Sir Derek Jacobi has stated that he is “shocked” by the exorbitant ticket costs in London’s West End, which risk turning theater an “elitist” pursuit.
The 84-year-old actor received the Olivier Award for lifetime achievement in London on Sunday.
The Guardian quotes him as claiming that it was “far easier” to watch plays for a low price when he first began his career.
There is an ongoing discussion as to whether the cost of living crisis is pricing some fans out of the theater.
Sir Derek began his career in Birmingham before Sir Laurence Olivier selected him to join the National Theatre in 1962.
On Sunday, while accepting one of the Olivier Awards, the star of Last Tango in Halifax remarked that his career has been “the most fantastic, wonderful trip from those far days at the Birmingham Rep.”
Sir Derek told the Guardian that the price increase was among the most significant developments he has witnessed over the years.
“I’m not on the production or business side, so maybe I’m speaking through my hat, but when they say a seat in the stalls costs £150, I understand – and it surprises me,” he remarked.
He said,
“I’m not an economist, so I don’t know how a theater lives without money, but I do know that it cannot survive without patrons.” If the fee is “prohibitive to bums on seats,” he warned, the theater sector will be “up a creek without a canoe.”
Sir Derek stated that he was aware,
“especially in these difficult times, that [theatergoers] are hesitant to spend their hard-earned money on entertainment.”
The other Olivier winners included Paul Mescal’s A Streetcar Named Desire, which has a maximum price of £300.
Patsy Ferran, the co-star of Mescal, recently told The Times:
“I believe theater should be easily accessible. When tickets reach a price point where only a very, very tiny number of people can afford them, the situation becomes serious.”
She said,
“During the past few years, theater prices have reached an alarming level, but I suppose I should get used to it.”
The performance is conducting a lottery for a “limited number” of £25 tickets, and fans may also play a daily game at the theater to win a cheap front-row seat.
Carl Woodward, a theatre blogger who previously claimed that unregulated prices were “price[ing] people out of theatergoing,” described how £10 tickets for Streetcar are available “if you queue 2.5 hours before shows for a glow stick (yes, really)”
He elaborated:
“Five of the thirty light sticks emit a green glow when broken. The lucky five can purchase a pair of £10 front row seats at the box office. Send the clowns in. Well, why bother? They’ve arrived.”
When the highest price for Cock topped £400 last year, there was a concern. Afterward, they were reportedly decreased due to public uproar.
The Stage stated in 2022 that the average price of a top-tier West End ticket was more than £140, a 21% increase from before the epidemic.
According to the Society of London Theatre, the average ticket price remained relatively consistent at £48.11 over the past year.
Producers have defended premium rates by claiming that they subsidize the lowest-priced tickets.
Nick Allott, non-executive vice chairman of Cameron Mackintosh Ltd, recently stated at a conference, according to The Stage:
“To be able to charge £10 or whatever [for lottery tickets] would not have been feasible with top pricing frozen as they were.”
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