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Post by foxa on Feb 16, 2017 11:26:18 GMT
The Samuel French Book Shop on Fitzroy Street is closing mid-April. Apparently they were notified of a 200% rent increase and couldn't make it work. They will continue publishing and selling books online, but it is a shame as it was such a useful resource, especially for students/young actors.
If you are in the area, starting today there is a 50% off sale, so might be a time to both say 'goodbye' and pick up some bargains.
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Post by stefy69 on Feb 16, 2017 11:29:09 GMT
This is bad news, very sad indeed.
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Post by viserys on Feb 16, 2017 11:36:05 GMT
The Samuel French Book Shop on Fitzroy Street is closing mid-April. Apparently they were notified of a 200% rent increase and couldn't make it work. That's incredible and incredibly sad. Guess the 247th Pret will move in. |
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Post by CG on the loose on Feb 16, 2017 13:11:31 GMT
Sad news... will drop in while I still can.
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Post by wickedgrin on Feb 16, 2017 13:25:13 GMT
Yes, sad news indeed. I remember when it was in Southampton Row off the Strand. Not quite as convenient for a London visitor in its current location.
Another issue other than the rent rise though must be the number of browsers who spend hours in there reading scripts and never buying anything - or very little. This doesn't pay the rent - whatever it is.
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Post by martin1965 on Feb 16, 2017 18:43:09 GMT
Sad news indeed. Ive spent many happy hours in there. End of an era😢
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Post by Deleted on Feb 17, 2017 11:11:18 GMT
I'd never heard of it until a few weeks ago when the NT Bookshop didn't stock a recent playtext so I asked where else I could try and suggested the Royal Court bookshop myself, at which the NT guy recoiled in horror and said, No! Go to Samuel French! I didn't because I thought it probably mainly stocked Samuel French editions. It seems I was wrong and it stocks all playtexts - Is this correct?
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Post by martin1965 on Feb 17, 2017 11:17:30 GMT
I'd never heard of it until a few weeks ago when the NT Bookshop didn't stock a recent playtext so I asked where else I could try and suggested the Royal Court bookshop myself, at which the NT guy recoiled in horror and said, No! Go to Samuel French! I didn't because I thought it probably mainly stocked Samuel French editions. It seems I was wrong and it stocks all playtexts - Is this correct? You serious? |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 17, 2017 11:19:17 GMT
Yes - Which bit in particular did you doubt? I had believed that the NT Bookshop prided itself on stocking all playtexts performed in London, but I was proved wrong. |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 17, 2017 11:27:30 GMT
Can we not be a dick to people who don't have the same 'superior' theatre knowledge. I only know the shop existed because I got lost looking for a hotel nearby a year or so ago and stumbled across it. It's not in a regular footfall place and unless you're directed there it's unlikely you'll have visited.
And I also assumed they only stocked their own 'brand' as it were.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 17, 2017 11:33:35 GMT
Assuming that emicardiff has correctly assumed which detail of my post was being questioned by martin1965 - and she's probably right! - I think this highlights something we often forget, which is that the theatregoing world we all navigate so easily is a murky obscure mystery to most people.
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Post by Lemansky on Feb 17, 2017 11:40:20 GMT
Samuel French sells scripts by all publishers as well as everything they publish and licence themselves in the UK and US
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Post by martin1965 on Feb 17, 2017 11:42:48 GMT
Yes - Which bit in particular did you doubt? I had believed that the NT Bookshop prided itself on stocking all playtexts performed in London, but I was proved wrong. Never having heard of SF |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 17, 2017 11:57:32 GMT
Yes, I'd never heard of the bookshop, or at least it has never registered with me. I think that if I had ever seen an advertisement for it I would have ignored it because I associate the name "Samuel French" with acting editions of plays which we used at school for school plays. I have no idea if it does advertise or if I have ever seen an advertisement. As I said in my first post, when the NT Bookshop guy suggested going there I was dubious, and ignored the advice! I have only heard of it properly now because a press report that it is to close said that it's 200 years old and the most comprehensive theatre bookshop so it dawned on me that it probably doesn't only stock Samuel French editions. But really how more stupid can you get than to give a general bookshop the name of a specialist publisher?! What better way to deter people who might be interested?! |
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Post by Jan on Feb 17, 2017 11:59:36 GMT
Seems sad news but as I only went there once I suppose I am part of the problem. Why are so many bookshops closing but so many nail salons opening ? (Clue: it's to do with the internet).
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Post by Deleted on Feb 17, 2017 12:02:52 GMT
Is the NT Bookshop also part of the problem? I've always thought of it as the leading theatre bookshop (not that I know of any others!) and it now appears that acclaim should have gone to the clandestine Samuel French.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 17, 2017 12:32:53 GMT
On the upside, the staff in high street shops don't chase you down the streets asking you to review your experience AND pop up at your house for the next month to remind you when you don't.
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Post by ali973 on Feb 17, 2017 12:52:34 GMT
TBH I had no idea the shop existed in the first place. And I know exactly who Samuel French is as a publisher and royalty management company, but no clue there was a shop.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 17, 2017 13:13:42 GMT
I think a lot of people will have heard of the publishers (but if you never/rarely read a play script then you might not have) but unless you happened to need the shop for anything it's a bit like Narnia to find...!
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Post by Marwood on Feb 17, 2017 14:08:30 GMT
Looking on Google, I've been past there a few times (usually if I'd been going to see something at the Bloomsbury Theatre) but never been in there, I'd always thought it was a Waterstones or the like, not a specialist bookshop. I'll always choose going into a shop over buying something online (unless there is a ridiculous difference in prices), there's nothing like going into a shop like Fopp, buying a load of stuff you don't really need and only realising the error of your ways on the train/tube home...
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Post by kathryn on Feb 17, 2017 14:18:58 GMT
I think a lot of people will have heard of the publishers (but if you never/rarely read a play script then you might not have) but unless you happened to need the shop for anything it's a bit like Narnia to find...! We did a Book Trade Benevolent Society sponsored publisher walk once - kind of like a pub crawl, only visiting publishers' offices for drinks, nibbles, games and networking - that was meant to include a stop there. It was marked in the route map and everything. We still didn't manage to find it..... |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 17, 2017 14:22:09 GMT
I think a lot of people will have heard of the publishers (but if you never/rarely read a play script then you might not have) but unless you happened to need the shop for anything it's a bit like Narnia to find...! We did a Book Trade Benevolent Society sponsored publisher walk once - kind of like a pub crawl, only visiting publishers' offices for drinks, nibbles, games and networking - that was meant to include a stop there. It was marked in the route map and everything. We still didn't manage to find it..... Firstly that sounds like an excellent day out! Secondly, I'm not surprised! I'd gone REALLY off piste from the hotel I was looking for and only happened to stumble on it. I used to use the Covent Garden little drama bookshop when I was in Uni though, that was lovely (and relatively easy to find!)
But if people 'in the industry' both theatre and publishing related don't even manage to visit that says something (I know they had to move there due to rents going up previously but still)
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Post by kathryn on Feb 17, 2017 14:33:26 GMT
We did a Book Trade Benevolent Society sponsored publisher walk once - kind of like a pub crawl, only visiting publishers' offices for drinks, nibbles, games and networking - that was meant to include a stop there. It was marked in the route map and everything. We still didn't manage to find it..... Firstly that sounds like an excellent day out! Secondly, I'm not surprised! I'd gone REALLY off piste from the hotel I was looking for and only happened to stumble on it. I used to use the Covent Garden little drama bookshop when I was in Uni though, that was lovely (and relatively easy to find!)
But if people 'in the industry' both theatre and publishing related don't even manage to visit that says something (I know they had to move there due to rents going up previously but still)
To be fair I think a lot of people were a trifle alcohol-impaired by that point. IIRC it was Mills & Boon who were the culprits. |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 17, 2017 14:36:41 GMT
Firstly that sounds like an excellent day out! Secondly, I'm not surprised! I'd gone REALLY off piste from the hotel I was looking for and only happened to stumble on it. I used to use the Covent Garden little drama bookshop when I was in Uni though, that was lovely (and relatively easy to find!)
But if people 'in the industry' both theatre and publishing related don't even manage to visit that says something (I know they had to move there due to rents going up previously but still)
To be fair I think a lot of people were a trifle alcohol-impaired by that point. IIRC it was Mills & Boon who were the culprits. hahaha that's the greatest reason ever to miss something 'Mills and Boon got us drunk' (I've secretly always wanted to be a Mills and Boon author I must admit...)
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Post by oxfordsimon on Feb 17, 2017 14:57:19 GMT
I may be wrong but I suspect a large part of the SF business is from selling play sets to groups putting on one of their titles - and that is going to be an online job for the vast majority of companies. Yes, it is a lovely resource to have - a bookshop with lots of plays that you can go and look through - but it comes as little surprise that it is not a terribly viable business model.
Thankfully SF are continuing to operate as an online business - and that is where their strength will lie. Last year I did a focus group with them about providing alternative forms of scripts more tailored to the rehearsal room and process - so I think they will develop a lot more digital content that will actually be really useful for anyone putting on of their shows.
Out of interest, I wonder how many big city/town libraries still maintain a play collection - I know the main Oxford library has a good range of playtexts and has a reasonable number of playsets that you can hire for readings or full productions. Also very lucky in Oxford to have access to the Bodleian - so when I was looking for a script for Pride and Prejudice a few years ago, I was able to order up 20 different versions from the stacks so that I could make an informed choice!
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