The Stage

Rent entices youngsters with unallocated seating

Published Tuesday 7 August 2007 at 16:30 by Alistair Smith

Forthcoming West End show Rent is to introduce “concert-style” ticketing, in a bid to attract younger audiences to the theatre.

The new version of Jonathan Larson’s show will be staged at the Duke of York’s Theatre from October and around half of all seats will be offered at a flat rate of £30 with unallocated seating.

The remainder of tickets will be sold on a more traditional basis, with specified seats and on a sliding scale of rates.

Rosemary Squire, joint chief executive of Ambassador Theatre Group - one of the show’s producers - explained: “Keen to attract young audiences, we wanted to go some way to remove the perceived barriers to their theatre attendance, and so have introduced a £30 stalls general admission policy similar to the ticketing operation in place for gigs and concerts. Allocated on a first come first served basis, we hope this innovative approach will catch the attention of young audiences, used to buying entertainment in this way, as well as making the best seats in the house available to them at an affordable rate.

“We aim for this approach to engender the sense of shared experience that works so well at venues such as the Young Vic and Royal Court, festivals and of course all the gigs and music events that are attended by the audiences we are seeking.

“Unspecified seating also creates potential opportunities for easier internet ticketing. This new ticketing policy very much reflects the marketing approach for the show - which will be rolled out predominantly virally and online, tailored to reaching younger audiences.”