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Post by Dave B on Sept 11, 2023 6:50:29 GMT
Did they only send this survey to current NT members ? No, I am not a member. I assumed recent attendees or maybe regular/semi-regular bookers. |
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644 posts
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Post by jek on Sept 11, 2023 7:59:27 GMT
I am a member and I got this survey. The 6 pm thing is quite interesting. The London Symphony Orchestra have had some success with what they call their Half Six Fix which is where they programme a short 6.30 pm concert. It's usually about an hour long and takes one element of whatever they have programmed for a full length concert in the same week. Now, of course, you can't show half a play but with a shorter play I can see the attraction of something starting at 6 pm and ending at 8.30 pm especially given how much more flexibly many people are working now. I got quite bamboozled by the options offered for membership but stressed that, for me, it is priority booking - especially as I have mobility problems which dictate seat choice - which is the clincher. Having been to a members' Christmas party and separately a Christmas quiz I can categorically say that social events for members are not an attraction to me! I did suggest a discount on programmes for members - I can't kick the programme habit (and NT ones have good background information) but do recycle them pretty quickly after the event.
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Post by Jan on Sept 11, 2023 8:16:24 GMT
Did they only send this survey to current NT members ? No, I am not a member. I assumed recent attendees or maybe regular/semi-regular bookers. I'd have thought it would be more interesting for them to get the views of people who aren't regular bookers. |
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Post by Jan on Sept 11, 2023 8:26:20 GMT
I am a member and I got this survey. The 6 pm thing is quite interesting. The London Symphony Orchestra have had some success with what they call their Half Six Fix which is where they programme a short 6.30 pm concert. The NT did this for years under Peter Hall. They programmed a series of one-off Platform Performances in the Cottesloe (Dorfman) which lasted about an hour and ended before the main evening performance began. They were short plays, one-man shows, readings, discussions - sometimes relevant to the evening performances and sometimes now. I recall one was a reading of Harold Pinter's cricket journalism for example when he had a main house play on. |
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Post by zahidf on Sept 11, 2023 8:35:49 GMT
They used to have panels/interview with the cast and creatives for the shows for around 6.00 as well, together with the odd reading and book talk pre-pandemic. I miss those, they should bring them back
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1,485 posts
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Post by mkb on Sept 11, 2023 8:46:03 GMT
I did suggest a discount on programmes for members - I can't kick the programme habit (and NT ones have good background information) but do recycle them pretty quickly after the event. Anyone can already get 10% off programmes (and drinks) by paying with an American Express card. |
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1,485 posts
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Post by mkb on Sept 11, 2023 8:55:04 GMT
I was a bit surprised that when they tried Sundays before (it was under Hytner ?) it was a flop, given that I doubt they'll try it again. The idea they were a flop was the very clear narrative that was pushed when they cancelled Sundays, but that was never the evidence I saw with my own eyes. The shows I went to on a Sunday at the NT, and others in the West End, were always very busy and as difficult to get tickets for as Saturdays, if not harder. Were employees paid more for Sundays than Saturdays and that forced the economics not to work? |
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Post by Jan on Sept 11, 2023 10:26:23 GMT
I was a bit surprised that when they tried Sundays before (it was under Hytner ?) it was a flop, given that I doubt they'll try it again. The idea they were a flop was the very clear narrative that was pushed when they cancelled Sundays, but that was never the evidence I saw with my own eyes. The shows I went to on a Sunday at the NT, and others in the West End, were always very busy and as difficult to get tickets for as Saturdays, if not harder. Were employees paid more for Sundays than Saturdays and that forced the economics not to work? Interesting. I seem to recall there were union problems for the Sunday performances so I assume they ended up costing more. |
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Post by crowblack on Sept 11, 2023 11:29:27 GMT
The idea they were a flop was the very clear narrative that was pushed when they cancelled Sundays, but that was never the evidence I saw with my own eyes. The shows I went to on a Sunday at the NT, and others in the West End, were always very busy and as difficult to get tickets for as Saturdays, if not harder. Were employees paid more for Sundays than Saturdays and that forced the economics not to work? Interesting. I seem to recall there were union problems for the Sunday performances so I assume they ended up costing more. As a National Theatre, for those of us outside London (who nevertheless help pay its funding), weekends visits are the main option, so Sunday afternoons would be great - assuming there aren't track works, you could make a day trip of it. |
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Post by Fleance on Sept 11, 2023 12:12:59 GMT
As a visitor to London trying to squeeze as much in, it was great having the Sunday option. I remember a thrilling production of Children of the Sun (2013). The whole set exploded at the end, I'd never seen anything like that before! (Bunny Christie is a genius.)
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1,759 posts
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Post by marob on Sept 11, 2023 13:26:28 GMT
I’m not a member but had a questionnaire through on Saturday. The email says it’s a random selection of customers.
Ended up putting no to most of the ticket options. Stupidly expensive for most of them. £95 for front centre of West Side Story was about the best of the hypothetical shows on offer. 70 quid to sit at the back? No ta.
£500 draw as an incentive to fill it out. Makes me wonder has anyone ever actually won money doing a survey?
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2,761 posts
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Post by n1david on Sept 11, 2023 13:51:11 GMT
Makes me wonder has anyone ever actually won money doing a survey? I won a £150 meal at Sheekey's for completing a survey on Covent Garden Piazza! Admittedly, £150 doesn't go very far at Sheekey's, but it helped... |
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1,485 posts
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Post by mkb on Sept 11, 2023 15:28:15 GMT
I do wonder what the point is of surveys that ask if you'd be prepared to pay x pounds.
Even if you would, who in their right mind is going to volunteer that information to give them the ammunition they need to raise prices?
I always give the answers that will steer them away from any changes I wouldn't like, regardless of whether it's an honest response.
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Post by Jan on Sept 11, 2023 15:50:50 GMT
I do wonder what the point is of surveys that ask if you'd be prepared to pay x pounds. Even if you would, who in their right mind is going to volunteer that information to give them the ammunition they need to raise prices? Quite, particularly as they have a huge database of past sales to analyse statistically to tell them what actually happens when they raise or lower prices for a whole range of different types of production. On another topic, how about this: "National Theatre director Rufus Norris has praised America for being "so much better" at musicals, claiming the form is taken “seriously” there." To me this seems not only untrue in general (the West End and subsidised sector is full of musicals) but the NT under Norris seems to have taken musicals far less "seriously" (whatever that means) than any of his predecessors on the South Bank - for example his conclusion that with no experience at all he could write the lyrics of one himself bears this out. |
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Post by punxsutawney on Sept 11, 2023 17:29:16 GMT
I do wonder what the point is of surveys that ask if you'd be prepared to pay x pounds. Even if you would, who in their right mind is going to volunteer that information to give them the ammunition they need to raise prices? Quite, particularly as they have a huge database of past sales to analyse statistically to tell them what actually happens when they raise or lower prices for a whole range of different types of production. On another topic, how about this: "National Theatre director Rufus Norris has praised America for being "so much better" at musicals, claiming the form is taken “seriously” there." To me this seems not only untrue in general (the West End and subsidised sector is full of musicals) but the NT under Norris seems to have taken musicals far less "seriously" (whatever that means) than any of his predecessors on the South Bank - for example his conclusion that with no experience at all he could write the lyrics of one himself bears this out. Also rather disrespectful to the musical they staged which just won the Olivier and is transferring to the West End... |
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Post by c4ndyc4ne on Sept 11, 2023 19:12:19 GMT
I do wonder what the point is of surveys that ask if you'd be prepared to pay x pounds. Even if you would, who in their right mind is going to volunteer that information to give them the ammunition they need to raise prices? Quite, particularly as they have a huge database of past sales to analyse statistically to tell them what actually happens when they raise or lower prices for a whole range of different types of production. On another topic, how about this: "National Theatre director Rufus Norris has praised America for being "so much better" at musicals, claiming the form is taken “seriously” there." To me this seems not only untrue in general (the West End and subsidised sector is full of musicals) but the NT under Norris seems to have taken musicals far less "seriously" (whatever that means) than any of his predecessors on the South Bank - for example his conclusion that with no experience at all he could write the lyrics of one himself bears this out. Given Hytner barely programmed musicals during his tenure this feels like a reach. The man cocked up on Hex though. Big time. |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 11, 2023 21:13:34 GMT
I do wonder what the point is of surveys that ask if you'd be prepared to pay x pounds. Even if you would, who in their right mind is going to volunteer that information to give them the ammunition they need to raise prices? I always give the answers that will steer them away from any changes I wouldn't like, regardless of whether it's an honest response. Commonly used marketing tactic among companies and organizations of all stripes to assess perceived value. They have their own internal filters for who they interpret the responses perceived. My employer, a US Fortune 100 company, uses them all the time. |
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Post by nottobe on Sept 28, 2023 18:37:06 GMT
I was just thinking that it is odd the NT haven't got any NT lives coming up soon or had any that recently. The last they had was Best of Enemies in May and also a few encores of Fleabag recently. Have they stopped them now due to National Theatre at Home?
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5,707 posts
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Post by lynette on Sept 28, 2023 19:05:01 GMT
Quite, particularly as they have a huge database of past sales to analyse statistically to tell them what actually happens when they raise or lower prices for a whole range of different types of production. On another topic, how about this: "National Theatre director Rufus Norris has praised America for being "so much better" at musicals, claiming the form is taken “seriously” there." To me this seems not only untrue in general (the West End and subsidised sector is full of musicals) but the NT under Norris seems to have taken musicals far less "seriously" (whatever that means) than any of his predecessors on the South Bank - for example his conclusion that with no experience at all he could write the lyrics of one himself bears this out. Also rather disrespectful to the musical they staged which just won the Olivier and is transferring to the West End... Sounds like ‘they didn’t take my musical seriously’ kind of whinge |
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Post by teamyali on Sept 29, 2023 13:00:27 GMT
I’m happy that NTLive just landed in the Philippines. For years I’ve been begging for this to happen! I really hope it is a long-term partnership. x.com/ccpfbnm/status/1702233262217957395?s=46&t=U_eg6H3hI7v9FHf5TFJ_jAMy main complaint is that a good number of those titles are also available at NT at Home (although monthly subscription is not cheap, it costs around ₱679 or roughly £9.79. It’s a hundred peso higher than the premium Netflix subscription), and some NTLive titles that are still not on NT at Home or used to be at the streaming service (like Prima Facie, which deserves to be seen by law students and the general public) should be their priority for cinema screening (Present Laughter lol). |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 5, 2023 21:00:28 GMT
Michael Billington column in The Guardian on NT's 60th anniversary. www.theguardian.com/stage/2023/oct/05/national-theatre-nt-plays-drama"The future of the National depends on any number of factors: the state of the economy, who is in government and who the new director is. I would offer only one recommendation: that, without sacrificing its urgent contemporaneity, the National do more to retrieve plays from the world repertory." |
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Post by andrew on Oct 7, 2023 17:26:29 GMT
Michael Billington column in The Guardian on NT's 60th anniversary. www.theguardian.com/stage/2023/oct/05/national-theatre-nt-plays-drama"The future of the National depends on any number of factors: the state of the economy, who is in government and who the new director is. I would offer only one recommendation: that, without sacrificing its urgent contemporaneity, the National do more to retrieve plays from the world repertory." Not sure I completely agree. Obviously every single year someone asks the question "what is a national theatre for?" and every director gets to move between the three piles of classics, revivals and new work. (Plus maybe a musical at Christmas, or the same musical twice if your wife wrote it) My personal opinion is that only subsidised theatre can really support new work, and only a few of them have the machinery to do it often and well. The NT has a New Work department, it has a studio workshop and it has the flexibility of different performance spaces to do this. Commercial theatre will never perform that role (or very rarely perform it) but certainly is in a position to revive existing material. I'm not saying the NT should only do new stuff and classics, but I don't see why it should focus more on modern revivals when any theatre can do that. |
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Post by Rory on Oct 10, 2023 21:46:04 GMT
I'm guessing dates for The Motive and the Cue and Dear England. I wonder what else? Jamie LLoyd has form for NT Live with Cyrano and The Seagull. Wouldn't it be great to get Sunset Boulevard?!
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Post by Jon on Oct 10, 2023 22:46:00 GMT
I wouldn't expect Sunset Boulevard to be broadcast on NT Live, the rights issues with Paramount means it's unlikely in the same way that Network and The Normal Heart didn't get NT Live broadcasts because of rights.
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Post by Jan on Oct 11, 2023 8:27:57 GMT
Michael Billington column in The Guardian on NT's 60th anniversary. www.theguardian.com/stage/2023/oct/05/national-theatre-nt-plays-drama"The future of the National depends on any number of factors: the state of the economy, who is in government and who the new director is. I would offer only one recommendation: that, without sacrificing its urgent contemporaneity, the National do more to retrieve plays from the world repertory." Not sure I completely agree. Obviously every single year someone asks the question "what is a national theatre for?" and every director gets to move between the three piles of classics, revivals and new work. (Plus maybe a musical at Christmas, or the same musical twice if your wife wrote it) My personal opinion is that only subsidised theatre can really support new work, and only a few of them have the machinery to do it often and well. The NT has a New Work department, it has a studio workshop and it has the flexibility of different performance spaces to do this. Commercial theatre will never perform that role (or very rarely perform it) but certainly is in a position to revive existing material. I'm not saying the NT should only do new stuff and classics, but I don't see why it should focus more on modern revivals when any theatre can do that. There are loads of subsidised theatres that stage new work, and several who stage exclusively new work. In fact there are so many that the problem is getting enough new work of sufficient quality to successfully stage them with decent audience numbers. However only the NT and RSC can do revivals of classic drama with large casts that are not amongst the small number of popular classics that the commercial sector would take on. |
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