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Post by Deleted on Dec 3, 2017 20:03:07 GMT
With premium seats so mainstream these days, should the term be banned and productions made to list the premium seats as top price (e.g. seats from £35 - £200 instead of say £35 - £70 And then mention premium seats in small print)? After all that's what effectively they are. These days they rarely include anything additional.
A few years ago I had a discussion with someone on social media who was complaining a local theatre for a touring production was really expensive. I then pointed out that Manchester had higher top price because of premium. He then argued 'ah but that's premium if you want it'. I went back and explained that they were the same centre stalls seats.
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Post by Mark on Dec 3, 2017 20:28:40 GMT
I don’t have a problem with the term personally.
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Post by viserys on Dec 3, 2017 20:33:51 GMT
It really depends on how many seats are sold as premium.
When it's just a few rows in the stalls and thus really are THE best seats in the house, I'm fine with calling them premium and listing them extra. Say, premium is middle of row F-L or something and you can still enjoy the show from decent seats at top price in row C-D and M-onwards and the sides.
When it's most of the stalls though and top price doesn't begin until Row O or P and the furthest seats on the side, I feel it's a rip off because you barely have a choice if you want to sit decently.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 3, 2017 20:34:48 GMT
If i was selling a product, and some people were willing to pay more than double what others would then i would sell it at the larger price.
People who produce shows are there to make money. I have no problem with 'premium' seats. Its a great feeling to get a premium seat at the last minute at a much cheaper price.
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Post by The Lost on Dec 3, 2017 20:35:41 GMT
Yes, I do. I remember when Elf was at the Dominion a couple of years back they very definitively split their tickets into "regular" and "premium" as if they were two different entities, despite the fact that if you wanted a half decent view you'd have to go for premium. Also Theatre Monkey shows this epidemic getting much worse next year, most shows have a "from March or April" pricing system in which the top price tickets jump £50 or so. I think they should be shown as Band A because that might make theatres more hesitant in quietly pushing them to tourists with more money than sense.
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Post by Dawnstar on Dec 3, 2017 20:56:33 GMT
It really depends on how many seats are sold as premium. When it's just a few rows in the stalls and thus really are THE best seats in the house, I'm fine with calling them premium and listing them extra. Say, premium is middle of row F-L or something and you can still enjoy the show from decent seats at top price in row C-D and M-onwards and the sides. When it's most of the stalls though and top price doesn't begin until Row O or P and the furthest seats on the side, I feel it's a rip off because you barely have a choice if you want to sit decently. I totally agree with this. The middle of a few rows mid-stalls, fine, but some shows have 2 or 3 different prices of "premium" seats occupying almost all the stalls before getting down to the so-called top price ones, which is ridiculous. |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 3, 2017 21:02:12 GMT
If i was selling a product, and some people were willing to pay more than double what others would then i would sell it at the larger price. People who produce shows are there to make money. I have no problem with 'premium' seats. Its a great feeling to get a premium seat at the last minute at a much cheaper price. I have no issue with them charging more, my issue is pretending it's anything different than just the new top price for seats |
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Post by frankubelik on Dec 3, 2017 21:05:56 GMT
The term is "rip off". It never existed years ago when seasoned theatregoers knew (and box office staff) that 6th or 8th row centre stalls or front row dress were the "best" seats encompassing house seats and producer's priorities. These could be booked, when available without a penalty.
The fact that canny and experienced punters can book THE KING AND I for £75 (first five rows in the stalls) whilst exploiting "best" seats at £125 is an insult. Buyer beware.......
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Post by The Lost on Dec 3, 2017 21:17:33 GMT
Does anyone know what the first instance of premium seats was in the West End?
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Post by Elisa on Dec 3, 2017 23:34:20 GMT
I don't like the term "premium" seats (and the premium price). In my personal experience they're not even necessarily better. Mid-row F at the Garrick I couldn't see properly. Then maybe I'm just terribly short.
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Post by showgirl on Dec 4, 2017 4:22:55 GMT
I think it's blatant money-grabbing; also a sign of the trend towards treating theatre as a form of event, such as opera, ballet, horse-racing, etc, to which producers/promoters hope to attract occasional visitors or lucrative corporate business with no regard for whether the guests have any interest in what they're ostensibly seeing - or for the enjoyment of others who do wish to focus on the play (etc).
I also object to relabelling what were simply top price seats as "premium" as non-regulars might be caught out by this and by other pricing tricks as mentioned above, which will do nothing for theatre's reputation as unaffordable. If on the other hand a new theatre is constructed with premium seats which are significantly superior in some way, e.g. view, comfort, etc, it would be fine to label those as "premium", whereas in traditional, cramped West End theatres it's just a marketing ploy.
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Post by Phantom of London on Dec 4, 2017 5:08:36 GMT
Wall seats have ultimately been relabelled from top price to premium, it is only effective if people are willing to pay it, we verge on the side of caution, but people who are on a reasonable wedge and goes once in a turquoise moon, no no different.
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Post by ptwest on Dec 4, 2017 6:14:45 GMT
Does anyone know what the first instance of premium seats was in the West End? First one I noticed was when Joseph opened at the Adelphi with Lee Mead. I don’t know if that was the first ever though. I seem to remember that it was just a small number of midstalls seats. |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 4, 2017 7:00:34 GMT
The Old Vic now has both Premium Seats (£90 for Christmas Carol) and VIP seats at £125!
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Post by Deleted on Dec 4, 2017 7:41:43 GMT
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Post by Jan on Dec 4, 2017 7:58:23 GMT
Some "Premium" seats are temporary, they only exist for as long as the theatre thinks someone might buy them, then they revert to top price and are indistinguishable from the stalls seats around them (including on the on-line seating plan) - the Barbican do this. It is just a marketing ploy to offer a bit of extra status to people to induce them to buy them. They should do the reverse too, brand all Upper Circle seats "Economy" (or even "Third Class").
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Post by Deleted on Dec 4, 2017 8:13:36 GMT
The Old Vic now has [...] VIP seats at £125! Standing for "Very Inflated Pricing", I assume. |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 4, 2017 8:21:14 GMT
Some "Premium" seats are temporary, they only exist for as long as the theatre thinks someone might buy them, then they revert to top price and are indistinguishable from the stalls seats around them (including on the on-line seating plan) - the Barbican do this. It is just a marketing ploy to offer a bit of extra status to people to induce them to buy them. They should do the reverse too, brand all Upper Circle seats "Economy" (or even "Third Class"). Surely the Balcony would be “Economy”? The Upper Circle should be “Economy Plus” like British Airways. Or is it “Premium Economy” now? Premium again, you see... there’s no escaping it! How about “Finest” or “Taste the difference”? |
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Post by SamB (was badoerfan) on Dec 5, 2017 21:17:48 GMT
I wouldn't mind it so much if there was something actually special about the seats, other than being in the (supposedly) best place of the theatre for views.
For example, at most cinema chains these days you can shell out extra for 'premium' seats, which are usually two rows in the middle, with the best views - but they're also bigger seats, comfier, often wider, with a higher back, so you really are getting a better experience for your money.
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Post by dizzieblonde on Dec 6, 2017 10:29:53 GMT
I wouldn't mind it so much if there was something actually special about the seats, other than being in the (supposedly) best place of the theatre for views. For example, at most cinema chains these days you can shell out extra for 'premium' seats, which are usually two rows in the middle, with the best views - but they're also bigger seats, comfier, often wider, with a higher back, so you really are getting a better experience for your money. Ironically, cinemas are a place that you can often get a premium seat, for a standard price. One of the cinemas near me has gone all-out in refurbishing to a very high standard. Every seat in the building is a leather recliner, massively reducing the capacity of each screen, but ensuring a hugely comfortable experience, for the exact same price as the standard seating in the cinema just a few miles away. I now have a potential weekly treat of a cinema trip (with my Meerkat movie code) for half price tickets, and we can pay just £5-6 each for a very good, comfortable experience. If I want super cheap cinema tickets, my local cinema is priced at just £4 per ticket, at all times, for all seats. Not the super comfortable seats of the other one, but a local, independent cinema, showing a wide range of films from blockbusters to indies, plus NT and ROH live screenings. I'm pretty lucky! Live theatre is priced at a premium, to start with, so when they start adding 'VIP' and 'premium' onto already expensive tickets, without any real indication that the experience will reflect the extra price paid, I get aggrieved, like a lot of you. Only with extensive research, do you perhaps find the seats that have the right price, for the better experience. I've frequently been sat in a seat, just next to one priced at the premium level, and can genuinely see no difference as to why the person next to me was obliged to pay extra for that position in the theatre! |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 6, 2017 14:16:39 GMT
If people want to pay £95 for a ticket and I'm still able to see the same play for £15, sometimes even less, then I see no problem.
If I had the money to justify such expenditure I still wouldn't pay £95 but each to their own.
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Post by Rory on Dec 6, 2017 21:12:50 GMT
In a word - YES!
It's a cheapjack way of making punters feel they are getting something extraordinary when really it's the top tier price and not much else. They are starting to account for swathes of the stalls in some venues but are marketed as being exclusive.
Producers - be candid with your audiences. Don't patronise them and just mark your range from between £15 - £125 or whatever.
I'm beginning to feel like Juliet Stevenson!
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Post by joem on Dec 10, 2017 23:03:40 GMT
Yes. The term should be banned because it is untrue. There is nothing premium about the seats.
They should be top price and that is it.
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Post by Peach on Dec 11, 2017 12:07:39 GMT
Regent's Park Open Air have removed all their Premium pricing for next season. You at least got a glass of wine and a programme in the Premiums before; they must think it's not worth the effort.
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