Theatre tickets are, quite simply, difficult to come by. Gone are the days when a member of the audience went to the box office in person and bought a ticket, used a ticket agency or even called the theatre to make a reservation, then sent a cheque or postal order by mail.
Today, online booking has become a fast and effective means of buying tickets for productions all over the world, but even this method of securing tickets to a show is not guaranteed, with tickets reaching extortionate prices, or being snapped up by those with theatre memberships before the tickets have chance to reach the general public.
Even ticket touts and supposed half-price ticket booths which flood the West End Theatreland of London often have little to no availability of tickets for big hits and equally popular shows, with many selling out weeks in advance. Book of Mormon, for example, is already booking until January 2014 and must be booked months before the date the audience wishes to see the show.
It has also become evident that unofficial ticket vendors have been able to offer tickets for many times their original cost, such as like offering a pair of tickets outside the Gielgud, where Helen Mirren is starring in The Audience, for £500 a pair. However, it may be that the demand outweighs the ethics, with only those able to afford the tickets able to see the shows too. Many audience members are unable to afford tickets of prices such as these, and therefore will be unable to see the production.
However supply is limited to the number of seats a theatre has to sell and for hot new shows, more tickets cannot be printed, just released for sale further ahead. Ticket buying has become complex, full of choices and requires skill in navigating around the many apparent discounts, booking fees and obstacles even before the journey to the theatre, with many desperate audience members prepared to pay almost any price.