Free Theatre/Concert Tickets Discussion Thread

[hugo_macedo]

I guess their main point is to fill up the room... Regardless of who booked the vouchers.

[Beate]

I think sometimes they simply sell some of the allocation reserved for SFF as obviously money in their pockets is better than letting people in for free. We had it before that SFF tried to scare people away by telling them their tickets had been cancelled by the venue - only for people ignoring this and turning up anyway to be let in.

[canadian_turtle]

They sell them to SFF? I had no idea, I thought they gave them for free and SFF has to gather bums on seats. This is both better for the cast to work with as well as the likelihood that these audience members will help spread word about a production

[Beate]

What I mean is that they probably sell some of the allocation they initially gave to SFF to the public instead because they see there is phenomenal demand.

[canadian_turtle]

Ah yes! I always thought they just tell SFF we have so many tens or hundreds empty seats estimated on their tickets sales at the time, but of course they'll continue selling tickets until an hour or so before the show so in the end the amount given to SFF may not add up. Plus SFF might give out some extra vouchers in case people who booked free tickets don't show up and the theatre still doesn't end up filling the seats

[pcRock]

My OH and I saw the King's Speech yesterday evening. We collected the tickets at around 5:40 pm since we were in the neighbourhood. We were given a box, which we thought was fun as we had never been in one. However, I agree with tilly that the seats aren't that comfortable and the view from the stalls must be better.

Regarding the play, we loved it. The leading actors were really great. I admit that I haven't seen the film, which I guess added to the enjoyment of the play.

[Timbo]

Saw The King's Speech yesterday afternoon and really enjoyed it. Like others I was a bit apprehensive what with it being so soon after the film and also I had read a few "iffy" reviews, but I thought it was wonderful. Great acting, good set, and very appreciative audience. I even spotted Jason Gardiner on the front row of the Royal Circle and he appeared to enjoy it too (one of the first on his feet for the standing ovation).

[ejwrank]

We had a bumper harvest of theatre this weekend with The King's Speech on Friday and The Duchess of Malfi.
We thought both were terrific productions and felt very lucky to get tickets. (Thank you a_person for your help!)

Was surprised to read that some FMUKers had left The Duchess of Malfi at the interval. Daughter and I both found this excellent -- not always easy but then Jacobean tragedies aren't meant to be. Just hoping for more tickets so husband can also see it.

[Celini]

I am sure they'd have stick to it on a normal day!
We went to the Kings Speech beforehand, then they had 3 hours to kill before the start of the Duchess...

[canadian_turtle]

Went to The King's Speech yesterday which was just suberb! I loved the very simplistic yet very effective use of set, it made the show very "snappy". And the performances were excellent all-around (Lionel and Elizabeth were particularly great). The only minor quibble I have is that in this production Bertie's stutter isn't very present, meaning that throughout the play he doesn't really seem to profit from his speech therapy until the very final scene. We had seats in the third row of the Royal Circle which provided excellent view. Little word of advice: Don't bring little kids to this show! There was a little girl behind us and she was just fidgeting throughout the entire performance which was really distracting.

The second show we saw yesterday was The Duchess of Malfi in the evening which unfortunately didn't really appeal to me. I never walk out of a play but yeh gods this one just couldn't keep my attention at all. And looking at all the people around me falling asleep and/or fidgeting I wasn't the only one. I felt bad for leaving during the interval but it did make me feel slightly better when I noticed a lot of people were doing the same. I thought all the people that went outside just went there to smoke but when we left they'd all disappeared to the various busstops and the station already.

I also saw Sondheim musical Assassins at the Pleasance Theatre the night before (3 shows in 2 days!) which I thoroughly enjoyed. I've been loving the heck out of the Broadway recording for ages and it was nice to finally see it play out on stage. All the singing voices were fantastic, I was really pleasantly surprised by the standard of the talent on stage (though some of the "American" accents left a lot to be desired). Tickets are only £10/£15, so well worth checking out. It runs until April 8.