No cast sheets at Covent Garden

[alison]

The cast *sheet*, or the casting?  Big lists of names tend to lend themselves to being photographed rather more easily than a printed sheet of A4.

 

I've been at Sadler's Wells since before 2 pm today.  If it had been Romeo & Juliet at the ROH I'd been going on to rather than something else, there's no way the cast sheet for that would have been available before noon for printing off. 

 

I wonder if the ROH could stretch to a smartphone template for the cast sheets as well as the proper PDF?  My experience so far has been that it's a real pain trying to read the casting for e.g. a triple bill on a phone, but I don't necessarily want to have to bring a tablet or something into town with me each time.

[ninamargaret]

Pity the poor occasional visitor who forms out £8 for a programme and the discovers it doesn't give information about who is dancing/singing!

[capybara]

Just now, ninamargaret said:

Pity the poor occasional visitor who forms out £8 for a programme and the discovers it doesn't give information about who is dancing/singing!

 

I saw exactly that happen in the ROH shop yesterday ref. The Magic Flute.

[JNC]

I too think it’s a shame if we don’t have cast sheets. I keep all mine to track performances attended. 
 

Yes I could download and print them out but let’s face it they wouldn’t look as nice and wouldn’t be the same size as the programme. It’s also additional admin for me and requires me to be organised and print it before or print after for records. 
 

I understand why physical tickets have gone for both environmental and cost reasons of printing/posting. And it is handy to have it on your phone as you don’t risk losing the physical ticket. And the benefit of easy reselling/returning. I did like a physical ticket but understand times have changed here and can’t deny the convenience of an e-ticket. 
 

Cast sheets going are a real shame though. I don’t deny there would be a cost involved but agree that some should be retained for those who want them. Or what about people who attend as plus ones and don’t have a smartphone? (Ok you could see them in the foyer but that’s busy and crowded.) And for those of us that do have them squinting and zooming in and out on my phone screen isn’t really desirable. 

 

Cast sheets are great for naming and recognising the non-principal dancers and also for those of us who like to easily refer to what and who we saw on one date. 
 

Also if we ever get back to stage door times, I believe a lot of people would request cast sheets were signed as a lovely way to remember that performance and meeting that cast. 

At the end of the day maybe it’s a small thing and some people won’t care. But for those of us who do it was a nice thing to have that was both informative and served as a record/reminder, I doubt the costs are enormous (and some of us are willing to pay), and environmentally I’m not trying to underestimate as it will have a cost but it can’t be that large in the grand scheme of things and is probably a tiny percentage of the larger environmental output of ROH. 

 

[bridiem]

33 minutes ago, ninamargaret said:

Pity the poor occasional visitor who forms out £8 for a programme and the discovers it doesn't give information about who is dancing/singing!

 

That's just not OK. And it appears to relegate the performers on any given night to a degree of irrelevance that is really not acceptable.

[zxDaveM]

I do miss paper tickets - I used them as my filing system, getting out the following week's worth of a Sunday afternoon into my suitably sized diary (which stayed in my bag), was almost a sacred ritual. Not having an smart phone means copying the PDF onto my iPad (which I only sporadically) so I can show it to the ushers when challenged - which is a faff compared to a ticket (and I don't have a printer either).

Also miss the ritual of collecting a paper cast sheet before the performance, and checking to see if any fave dancers appearing in the non-Principal roles, the hasty scratching out of names and writing in replacements for the cast changes (do they appear on the electronic cast sheets?).

I read somewhere that the cast sheet loss was due to covid precautions - avoiding touch and crowding around sales points - which is pretty weird since they are still willing to sell programmes and ice cream...

[ninamargaret]

And if we, as audience members print them out,as has been suggested, paper is still used! Like many others I would be happy to pay a small sum for the convenience of a cast sheet 

[Beryl H]

21 hours ago, JohnS said:

 
Yes - there are a number of places where the cast sheet is displayed on a large screen, for example on the right hand side of the main foyer. 

 

Thanks, I have actually bought a printer and have wasted loads of paper trying to learn how to work it 😏, but I have to leave home too early, I will be able to print the next day though. 

 

One thing so far I have noticed is that the ROH tickets come out on A4 paper better and easier than anything else! 

[Guest]

If it's the environment we are truly worried about, I'd be happy if a few pages were lost from the programmes. Perhaps that way a cast sheet could be accommodated. Surely it's more important to know who is dancing, before you read the dancers' (and their colleagues dancing on another night) biographies.

I also miss paper tickets. Encouraging more people to bring their phones along is just asking for more phones to go off during the performance. 

I don't feel confident that these decisions are being taken by people with a real understanding or regard for their theatrical or greater environment. Of course, it looks good if you 'care about the environment.' 

[FionaM]

Maybe the programmes should be digital and the cast sheets printed?   

[capybara]

17 minutes ago, FionaE said:

Maybe the programmes should be digital and the cast sheets printed?   

Ah - difficult to make a profit by selling a cast sheet, though.

[FionaM]

17 minutes ago, capybara said:

Ah - difficult to make a profit by selling a cast sheet, though.

but it would be better for climate change.   Hard choices have to be made!! 🤣🤣🤣

[Jane S]

Well,  for older people - like me - I think a good idea would be a 10p-in-the-slot printer in the foyer - a nice familiar technology we could all manage and no wastage. 

 

 

[ninamargaret]

5 minutes ago, Jane S said:

Well,  for older people - like me - I think a good idea would be a 10p-in-the-slot printer in the foyer - a nice familiar technology we could all manage and no wastage. 

 

 

Yes, but think of the queues!  Added to the queues for drinks, then the loo, and possibly lift, not to mention any Covid related requirements, I can see an evening at the ballet becoming an assault course!

[capybara]

2 hours ago, FionaE said:

but it would be better for climate change.   Hard choices have to be made!! 🤣🤣🤣

 

Unfortunately, the prime mantra of the moment is to monetise, economise, and sell to restore the operating balance - but with a 'save the planet' interpretation layered on top wherever practicable. Fortunately saving money and saving the planet can be made to coincide in certain instances.

Almost every business is doing the same thing, of course and who can blame them.

However, the ROH simply MUST acknowledge and celebrate its wonderful artists and creatives in a readily accessible way and I'm not convinced that tha tis happening at the moment.

[Dawnstar]

On 01/10/2021 at 13:43, zxDaveM said:

I read somewhere that the cast sheet loss was due to covid precautions - avoiding touch and crowding around sales points - which is pretty weird since they are still willing to sell programmes and ice cream...

 

Last night there was a small crowd around the screen displaying the cast in the foyer at the Bow Street entrance each time I passed it so if they're trying to avoid crowds by getting rid of paper cast sheets then I'm not sure it's working!

 

Has anyone found a path to get to the cast sheets on the ROH website from the homepage? The web address is https://www.roh.org.uk/about/cast-sheets but if I go to the homepage then to the about page, I can't find a link there to the cast sheets page. I can't find a link from the R&J production page either. I can only find the cast sheets page by Googling. If they want to have cast sheets only on their website then surely they should make them as easy to find as possible?

 

I might be more sympathetic to the ROH trying to save paper if they hadn't sent me the latest Friends' magazine - even though I didn't renew my Friends membership for this season - which must involve more sheets of paper than cast sheets for each the performances I'll be attending this season would. I would far rather have paper cast sheets than a magazine that I don't even read.

 

I've just tried to download last night's cast sheet only to find that it doesn't appear to be available as a .pdf file. When I tried hitting the print button & creating a .pdf the formatting is pretty horrible. I don't want to be printing out a cast sheet where the cast list doesn't start until two thirds of the way down the page & then straggles onto page 2. I want to be able to print out a single page with all the cast on it.

Edited October 6, 2021 by Dawnstar
Added final paragraph.

[MJW]

10 minutes ago, Dawnstar said:

 

Last night there was a small crowd around the screen displaying the cast in the foyer at the Bow Street entrance each time I passed it so if they're trying to avoid crowds by getting rid of paper cast sheets then I'm not sure it's working!

 

Has anyone found a path to get to the cast sheets on the ROH website from the homepage? The web address is https://www.roh.org.uk/about/cast-sheets but if I go to the homepage then to the about page, I can't find a link there to the cast sheets page. I can't find a link from the R&J production page either. I can only find the cast sheets page by Googling. If they want to have cast sheets only on their website then surely they should make them as easy to find as possible?

 

I might be more sympathetic to the ROH trying to save paper if they hadn't sent me the latest Friends' magazine - even though I didn't renew my Friends membership for this season - which must involve more sheets of paper than cast sheets for each the performances I'll be attending this season would. I would far rather have paper cast sheets than a magazine that I don't even read.

 

Apologies if I am missing your point but if you save the link in your comment as a bookmark that will take you there every time.

 

For some reason the newer cast sheets aren't in pdf format anymore. However if you print to pdf you can save them as pdf documents for future reference/printing.

[Dawnstar]

1 minute ago, MJW said:

 

Apologies if I am missing your point but if you save the link in your comment as a bookmark that will take you there every time.

 

For some reason the newer cast sheets aren't in pdf format anymore. However if you print to pdf you can save them as pdf documents for future reference/printing.

 

That's not going to help people trying to find it for the first time though. I'm sure there are plenty of people who only attend ROH performances once or twice a year & don't go on the ROH website very often. Surely they should make it easy for everyone, not just regulars.

 

I've just added another paragraph to my post above covering my .pdf attempt.

[alison]

Yes, I hope they'll produce a PDF template for future performances, because the current output, printed or not, isn't exactly pretty: casting unnecessarily split across 2 pages, and 2 1/2 pages total.  It could easily be tweaked so that the entire dancing cast can be seen on one page, but I don't fancy doing it for every performance.

[bridiem]

I also found it sad that when I entered the ROH for the first time in so long, the first thing I heard was a rather dismissive 'we don't have cast sheets any more, you have to look online', so instead of feeling celebratory I felt irritated and negative. I had my cast sheet printed out because I left home after 5pm when the cast sheet appeared online, but most people will either have had to start fiddling with their phones, or cramming around one of few screens showing the cast (I only saw one in the amphi by accident), or there will probably have been quite a lot who just didn't bother finding out who was dancing. If I'd left home before 5pm (which will often happen) I would not have had a sheet to refer to. And yes, lots of signs and announcements telling people to turn their phones off. Ridiculous.

[Guest]

Combined with the large increase in ticket prices, this news is very off-putting.

[Beryl H]

The only good thing is that you can find online the complete casts for performances you didn't attend or might want to see online, even rehearsals, for a time anyway.

 

Lots of strange things happening under "Covid", I find it ironic that you have to take ices into the auditorium to eat when it was strictly prohibited before 🙂 

 

[Tony Newcombe]

Not commenting about the in and outs regarding no cast sheets at the Opera House but R&J printed cast sheets are available for BRBs production. They are also available on line

[alison]

And have been for some years, haven't they?

[JNC]

14 hours ago, Beryl H said:

 

Lots of strange things happening under "Covid", I find it ironic that you have to take ices into the auditorium to eat when it was strictly prohibited before 🙂 

 

I find this news quite alarming - I used to really appreciate ROH was one of the few that wouldn’t let you take in food and drink into the auditorium. 
 

I hate the idea of people eating and drinking during a performance, it’s disrespectful to the dancers and distracting to other audience members. It also increases the risk of food/drink spillages and sticky seats and floors. 
 

really hope they reconsider this policy. 

[capybara]

1 hour ago, JNC said:

I find this news quite alarming - I used to really appreciate ROH was one of the few that wouldn’t let you take in food and drink into the auditorium.  

I had someone’s else’s coffee cup left under my seat on Tuesday 😐 

[Rob S]

The foyers seem to have returned to their pre covid state so I would have thought a return to the auditorium being food free is in order unless they are trying to make some degree of social distancing a possibility 

[alison]

I thought it was only bottled water and ice creams you were allowed to take in?  The idea presumably being not to stand around consuming them indoors.

 

I was annoyed to find they weren't selling the ice creams at the amphi cloakroom on Tuesday night.  My regular routes frequently don't take me past any of the other sales points.  And they've now added a few more flavours to the previously rather paltry selection, I see.

[Sim]

Try as I might, and I have even asked my pharmacist colleagues about this, I fail to see the logic in making people take ice-cream into the auditorium, if that's what they are still doing?  I didn't hear the announcement saying that this was so.  I also love the fact that people can't eat or drink in the auditorium, and hope it doesn't start going the way of all other London theatres and turn into a cinema-style house.  

[Richard LH]

Good to see that tomorrow's R&J cast list is already available.https://www.roh.org.uk/tickets-and-events/romeo-and-juliet-by-kenneth-macmillan/cast-list/48937

Edited October 8, 2021 by Richard LH
Added link

[Jan McNulty]

At BRB this week it has been the opposite - casts sheets (with a synopsis on the back) readily available but no hard copy programmes.

[bangorballetboy]

I see that the cast sheet for tomorrow says "no food or drink may be taken into the auditorium."

[Sim]

5 minutes ago, bangorballetboy said:

I see that the cast sheet for tomorrow says "no food or drink may be taken into the auditorium."

Yaaaaay!!