A ticket to see a play or musical in London’s West End will cost 21% more than before the pandemic, according to new research by theatre publication The Stage.
The average ticket price has risen since 2019 from £116 ($142) to £140 ($172), it says, with the average top price for a ticket for a play jumping up by 38% to £114 ($140).
Cabaret – the award-winning reprise of Bob Fosse’s extravaganza starring Eddie Redmayne and Jessie Buckley – is currently the highest-priced for a musical, with its top tier prices set at more than £300 ($368) – although its venue the Playhouse Theatre also makes a few £25 tickets available for every performance.
Lower-priced tickets have risen by just 3.3% in that same period, with prices of around £22 ($27).
Factors for the increased prices include inflation – around 12% in the UK – but also theatres including the Playhouse having to strip seats out to accommodate pandemic restrictions.
A spokeswoman for the Society of London Theatre told the BBC that top ticket prices change from year to year, plus they were often influenced “by a very small number of high-profile shows.”
