Ashton's Cinderella - new Royal Ballet production

[art_enthusiast]

3 hours ago, zxDaveM said:

 

Indeed, I've remarked on this before - apart from Christmassy Nutcrackers which are understable clashes, we do get a blitz of Swan Lakes, or Giselles, or whatever, sometimes from more than two companies (where 2 is bad enough). I know these things are planned way in advance and all that, but surely the occasional converstion between directors could guide up and coming rep to avoid samey clashes, to the benefit of all

 

Yep, though it looks like ENB and BRB were more aware about their choices for next season, choosing Giselle and Sleeping Beauty respectively - which won't be done by the RB again for a few years I should think, due to their recency.

Edited March 22, 2023 by art_enthusiast

[Blossom]

10 minutes ago, art_enthusiast said:

 

Yep, though it looks like ENB and BRB were more aware about their choices for next season, choosing Giselle and Sleeping Beauty respectively - which won't be done by the RB again for a few years I should think, due to their recency.

 

But of course they are both performing Swan Lake this season....

 

This particular thread is incredibly rich in terms of understanding the motivations of a committed audience and our thoughts on - other than price - why the ballet isn't selling. From that perspective, I do hope that someone at ROH is 'listening in' on our conversations or at least investing in some social listening tools.

[capybara]

Please join me in commenting on the ROH’s IG and FB posts.

They might read those!

[art_enthusiast]

15 minutes ago, Blossom said:

 

But of course they are both performing Swan Lake this season....

 

True and I wish BRB had also toured to London, I was only able to see ENB's one as they came to the Coliseum. Due to the temperamental transport in this country I decided not to risk it for BRB! But I would have loved to see theirs as well.

 

I saw the RB's one as much as I could last season and never tired of it. For me Swan Lake is a ballet that's an exception to the rule - I could probably see a 100 different versions and never tire of how incredible it is. And for non ballet enthusiasts I think it will always attract audiences due to how world-renowned it is. But for other ballets it's a different story!

[JohnS]

My understanding is that the discount was supposed to go to Friends who had already booked at least one performance of Cinderella:

 

‘… we’re delighted to offer our Friends the opportunity to book another performance of Cinderella’ with 25% off the best seats … on one of the following dates: 28, 29, or 30 March.
…
[The discount is for] Stalls and top 4 price bands.’

 

I’ve no idea if the discount was sent irrespective of the seats already booked or if it was sent to Friends who had booked seats in the Stalls/top 4 price bands but from comments above I think it’s probably the former.

 

In the marketing/surveys thread I recall there was a fair amount of support for discounts going to people who’d already booked to encourage further attendance. I hope the Cinderella Friends discounts prove successful and if the ROH finds it needs to shift tickets in the future, offering discounts to Friends might become a standard response.

 

[Guest oncnp]

9 minutes ago, JohnS said:

My understanding is that the discount was supposed to go to Friends who had already booked at least one performance of Cinderella:

 

‘… we’re delighted to offer our Friends the opportunity to book another performance of Cinderella’ with 25% off the best seats … on one of the following dates: 28, 29, or 30 March.
…
[The discount is for] Stalls and top 4 price bands.’

 

I’ve no idea if the discount was sent irrespective of the seats already booked or if it was sent to Friends who had booked seats in the Stalls/top 4 price bands but from comments above I think it’s probably the former.

 

 

I'm booked for the 30th and this soon-to-be-ex Friend did not receive the offer.

[Sim]

Away from the ticketing issues for a minute...today's In Tune on Radio 3 at 5pm has a segment dedicated to Cinderella.  Tom Rye (designer), Wendy Ellis and Yasmine Naghdi are being interviewed.  The segment is scheduled for 5:15.  It will of course be available on iPlayer if you can't listen live.

[Richard LH]

19 minutes ago, oncnp said:

I'm booked for the 30th and this soon-to-be-ex Friend did not receive the offer.

There may be some logic in that though, at least from the ROH's viewpoint......assuming the original ticket was in "stalls and one of the top 4 price bands". In that case,  presumably, if  the discount applied to people already booked on a discount date they could just return their original ticket and buy it again (or a similar one) for 25% less.  

Edited March 22, 2023 by Richard LH

[Guest oncnp]

6 minutes ago, Richard LH said:

There may be some logic in that though, at least from the ROH's viewpoint......assuming the original ticket was in "stalls and one of the top 4 price bands". In that case,  presumably, if  the discount applied to people already booked on a discount date they could just return their original ticket and buy it again (or a similar one) for 25% less.  

True but the ROH still retains the original amount ( as account credit) since there are no refunds unless ticket is returned within 24 hours of performance and resold ( as I understand the t&c of sale). I have about the same chance of being elected Pope as that happening for Cinderella 

[Richard LH]

39 minutes ago, JohnS said:

I’ve no idea if the discount was sent irrespective of the seats already booked or if it was sent to Friends who had booked seats in the Stalls/top 4 price bands but from comments above I think it’s probably the former.

It seems to be for people who have already booked for seats other than those in the categories now offered for a discount (i.e. other than the specified seats on the 3 given  dates next week)...but I stand to be corrected if anyone has been offered a discount otherwise?

[Richard LH]

10 minutes ago, oncnp said:

True but the ROH still retains the original amount ( as account credit) since there are no refunds unless ticket is returned within 24 hours of performance and resold ( as I understand the t&c of sale). I have about the same chance of being elected Pope as that happening for Cinderella 

But you can get a credit note for future purchases (less £4 admin fee).

[Timmie]

1 hour ago, Richard LH said:

It seems to be for people who have already booked for seats other than those in the categories now offered for a discount (i.e. other than the specified seats on the 3 given  dates next week)...but I stand to be corrected if anyone has been offered a discount otherwise?

 

It’s more complicated… I’m a Friend, not booked yet and I’ve received the offer. Email wording is “we’re offering our Friends 25% off the best seats”.

[bridiem]

2 hours ago, oncnp said:

I'm booked for the 30th and this soon-to-be-ex Friend did not receive the offer.

 Same here.

[Sim]

Just listened to the R3 In Tune segment.  Only 15 minutes long, mostly music extracts from the ballet score.  No real reveals, just a couple of comments about the design from Tom.  

[EVWS]

2 hours ago, oncnp said:

I'm booked for the 30th and this soon-to-be-ex Friend did not receive the offer.

 

Me too! 

[Blossom]

1 hour ago, bridiem said:

 Same here.

booked for 29th and 30th and didn't receive. 

No intention of returning and rebooking tickets but would have bought another ticket and choosing not to as a result.

It's not right that they are giving benefits to some Friends and not others.

[Richard LH]

1 hour ago, Timmie said:

 

It’s more complicated… I’m a Friend, not booked yet and I’ve received the offer. Email wording is “we’re offering our Friends 25% off the best seats”.

So it could be Friends who have already booked  the category of seats I referred to above PLUS Friends who have not yet booked at all...and perhaps not everyone in these categories has yet been sent the appropriate email?

[Richard LH]

3 minutes ago, Blossom said:

booked for 29th and 30th and didn't receive. 

No intention of returning and rebooking tickets but would have bought another ticket and choosing not to as a result.

It's not right that they are giving benefits to some Friends and not others.

Perhaps you could explain this to the ROH and see if they will offer you a discount?

[JohnS]

2 hours ago, Timmie said:

 

It’s more complicated… I’m a Friend, not booked yet and I’ve received the offer. Email wording is “we’re offering our Friends 25% off the best seats”.

That must be a different email to the one I received yesterday which was very much for another performance.

[JNC]

I understand the need to shift tickets (better to sell for some price than none) but I will also say that for non-London (or SE based) Friends discounts don’t really help us as with train tickets and accommodation becoming more expensive the closer to the time, and also just generally having a life and other plans, it does appeal to a more London-centric Friend base in any case.

 

I did receive the offer but even with discount the ticket(s) are more than I can afford, and I’ve already booked and sorted plans for the casts I want to see later in the run.
 

Another soon to be ex friend where I feel the overall strategy of price them high to knock them down really frustrates me on so many levels…if it’s meant to come across as a friend benefit to receive these discounts to be honest while some may appreciate and use it, if anything it feels like a slap in the face for those loyal attendees (Friends or otherwise) who booked months in advance on booking day and planned around that. 

[Scheherezade]

I wrote to the Friends team about not receiving the offer and this is their reply, most of which duplicates, I think, their standard response to any matter that is raised with them and none of which has any relevance whatsoever to my question as to why some Friends received the offer but others didn’t. (I have cut the extremely lengthy recital if the actual offer details) to minimise the boredom quotient:

 

Thank you for your email. 

I would just like to start off by thanking you for your support over many years, It’s the passion and commitment of people like yourself that makes the Royal Opera House such a special and unique place. You, our audience, are at the heart of all we do, whether it’s a traditional stage performance, our backstage work, online streams, in cinemas or in our communities.   

Unfortunately, the challenges facing the ROH and the wider theatre industry have not gone away with the relaxing of Covid restrictions. Indeed, a new set of challenges have presented themselves; with recent Arts' Council cuts (which in real-terms has been reduced by 19%), the cost of living crisis (a threefold increase in energy costs from £1.5m per annum to more than £6m in this year alone) and as we recover from the closures of the past few years, every donation made and ticket sold is more important than ever in order to continue presenting a varied programme of world class ballet and opera

The offer you heard about is part of a specially-targeted initiative to attract selected audiences to the Royal Opera House for specific performances only. We have previously carried out an offer for an opera too and previous ballets. They are time-limited and restrictive in date and time and a very different proposition to the flexibility of early booking offered to Friends.

Please find the details of the offer and feel free to use the code to book extra tickets if you wish to do so…
 

I can assure you that we will always keep prices, and what we offer our Friends and loyal supporters, under constant review.

Thank you again for your loyal support as a Friend. 

 

[Timmie]

2 hours ago, Timmie said:

 

...not booked yet...

 

I’m not sure which convinced me the most. Yasmine Naghdi on the radio, rail strikes suspended, 25% off my favourite seat or the discussion on this thread – but I’m now going to the ball 😄.

[JohnS]

With the rail strike now off, I’m pleased to say I’ve got a discounted Cinderella ticket for 30th March and can now abandon my 10th April trip where engineering works make for a truly horrendous journey. Hopefully Avanti will publish a timetable for 30th March fairly soon. It means I’ll see Hayward/Campbell’s debut and third performances rather than second and third performances.

 

Here’s hoping the strikes are at an end.

[MJW]

40 minutes ago, Scheherezade said:

I wrote to the Friends team about not receiving the offer and this is their reply, most of which duplicates, I think, their standard response to any matter that is raised with them and none of which has any relevance whatsoever to my question as to why some Friends received the offer but others didn’t. (I have cut the extremely lengthy recital if the actual offer details) to minimise the boredom quotient:

 

Thank you for your email. 

I would just like to start off by thanking you for your support over many years, It’s the passion and commitment of people like yourself that makes the Royal Opera House such a special and unique place. You, our audience, are at the heart of all we do, whether it’s a traditional stage performance, our backstage work, online streams, in cinemas or in our communities.   

Unfortunately, the challenges facing the ROH and the wider theatre industry have not gone away with the relaxing of Covid restrictions. Indeed, a new set of challenges have presented themselves; with recent Arts' Council cuts (which in real-terms has been reduced by 19%), the cost of living crisis (a threefold increase in energy costs from £1.5m per annum to more than £6m in this year alone) and as we recover from the closures of the past few years, every donation made and ticket sold is more important than ever in order to continue presenting a varied programme of world class ballet and opera

The offer you heard about is part of a specially-targeted initiative to attract selected audiences to the Royal Opera House for specific performances only. We have previously carried out an offer for an opera too and previous ballets. They are time-limited and restrictive in date and time and a very different proposition to the flexibility of early booking offered to Friends.

Please find the details of the offer and feel free to use the code to book extra tickets if you wish to do so…
 

I can assure you that we will always keep prices, and what we offer our Friends and loyal supporters, under constant review.

Thank you again for your loyal support as a Friend. 

 

 

As you say, their response doesn't answer the question at all. It rather begs the question who the "selected audiences" are!

[alison]

So, basically it seems that the roh can't win: we previously had complaints because friends weren't being offered discounts where other groups were, and now that they are, that's not right either 😀

[MJW]

1 hour ago, alison said:

So, basically it seems that the roh can't win: we previously had complaints because friends weren't being offered discounts where other groups were, and now that they are, that's not right either 😀

 

But some Friends have been offered the discount (I have) and others haven't...! If all Friends had received it (regardless of whether they had booked for Cinderella or not, or regardless of dates booked) it would have been fine.

[bridiem]

1 hour ago, alison said:

So, basically it seems that the roh can't win: we previously had complaints because friends weren't being offered discounts where other groups were, and now that they are, that's not right either 😀

 

But they're not all being offered them; and the discounted tickets are only extremely expensive ones which are (I gather) still very expensive after the discount. So no, the ROH can't win like this.

[Scheherezade]

1 hour ago, MJW said:

 

But some Friends have been offered the discount (I have) and others haven't...! If all Friends had received it (regardless of whether they had booked for Cinderella or not, or regardless of dates booked) it would have been fine.

 

1 hour ago, bridiem said:

 

But they're not all being offered them; and the discounted tickets are only extremely expensive ones which are (I gather) still very expensive after the discount. So no, the ROH can't win like this.

 

True on both counts. The discount has only been offered to 'specially targeted' friends to attract 'selected' audiences, with no indication of the criteria for selection or the reason behind the specially targeted initiative.

 

The reply from the Friends team also mentions earlier, similar offers for opera and previous ballets. I haven't been included in those offers either, so despite the Friends team congratulating me for my passion and commitment over many years, it seems that they don't value me enough to include me as a recipient of their regular offers.

 

Could the recipients have been chosen as a result of answers given to the supposedly anonymous surveys recently sent to Friends?

[alison]

I suspect it was simply sent to members of the Friends based on the application of certain filters (e.g. whether they'd already booked or not / dates they'd already booked / seating areas / purchasing patterns and so on).  I doubt there's any real reason to think anything more than that.

[Linnzi5]

I suspect the discount had been offered to Friends who had already booked for later dates and who often buy more expensive tickets? I buy stalls ones and the seats I usually buy were available to me on all of the discounted dates. They probably thought there was a chance I'd buy a couple. If you have a Friend who only buys standing tickets, for example, I don't think you'd necessarily think a small discount of 25% would mean they'd want to buy the most expensive tickets? That's my reasoning. In my case, I didn't buy extra. I was sorely tempted but have spent so much recently on them, that I felt I had to pass  

Edited March 23, 2023 by Linnzi5
Typo

[bridiem]

7 hours ago, alison said:

I suspect it was simply sent to members of the Friends based on the application of certain filters (e.g. whether they'd already booked or not / dates they'd already booked / seating areas / purchasing patterns and so on).  I doubt there's any real reason to think anything more than that.

 

I imagine (and hope) that this is right. But shouldn't all Friends in the same level of Friendship (so to speak) (even those who book less expensive tickets) be offered similar benefits in exchange for their Friendship? i.e. a different sort of offer could go to people who always book less expensive seats (if they're able to target these things so precisely, as is suggested here). Or is there a possibility that this offer has only gone to those in higher tiers of Friendship?

[Lizbie1]

Sometimes I get sent offers others have; sometimes I don't. This time I did but I can't see any particular pattern. Does this bother me? No! I buy for the performances I want and can afford to see and accept that sometimes tickets will be discounted later on to others, just as any good or service might be.

[serenade]

1 hour ago, Linnzi5 said:

I suspect the discount had been offered to Friends who had already booked for later dates and who often buy more expensive tickets? I buy stalls ones and the seats I usually buy were available to me on all of the discounted dates. 

I fit that criteria but didn’t get the offer…the criteria for who to offer the discount to seems pretty complex 😂. Personally I think the offer should go to anyone on their mailing list as I thought the point of offering discounted tickets was simply to sell them. Therefore I would presume the easiest and fairest way to do that is to send the offer to everyone. 
 

if they want to do a friends discount I guess I understand the point but then it has to be all friends otherwise it’s not a friends offer. If a shop you’ve bought something from sends an offer through for 10% off I would presume it wasn’t only sent to people who bought jeans on a Thursday afternoon for £50 or under or whatever 😂😂

 

of course maybe there’s method in the madness (let’s hope!)