Price of top West End tickets rises by a FIFTH: Cabaret takes the lead

2022-06-24

Price of top West End tickets rises by a FIFTH: Cabaret leads chart for most expensive show… with seats for £303

Cabaret topped the charts for most expensive top-price tickets at over £300
The average cost of top-price West End tickets reached £140.85 this year
Pre-pandemic, the average cost of the most expensive ticket was £116.09
The top-price tickets for long-running plays actually fell over the same period

The average cost of the most expensive West End tickets has rocketed by a fifth as theatres reopen after Covid.

The musical Cabaret topped the charts for the most expensive top-price tickets – with audiences having to fork out more than £300.

The average cost of top-price West End tickets reached £140.85 this year – an increase of 21.3 per cent since 2019.

Before production runs were impacted by the pandemic the average cost of the most expensive tickets was £116.09.

The average cost of the most expensive West End tickets has rocketed by a fifth post-pandemic. Cabaret, which won seven Olivier awards this year including best actor and best actress in a musical for Eddie Redmayne and Jessie Buckley (pictured), was the most expensive musical

This year also saw the highest number of top-price seats in commercial theatres priced at more than £100, according to the annual ticketing survey by The Stage trade journal.

Seats reaching the record- breaking price were found in 28 theatres, accounting for 80 per cent of the productions in commercial theatres.

New productions have driven the rise in prices – the top-price tickets for long-running plays actually fell over the same period.

Top tickets at Wicked fell by £58, while those for Hamilton and The Book Of Mormon fell by £50.

The top ticket prices are influenced ‘by a very small number of high-profile shows’ and ‘fluctuate year on year,’ a Society of London Theatre spokesman said.

PICTURED: London’s West End. West End plays saw a steeper rise in prices than musicals, with the most expensive ticket increasing up to 40% compared with 3.5% for musicals

In May, audiences condemned ticket prices for Cock, which was not included in the survey, after seats went on sale for £400, plus £60 in processing fees.

Producers for the play starring Bridgerton’s Jonathan Bailey defended the astronomical prices, citing ‘supply and demand’ for the play’s 13-week limited run.

West End plays saw a steeper rise in prices than musicals, with the most expensive ticket increasing by up to 40 per cent compared with 3.5 per cent for musicals. To Kill A Mockingbird at the Gielgud Theatre had the most expensive top-price play ticket at £199.50.

Cabaret, which won seven Olivier awards this year including best actor and best actress in a musical for Eddie Redmayne and Jessie Buckley, was the most expensive musical, with top seats coming in at £303.80.

The cheapest tickets have seen a comparatively low increase of 3.3 per cent since 2019 – the average is now £22.56, up from £21.84. Dear Evan Hansen offered the best deal in the West End, with the cheapest ticket, a restricted-view seat, coming in at £7.50.

The survey was based on 50 theatre spaces eligible for main-category Olivier Awards for their top and bottom price tickets on the evening of June 25.

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