The Stage

Stage school principal lambasts ticket surcharge plans at Birmingham’s Alexandra Theatre

Published Tuesday 8 December 2009 at 15:15 by Lalayn Baluch

The principal of a Birmingham-based stage school has spoken out against plans to introduce a restoration levy on tickets at the city’s Alexandra Theatre, claiming the move is “grossly unfair” for audience members and producers.

Ian Sandy, principal of BSS Showbiz, had planned to stage the school’s annual showcase at the theatre, where it was also held this year, in July 2010. However, he is now threatening to find another venue, after discovering the venue will be introducing a £1 surcharge on each ticket sold.

The Alexandra Theatre recently became an Ambassador Theatre Group venue, after the operator purchased all of Live Nation’s theatrical portfolio in a £90 million deal.

Sandy said he had planned to freeze ticket prices at 2009 levels, to ensure that parents could afford to attend the show. He now fears the levy will deter parents, who are from a range of demographics, from attending.

He complained that, as a commercial company, ATG should find a different way to fund restoration projects and said the hire and booking fee should help towards making improvements.

He added: “I’m doing what I can to keep business at a level, we have all acknowledged that it is a tough economic climate. We are making decisions - why should we be forced into a situation where a tax is being charged on the ticket and we don’t get any of that?

“I think the timing is bad. We are trying harder to get people into theatres to see shows as it is. People have just about got used to booking fees, but then [they] suddenly add a pound to every ticket.”

A spokesperson for ATG said the restoration levy at the venue was not being imposed following the takeover of the venue, but had been planned by Live Nation before the sale.

Nicky Monk, venue bookings manager of the theatres formerly owned by Live Nation, said the organisation had started to introduce restoration levies as a way of “contributing to the escalating costs of maintenance and refurbishment” in order to benefit hirers and patrons.

Monk added: “We’re sorry BSS Showbiz is looking for an alternative venue, we’d still be delighted to welcome them to the Alexandra Theatre. We did try to address Ian Sandy’s concerns about the introduction of the restoration levy by offering a tiered pricing solution which would have given patrons more options regarding the ticket prices available to them, including the option to buy a cheaper ticket than has been available on previous visits.”

The practice of imposing levies to cover restoration work was first suggested around a decade ago, but has became common practice since 2006, when introduced by ATG and Delfont Mackintosh Theatres. Since then, other operators such as HQ and Nimax Theatres have followed suit.