Light of Passage - new Crystal Pite ballet

[JNC]

Young ROH is different to Young Friends - the former is a free programme for under 25s. The latter works the same as ROH friends but you pay a discounted price if you are under 30.

 

@Emeralds I can understand some of your points but I benefitted from the Young ROH (free) scheme pre pandemic so just wanted to come in to support it. It encouraged me to attend performances I’m not sure I necessarily would have, and I also got to sit (for the only time!) at the front of the amphi! 
 

It’s pretty easy and quick to sign up to Young ROH and (from memory, they may have changed this) you can buy more than one ticket so you could in theory bring older friends/family with you (although to be honest that does feel to me as if it’s undermining the scheme somewhat so I would either go solo or bring a friend of a similar age). 
 

Personally as someone who likes attending many things solo - particularly if interests or availability don’t align with friends, and also because for ballet you sit in the dark in silence to watch it so company isn’t really needed - I don’t really see the problem personally if you can’t find an age appropriate friend or family member. Maybe you could even make friends by starting a discussion on Young ROH! This need to do everything with another person all the time I often find a little odd. (But then I think people find me odd for doing things solo!)
 

the one Young ROH amphi performance I attended was a nice atmosphere with lots of younger people together, a lot probably in the ROH for the first time. It was nice to see, although I have no problem being surrounded by a variation of ages of course! 
 

Ultimately as with most things in life if you want to see something, even if you are busy, you can prioritise and make time for it, or if you really can’t you can’t and so no use crying over spilt milk. There will never be the perfect time for everyone (closer to Christmas you can get study deadlines, people travelling back home or leaving the country, money is also tight post Christmas etc etc). 
 

And as someone who bangs on a lot about pricing needing to be fair, even with the cost of living crisis I think £15 is a great deal for what you get. £15 is the price of around 5 coffees, or two lunches out (and less than an evening meal out). Even students would be able to fork out for this if they really wanted to go and saved a little. 
 

The scheme isn’t perfect but it is designed to work simply (ie having clearly allocated one area to avoid a big faff around smattering seats across the auditorium, and then would you charge more for different seats depending on location) and to the benefit of younger audiences who are likely to have less money and may be exploring what they like, or simply after a different experience. Theatres used to do similar things with lower priced tickets for those under 25 or 30, and some museums do this too.
 

I think (in my experience) the scheme does this very nicely and I’m glad to have benefitted from it! In the end if younger members get the bug (like I did) they will come back and be willing pay higher prices - within reason and individual circumstance! 
 

Don’t mean to criticise your thoughts Emeralds, just wanted to add a different perspective, I hope the Young ROH scheme keeps going for the foreseeable!

Edited October 15, 2022 by JNC

[Emeralds]

5 hours ago, JNC said:

Young ROH is different to Young Friends - the former is a free programme for under 25s. The latter works the same as ROH friends but you pay a discounted price if you are under 30.

 

@Emeralds I can understand some of your points but I benefitted from the Young ROH (free) scheme pre pandemic so just wanted to come in to support it. It encouraged me to attend performances I’m not sure I necessarily would have, and I also got to sit (for the only time!) at the front of the amphi! 
 

It’s pretty easy and quick to sign up to Young ROH and (from memory, they may have changed this) you can buy more than one ticket so you could in theory bring older friends/family with you (although to be honest that does feel to me as if it’s undermining the scheme somewhat so I would either go solo or bring a friend of a similar age). 
 

Personally as someone who likes attending many things solo - particularly if interests or availability don’t align with friends, and also because for ballet you sit in the dark in silence to watch it so company isn’t really needed - I don’t really see the problem personally if you can’t find an age appropriate friend or family member. Maybe you could even make friends by starting a discussion on Young ROH! This need to do everything with another person all the time I often find a little odd. (But then I think people find me odd for doing things solo!)
 

the one Young ROH amphi performance I attended was a nice atmosphere with lots of younger people together, a lot probably in the ROH for the first time. It was nice to see, although I have no problem being surrounded by a variation of ages of course! 
 

Ultimately as with most things in life if you want to see something, even if you are busy, you can prioritise and make time for it, or if you really can’t you can’t and so no use crying over spilt milk. There will never be the perfect time for everyone (closer to Christmas you can get study deadlines, people travelling back home or leaving the country, money is also tight post Christmas etc etc). 
 

And as someone who bangs on a lot about pricing needing to be fair, even with the cost of living crisis I think £15 is a great deal for what you get. £15 is the price of around 5 coffees, or two lunches out (and less than an evening meal out). Even students would be able to fork out for this if they really wanted to go and saved a little. 
 

The scheme isn’t perfect but it is designed to work simply (ie having clearly allocated one area to avoid a big faff around smattering seats across the auditorium, and then would you charge more for different seats depending on location) and to the benefit of younger audiences who are likely to have less money and may be exploring what they like, or simply after a different experience. Theatres used to do similar things with lower priced tickets for those under 25 or 30, and some museums do this too.
 

I think (in my experience) the scheme does this very nicely and I’m glad to have benefitted from it! In the end if younger members get the bug (like I did) they will come back and be willing pay higher prices - within reason and individual circumstance! 
 

Don’t mean to criticise your thoughts Emeralds, just wanted to add a different perspective, I hope the Young ROH scheme keeps going for the foreseeable!

Thank you for clarifying, JNC! I didn’t know they were still running that scheme (which has had various names in the past). I just thought they were referring to Young Friends (very similar name!) which did discounted seats in the Amphi when I was a member - but more choices of dates.

 

Ah, I didn’t realise the Young ROH can now also book for others who were older, and you’re right that it would seem to undermine the scheme. The only time I ever remembered my peers going in a group was when a friend in college wanted to watch Swan Lake (she never went back for anything else nor did anyone in the group except me) and was determined to get them at a group discount, so she organised for a large group at college to go- it was her bucket list task to tick off and she did indeed get us all the discount! (I think it worked at around £3.50 per ticket in the Rear Amphi - sitting not standing - unthinkable nowadays) 

 

It does seem to be a trend among youngsters I know that they don’t go to theatres or concert halls now without parents or older relatives (apart from students of performing arts). I’m not sure if that’s down to the practicalities of attending eg needing a lift to and from the railway station, affording the tickets on a student budget, etc or the perception that it’s just something done with family rather than with friends. That’s just those I know which doesn’t apply to the keenest fans, obviously.

 

The old version of Young ROH I used (pre ROH website era) was that you just turned up to the box office with some form of ID proving your age, eg NUS student card, and they’d sell you whatever they had left at the equivalent of £15. The seats most commonly available were orchestra stalls seats for mixed bills. No signing up required.

 

The offer to Friends seems to be working....seats do look like they’re gradually being snapped up. 👍 Actually, while thinking of the Young Friends vs Young ROH and their various pros and cons, it made me think that the one group who ought to be offered £15 (or £20) amphi tickets in advance for programmes that may be challenging to sell out, should be all Friends of ROH. After all, membership (for those older than Young Friends) isn’t cheap even at the basic level, and the Friends are often the most loyal and supportive regulars who deserve the perk - and the practice could increase membership uptake. It shouldn’t be offered only as a last resort effort to get Friends to help bail out poor sales numbers. 

Edited October 15, 2022 by Emeralds

[Emeralds]

From today’s Dance Links: 

 

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/860c8fd8-498b-11ed-a99c-9d2d09948d22?shareToken=474d33e3300f3b85e6db997724c4f408

 

I must say it’s a bit naughty of the Times’s headline writer to insert the words “Royal Ballet” into Pite’s quote and use it as the headline, because that’s not what she said, nor was it what she was referring to at all! 

 

 

Edited October 16, 2022 by Emeralds

[Jane S]

It's an invention for the online version - the print copy quotes her correctly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[capybara]

Now that we're nearly there, please does anyone have information as to which cast will dance at the General Rehearsal at 11.30 tomorrow?

[Emeralds]

On 16/10/2022 at 19:08, Jane S said:

It's an invention for the online version - the print copy quotes her correctly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Glad to hear that the print copies aren’t naughty! (at least in regard to dance interviews).  😀 So, which cast is at the dress rehearsal?  

[Emeralds]

Ticket sales for tonight are down to the last 5 tickets now- and all are restricted view eg slips seats. Woo hoo! And am sure that’s not all due to complimentary tickets being given out. The photos on FB look great. 

[The Sitter In]

“And am sure that’s not all due to complimentary tickets being given out.”

 

It was.  You only had to look around.

[Sim]

1 minute ago, The Sitter In said:

“And am sure that’s not all due to complimentary tickets being given out.”

 

It was.  You only had to look around.

How can you tell?

[JohnS]

Whilst ticket sales may have been slow, some tickets (30%?) were purchased at full price before any discounts were offered. And were there any ‘complimentary’ ie free tickets?

Looking forward to today’s double performance. I bought a programme yesterday - excellent photos and some interesting material although a little surprised that the words to Symphony of Sorrowful Songs are not included. They’re readily available on the web:

https://web.ics.purdue.edu/~felluga/goreckilyrics.html

[The Sitter In]

“How can you tell?”

because there were many, many familiar faces from the London arts world who had been invited or given heavily reduced tickets.  ‘Papering’ is a common theatre practice if there are big gaps…no-one who forked out £105 to see this show would be happy being the only person in their row…. Hence the need for a full house.

If the top price were £30, the ROH would be full with paying audience, but it never is nowadays and they are now quietly ‘papering’ and discounting for nearly every show, opera and ballet.

[Guest oncnp]

Nominated for an Olivier

 

Per the Guardian. Can't  get the link to copy 

[Blossom]

And Crystal Pite won last year for Revisor too- would it be unusual to win 2 years in a row?