306 posts
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Post by kyvai on Aug 19, 2023 21:38:45 GMT
Anyone else tried this yet?
I’d heard of Broadway Roulette mentioned for a while and just found out the other week they’ve launched a West End version as well.
I gave it a try, £33 for Saturday night and it got me central row F of the balcony for We Will Rock You - didn’t mind the show choice, I’ve seen it before and quite liked it, but disappointed with the seat. View was very mediocre and the seat was so uncomfortable that I left at the interval, my favourite songs were in the first act anyway and my back couldn’t take the unforgiving bench seat whilst craning my neck/squinting any more. I normally wouldn’t go near a balcony if I could at all afford it!
I expected a better view from what is essentially a seat filling service, not sure why but there you go. I’d be willing to give it another go but I can’t log in to the website - it keeps telling me to allow cookies and disable ad blockers, which I do and don’t have, even trying a different browser gets the same message. Ah well.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 20, 2023 1:33:30 GMT
If there were tickets which you may not be able to get in something like this it is worth doing or for a bit of fun. But with all the deals out there and the half price ticket booths if you are more choosy then that would be my preference.
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Post by theatregoer22 on Aug 20, 2023 13:11:11 GMT
Came across it a few weeks ago, but as someone who only wants to see certain shows, I quickly realised it wasn't for me. Also, I was further put off by the £15 surcharge for a stalls seat, when the most expensive Rush/Day seats are £30 and they usually include seats in the stalls or dress circle. If you really want to do it again though OP, download the TodayTix app.
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Post by toomasj on Aug 20, 2023 18:37:25 GMT
In my view, and only my view, this could be used as a very cynical way of clearing out unsold rush/low value seats to shows with plenty of availability. How transparent is the Roulette? I can’t see them having an allocation of £150 Cabaret or Moulin Rouge “best seats” available.
The concept only works, when you think about it, if they are offering a realistic possibility of winning a seat which far exceeds the value of the entry cost.
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4,993 posts
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Post by Someone in a tree on Aug 21, 2023 6:17:19 GMT
After reading the blurb I thought it wasn't for me, then I read on here about balcony seats for We will rock you. Ha! Definitely not for me
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Post by thistimetomorrow on Aug 21, 2023 8:23:01 GMT
I know 2 people who did it, one got row J of Grand for Moulin Rouge! and one got row G of the Dress Circle for Jersey Boys. The value for both tickets if you bought ahead were technically over £30 (I believe the Moulin Rouge! one would be £49 to buy ahead and the Jersey Boys one would've been £50?), but they definitely aren't the best seats in the house.
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306 posts
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Post by kyvai on Aug 21, 2023 17:15:28 GMT
I use TodayTix all the time, and TKTS, and various flash sales, individual show day seats etc. just thought I’d try something different, couldn’t decide what I wanted to see anyway.
Absolutely was expecting better seat value than a £48 seat for £33 when I didn’t get to pick the show! There were a lot of circle seats unsold at this performance as well, absolutely no need to stick me in the balcony.
Add to that the glitchy website when trying to log in to book again (it says if you log in, you’re guaranteed not to get the same show again, but it will not let me log in), and to top it all, they emailed me a feedback link this morning, and that doesn’t work either!
I guess Broadway Roulette works in New York because the usual seats are priced so astronomically high and people are used to not choosing their seats for rush/day tickets etc, whereas here in London even for rush/day tickets you always know what seat you’re paying for before you book, and there are lots of other ways to get better seats for £30-£50 when you can choose the show and the seat.
Think this will only work in London if they give better value seats and essentially consider it as a pay-as-you-go seat filling service, because as it is, it seems very poor value for the customer.
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306 posts
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Post by kyvai on Aug 21, 2023 17:23:12 GMT
In my view, and only my view, this could be used as a very cynical way of clearing out unsold rush/low value seats to shows with plenty of availability. How transparent is the Roulette? That’s how I think it should be used to be honest, I don’t think that’s cynical at all! We’re saying we’ll go and see any show, you can cross off a few you don’t want (up to 4 if you select musicals only). I fully expected to be sent to something struggling to fill the house. Only I’d expect way better value than £33 for actually a £40 seat - I made a mistake before, £48 was the TodayTix “straight” (marked-up) price, but the seat was £40 full price if bought on the Coliseum website. |
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Post by SuttonPeron on Aug 21, 2023 17:34:09 GMT
Has the Coliseum staff gone completely mad though? £40 for a BALCONY SEAT?
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520 posts
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Post by anthony on Aug 22, 2023 12:54:57 GMT
Has the Coliseum staff gone completely mad though? £40 for a BALCONY SEAT? The turnaround has been amazing for this show. 2 months ago they were practically giving tickets anyway - literally "premium seats" for £10 in an effort to get people in seats. Personally, I'd never use the roulette feature on TodayTix. Seems a complete rip-off on all accounts. |
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Post by danielwhit on Sept 15, 2023 23:29:01 GMT
I've used this a few times and the seats have always been very good value. Stalls for A Strange Loop, Row H stalls for Grease, Row D stalls for Accidental Death of an Anarchist among others. This was all with the standard £25/£30 price point, not the premium options.
For me - this works pretty well as a way to see a variety of things that I may not get around to booking, at a cheap price. Obviously YMMV however if I want an evening's entertainment and I'm not especially fussed by what, this is now the way I tend to go.
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