The National Theatre General Thread

The survey I did also had Old Vic aimed question so maybe Matthew Warchus also in running ?

Also god we do not need another bloody Hamlet there and with Idris Elba and the hypothetical questions they asked about prices I'm sure it would be eye wateringly high. Also please not another Peter Pan!

I also completed the survey but found it frustrating in places as these things always are: sometimes I could only select 1 option when 2 or more would have applied, yet at others - particularly the dire "membership/support" section - every option was awful and they were all far too expensive. Ditto with the suggested productions: I preferred the new work or re-interpretations of classics, yet the questions which followed were all about blasted Shakespeare or Sondheim. As if they aren't already done to death everywhere, all the time!  I was left feeling that the NT had no idea who I was, what I wanted to see, when and how much I was prepared to pay - and didn't even want to know any of these things. I did like the idea of early evening performances, particularly 6 pm starts, as they'd mean far less hanging around after a matinee and an easier journey home by public transport.

Peter Pan adapted by Zadie Smith
Neverland awaits.
Nye a new play by Tim Price starring Michael Sheen
West Side Story by Stephen Sondheim

The questions about seating were odd as well. The choices were whether you preferred the back on the side, or the front in the center, but not the front on the side, which I prefer.

It sounds quite like a survey the Royal Opera House sent out a few months ago, where the example ticket prices were absolutely eye-watering (even by ROH price standards) & none of the seat options covered the area where I almost always sit. I wonder if both organisations use the same data gathering company.

Obviously you don't have to believe them but I think it does say that the examples of productions are purely hypothetical. I imagine they will have slipped in some which they've been considering for real. They also said the price options you had to choose between were randomised so some of them might not be within the realm of anything they'd legitimately price tickets at.

Thanks Dave B

I would pay extra to see WSS. But I have seen Peter Pan at the NT and Macbeth and Hamlet but they will always get the schools in.

It said the shows were hypothetical (although obvs with a couple of real ones mixed in). I can’t imagine they’d use a survey to announce real shows.

I thought it was geared to working out how they can get wealthy patrons to cough up more, not those of us who like the £20 seats and don’t want to pay £100+ for membership.

Thanks for the heads-up. I deleted that email yesterday not realising what it was about.

I agree that it was a poor survey, seemingly designed to provide justification for some options they're probably already intent on doing, with little scope to provide nuanced answers.

I'm expecting big price increases "because it's what our customers (sic) said they wanted".

As for varying performance times, the most useful for me -- not mentioned -- would be to bring back Sundays. On weekdays, why not have one night earlier at 7pm and one night later at 8pm (or even 9pm if the show is no more than 150 minutes)?

It also mentioned Underdog by Sarah Gordon, which is scheduled for the Dorfman in March.