– Shall we go to the theater this weekend? I asked a friend. I try to absorb as much as possible of the entertainment offer that bubbles over in this gift package of a city I am lucky enough to live in. And since I have always loved theater, staying in Europe’s theater capital is pure Mecca. Would you believe it. But it is a mecca only for some. – I can’t afford it now, answered my friend. When I checked more closely, I soon found out that I couldn’t either. Many of the big shows cost around NOK 2,500 per ticket, if you want to treat yourself to an orchestra seat. Photo: AP Photo: AP The average price of such places has increased by 20 per cent since the pandemic, according to surveys carried out by the website Stage. When the American superstar couple Sarah Jessica Parker (Sex and single life) and Matthew Broderick (Ferris Bueller) stood together on stage in London recently, the best tickets cost over NOK 4,000. And it will surely get worse. According to leaks from the state budget to be presented this week, the government is considering cutting back on the tax discount the theaters receive. The rumors have already led to 20 percent fewer productions being planned for next year. There is still a sea of performances to choose from. But I have the impression that the type of performances that are staged change their character. The acting couple Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick could be seen in the play “Plaza Suite” in London – at a sky-high price. Photo: Charles Sykes / AP People are lured to the theaters with stories they know from movies or TV. They become stage versions, and often musicals. The selection is large: “Back to the future” “Mrs. doubtfire” “Stranger things” “Mean Girls” “DR strangelove” “Fawlty Towers” “Devil wears Prada” “Some like it hot” “Frozen” “Totoro” “Shrek” These are just some of the films that are, or have been , theater on London’s theater stages. And when more traditional plays are staged, it is often with well-known actors we know from film and TV as the main attraction. Some of these actors are concerned that the high prices are depriving people of the opportunity to experience the joy of theatre. Ralph “Voldemort” Fiennes is among those who warn. He believes that it is necessary to price the experiences lower. Andrew “Moriarty” Scott is frustrated that young adults in particular cannot afford to go to the theater anymore. He fears that performing arts will become something reserved for the elite. I consider myself neither young nor elite. But from my in-between point of view, I would like to go to the theater more often. Photo: Matt Dunham / AP Photo: Matt Dunham / AP And although I like to see plays I know neither the story nor the actors in, I admit that I allow myself to be tempted by faces I have appreciated from the screen. After all, I am more often entertained from there than in the theatre. For weeks I have been trying to win tickets to Ibsen’s “An Enemy of the People” with Matt Smith in the lead role. He who was once Dr. Who, and whom many Norwegians know best as Prince Phillip in the first seasons of “The Crown”. Win, because those of us who don’t think we can spend many thousands of kroner on one ticket can participate in lotteries to be allowed to buy theater tickets at an affordable price. Every day I try, and every day I get a negative answer. Probably because I don’t post on social media that I enter lotteries. If you give them that advertising effect, the chance of you winning these lotteries increases. So then we are left with the fact that theater is only considered for the big occasions. Or? Stranger Things actor David Harbor and his wife, British singer Lily Allen, on the red carpet at the theatrical premiere of “Stranger Things: The Last Shadow” in London’s West End in December 2023. Photo: JUSTIN TALLIS / AFPStranger Things actor David Harbor and his wife, British singer Lily Allen, on the red carpet at the theatrical premiere of “Stranger Things: The Last Shadow” in London’s West End in December 2023. Photo: JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP There are some possibilities. See theater performances at the cinema Buy a remaining ticket on the same day Choose a theater outside the West End Take advantage of regular special offers The National Theater here has a regular Friday offer. At a given time, they will open a digital super sale of tickets for certain performances in the coming week. There are often several thousand people ahead of you in the queue no matter how early you try to connect, and often the special performances are fully booked before it’s your turn. But last Friday I succeeded. For less than NOK 150, I got to take part in the theater magic. I got to see a story that is not known from TV or film. Without known actors in any of the roles. Theater lover and correspondent: Gry Blekastad Almås goes to the theater as often as she can in London’s West End, but high prices limit her. Photo: Gry Blekastad Almås / news “Standing on the Sky’s Edge” is a performance from a block of flats in Sheffield. A depiction of everyday life in a mammoth of a municipal housing complex with almost 1,000 apartments. In recent years, the buildings have been listed and converted into attractive apartments for the middle class. But the miners and immigrants who lived there from the 1960s and the following 50 years could hardly have afforded to pay full price to see their story in the theater. But maybe those who live there now. Photo: Jason Lowe Photo: Jason Lowe The play was at least so popular when it was performed in Sheffield, that it is now making its triumphant appearance in London. “I love you will you marry me”. The graffiti survived the property developers’ redevelopment. That is, paint was replaced with neon lights, and the text on one of the bridges between the blocks of the housing complex is more visible than ever. They probably didn’t get married. But when we left the theater that night, we were each given a button with the proposal written on it: “I love you, will you marry me”. Love long live. Is it permissible to wish that for the love of theater art as well? That it will live long? The love of magic and dreams, reflections and provocations? There is hope. A button for the theater audience in London. Photo: Gry Blekastad Almås / NRKE A button for the theater audience in London. Photo: Gry Blekastad Almås / news Despite the price increase, people went to the theater in London’s West End more than 16 million times in 2022. That is an increase of over 7 percent since before the pandemic. And if you were inspired by this, we are still within a two-week campaign period with tickets at discounted prices. Magic and dreams, reflections and provocations are on offer in London until Sunday 3 March. And new offers are coming. I am ready to order. Do you? Read more correspondent letters from Gry Blekastad Almås:
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Prices rise for theater tickets in Europe’s theater capital – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
