The Stage

“Uncomfortable” theatres blamed for deterring West End audiences

Published Tuesday 16 June 2009 at 14:25 by Lalayn Baluch

Adam Kenwright, managing director of leading marketing and promotions agency AKA, has warned that London’s “inconvenient and deeply uncomfortable” older theatres are deterring customers from buying tickets for West End shows.

Kenwright, who has devised campaigns for hit shows including Billy Elliot the Musical, Dirty Dancing and Jersey Boys, criticised venue owners for using the historic status of buildings as an excuse for not improving the theatregoing experience for audiences. He said that as well as putting people off coming to the theatre in the first place, the poor state of the buildings was deterring them from spending more money on drinks and programmes if they did choose to attend a West End show.

He accused producers, theatre makers and owners of knowingly selling “poor seats with bad legroom, sight-lines, and springs that cause pain and discomfort”.

Speaking at the Theatres Trust Experiencing Theatres conference, Kenwright said AKA’s discussions with focus groups had revealed that people were not inclined to spend their cash in the West End.

He said: “People are not coming to the theatre as often as they would like to, or as often as they can afford to, because the experience is not magical. Frankly, it is inconvenient and deeply uncomfortable at the best of times.

“I think we have got a responsibility to commit money and resources and effort and time, to making the best of these extraordinary, historical buildings we have. I personally wouldn’t spend a penny on another new theatre.”

Kenwright called on the industry to improve facilities and services for customers by installing air-conditioning, introducing Sunday performances, and following the example of Broadway venues by giving away free ice water and playbills.

“The West End accommodates between 13 and 14 million people, [and generates] just over £400 million a year. The average spend per head on programmes, ice cream, sweets and gin and tonic, it is about £1.50 per person. At the National Theatre, where ticket prices are lower and where you might imagine audiences aren’t going with such full pockets, the average spend per head is over £3,” he added.

“It is a much more comfortable experience to go to the National Theatre than it might be to go to one of the theatres in Shaftesbury Avenue. The drinks are reasonably priced, you don’t have to wait 20 minutes to order a drink in the interval, you may not have the line for the bathroom.”

Meanwhile, Belfast’s Grand Opera House theatre director John Botteley revealed that since the Northern Ireland venue underwent a £9 million makeover, its ancillary income - cash made from the bar, catering facilities and front of house - had trebled from £250,000 to £750,000.

He added: “Any theatre manager will tell you that the vast majority of complaints [from the public] are not about what is on stage, they are about facilities, getting through on the phone, finding their way.”