J at the ROYAL ALBERT HALL on 1st December 2021:

 

The arena and stalls were showing as fully sold out some weeks ago.   Recently a number are now showing for sale at £216.50.  I’m guessing RAH subscribers are reselling their seats.  What puzzles me is these seats surround my 8 tickets … for which I paid £140 and £150.    That’s quite an uplift 😱

 

Who is profiteering from the sold out show here?  The RAH?  The reselling seat owners? 

 

I am pretty sure it’s not Johan Kobborg or PoluninInk benefitting, as they are typically paid a fixed fee and the theatre/promoters take the ticket sales risk.  (That’s what I’ve been told by people close to the team.)

 

Edited September 28, 2021 by FionaE
Extra info

[Candleque]

On 28/09/2021 at 07:31, bridiem said:

I've just looked at the 11.30am Kaneko/Bracewell performance on 9th October (to which I'm going, as a Londoner with a short journey!) and the number of non-sold seats is shocking.

 

Like many, I am surprised (and sad) at the low sales for this. Kaneko/Bracewell deserve a full house for sure. And given that kids all study Shakespeare in school at some point, would be a great matinee to take even non-dancing teens.

Does anyone know what the ROH does when they have so many open seats? Do they gift them to the RBS or other worthy orgs? 

 

[Rob S]

1 hour ago, Candleque said:

 

Like many, I am surprised (and sad) at the low sales for this. Kaneko/Bracewell deserve a full house for sure. And given that kids all study Shakespeare in school at some point, would be a great matinee to take even non-dancing teens.

Does anyone know what the ROH does when they have so many open seats? Do they gift them to the RBS or other worthy orgs? 

 

Hopefully they wait and see what happens when the public get a chance to buy some seats in six weeks time?