I used to love going to live theatre, especially in the West End, but these days I find I am less keen on the journey home on a train with occasional drunks, or arriving home very late. The journey is bearable for an outstanding show, but a lot of travelling time for a musical concert or a mediocre show.
If it’s a really special occasion, I’ll stay overnight in a hotel but of course that adds considerably to the cost of the outing. Theatre tickets cost over £100 for a seat in the stalls, rising to £150 at the Royal Opera House or The Coliseum. It makes you think twice. Two tickets and a hotel stay would take the best part of £500. Yes, we could buy cheaper seats but why go all that way and give yourself a seat with a poor view?
There was so much I enjoyed about live theatre, that added to the delight of the experience. Arriving early and visiting a gallery, wandering down to Covent Garden and listening to the buskers whilst having coffee in one of the cafes. We’d have an early supper at a favourite restaurant, listen to the chatter in the auditorium as people started to take their seats, and drink in the atmosphere, especially in some of the older theatres.
I loved the sense of anticipation as the murmur in theatre settled, the lights dimmed and the curtain opened. I loved the drinks at the interval and the conversation about the play. We would share opinions about how good the performance had been on the way home, whether we agreed with the interpretation of the drama or thought the actors had put in a good performance. I didn’t miss the rush for the last train that stops you savouring the end of the performance, or the two hour journey home.
So I’ve become one of those people who is starting to watch opera, ballet and theatre on the TV. At first I thought this was letting myself down. I’ve come to realise that there are real bonuses in watching performances on screen, particularly ballet and opera. It’s all about focus. On the small screen you have close-ups of the principals. If you are watching a ballet, you can see the intricate footwork and facial interactions of the principals, something which is impossible to see even in the stalls and only possible from the balcony if you are using opera glasses. I think that’s a real bonus.
Another bonus of embracing TV broadcasts or streaming is the wide range of shows available. Ballet performances from the Bolshoi, opera from the Met in New York, and some very original interpretations of ballet and opera from Australia. It’s good to see such a range of interpretations of traditional pieces, and see them breaking out of the strait-jacket of tradition – a bit like the liberation of Gilbert and Sullivan when the dead hand of the D’Oyly Carte was finally removed.
We haven’t reached the stage where we dress up to watch a performance on TV or stop at the interval and have drinks and canapés in another room, but perhaps we should. It might help recapture some of the magic of a visit to a live show.
I do still go on to London for live theatre on special occasions, when I think the experience will outweigh the cost, but with the Opera House, the Coliseum, the National Theatre and the RSC all making their shows available by subscription, I think I’ll continue to enjoy most of my theatre at home. After all, it’s better than not experiencing theatre at all.
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