When We Have Sufficiently Tortured Each Other (NT)

Looks like it’s moving better now - I was at 3600 when I entered the queue but got through after 15 minutes just now.

Crumbs, what a ghastly palaver - sounds like every experience of the day booking for a new season opens - and all for a single play & with no guarantee of being allowed to book! I deleted the email on sight but good luck to those entering.

It makes me despair for the future of this country - it clearly stated the ballot would be open for a week and what happens? Thousand upon thousands of people pile in at 12 making everything jar to a halt (while I wanted to enter the ballot, I had gone onto the NT site to book for The Tell-Tale Heart over the Christmas period), as if it was some sort of first come, first served free for all.

This is running for a relatively short time in a small theatre. Talk about creating a market?

I am SCREAMING at this response. No explanation, just usual cold as ice response from the NT

Actually they are quite correct

If there are (for example)

10 000 tickets

They have to decide how many people they are going to draw in the ballot

Not everyone who is successful will be able to attend on all dates of the run

Added to this the ballot booking is in stage so

So it’s quite feasible when you come to book

Some or all of the dates you wanted will be sold out

In this case they cannot therefore guarantee you will get tickets for sure

Relevant members have a booking period ahead of the draw closing

Again 2 tickets max per member

Depending on how many tickets they book

I assume all the rest will go into the ballot

To be fair, they can’t win. If they sold tickets I’m the ‘norma’ way, everyone would moan that members bought all the tickets , but members would be in their rights to book them all up as it is the main perk of buying a membership- early ticket access.

I just think they were foolish to not put this in the Lyttleton. It’s not like they haven’t made a trademark of putting shows that are too smal for that stage I’m there regardless.

If people REALLY want to attend

Then can “put their money where their mouth is

Same as all else in life

Higher level membership of any theatre

Doesn’t cost millions

Many shows are subsidised by donations and sponsors

Allowing the general public to be able to see them

They wouldn’t exist in the first place

These are the people they don’t want to alienate

In addition they are keeping ticket prices normal

UNLIKE Hamilton

Yes they have excluded the vast majority of members from booking directly

But you get to be in the ballot more than once

At least this won't be as hard to see as the Hiddleston Hamlet.

Despite being Shakespeare's most popular title, that played in a theatre with a third of the seats of this, and that had no returns (leaving the seats empty instead) and no day seats.

By contrast, this is a title that is as unsexy as you could imagine, with triple the seats, returns, and day seats for the hardy and determined.

And if the reviews are awful, or, more likely, if the reviews are good, but the word of mouth is awful (highly likely if this is the rarefied piece of Brechtian anti-entertainment it sounds like), there will be a LOT of returns, as the National has a generous returns policy, and people around the country may prefer to return their tickets than cough up for hotels and travel.

So at least the outlook for tickets to this show isn't as awful as the Hiddleston thing. I missed out on that, so I like to assume the Andrew Scott Hamlet was much better, to comfort myself.

Be fair - the answer was shortened. On the actual page there is an explanation (and it was like that when I checked earlier)