Post by G on Dec 27, 2023 20:56:45 GMT
I live in London and I tend to mostly go to the theatre at the weekend. But I won't be cramming them full of shows anymore - 1-show weeks may be the new course - and this will mean carefully pruning and selecting over block booking. It will mean accepting to miss out on some good shows.
There will be fewer theatres for which we'll be "completist", booking in advance of knowing much about a production. I'll be more careful for venues where I tended to blind-book lots before - this will include Young Vic, Old Vic, Menier, Regent's Park, Barbican, and a a lot of the West End theatres.
We'll be waiting for reviews for venues which are more "uncertain". Sadly, this may mean less advance booking for new writing: I got burned one too many times at the Royal Court to book in advance (or, sadly, to book at all nowadays). Due to time constraints I may now do the same for Hampstead, Southwark Playhouse and the like, waiting for thoughts on this board/reviews ahead of booking.
I will still blindly pre-book for venues which in my book solidly deliver (Olivier, Lyttelton, Donmar, Almeida) and for some of the "buzzy" West End productions which may otherwise become unaccessible due to dynamic pricing.
I'll be looking into better seats in some occasions - the £20 tickets at the National are an institution that must be preserved, but I didn't enjoy missing lots of the upper floors from the colossal set in The House of Bernarda Alba at the Lyttelton by sitting in second row.
Hopefully there will be more travelling throughout the UK and we'll try to visit local theatres wherever we end up (which I hope includes Bath, Sheffield, Liverpool, Manchester). Maybe a visit to Stratford.
After discovering the gem that is the Orange Tree Theatre, we'll be looking also into smaller houses we haven't yet visited - Arcola, Finborough, Park, Bush theatres, and more trips at the Kiln.
