West End ticketing survey 2024: top-price tickets rise by 9.3% year on year
Top-price tickets in the West End have risen by 9.3% compared to 2023, The Stage’s annual ticketing survey has revealed.
The average most expensive ticket for plays in the West End was also found to have risen by 50% since last year. It comes as the price for some plays breaks the £200 mark for the first time in the survey’s history – with three costing more than this in 2024
In 2024, The Stage surveyed the top and bottom ticket prices of shows running at 50 Society of London Theatre member theatres on June 15. Five theatres were dark this year.
The overall average top price seat in the West End in 2024 was £154.56, a 9.3% rise compared to last year’s figure of £141.37. This was more of an increase than 2.3% inflation over the past 12 months (based on the consumer price index).
On average, the cheapest ticket cost £24.58, which was a 3.4% decrease compared to £25.44.
Commenting on the results, Society of London Theatre president Eleanor Lloyd said: “Despite the rising cost of theatre productions, theatre works hard to offer affordable tickets to encourage a vibrant theatregoing community.
"Almost a quarter of the tickets sold in the West End last year were for under £30, and just 13% were bought for more than £100."
Lloyd argued that more expensive tickets funded a range of access schemes available for many productions, which helped theatres to "reach new and diverse audiences".
She added: "This is delivered in the context of producers and venues facing rising costs, with members experiencing a 120% rise in utility bills since 2019, for example.
"Despite these financial challenges, cost increases have not been passed on to audiences, with average ticket prices only rising by half the rate of inflation since before the pandemic."
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The average most expensive ticket for plays rose by 50% in 2024, from £94.45 in 2023 to £141.61. The most expensive play of the survey was Romeo and Juliet at the Duke of York’s Theatre, which cost £298.95. Representatives for the show did not respond to a request for comment.
For musicals, the average most expensive seat was £168.68 – up 3.9% compared to 2023. For the third year running, Cabaret at the Playhouse had the most expensive ticket across the whole survey, this year costing £303.95.
Meanwhile, the average cheapest ticket for musicals was £28.24, down 0.6% compared to 2023. Heathers at @sohoplace had the cheapest ticket of any musical at £15.
Heathers producers Bill Kenwright Ltd and Paul Taylor-Mills said: "Balancing costs on West End shows is increasingly hard but accessibility of pricing, particularly on a show like Heathers, is essential.
"With so many young adults and returning fans to cater for, we are delighted to offer £15 tickets at every performance of Heathers at @sohoplace, with a range of prices up to a top price of just £89.50 at some performances."
The average cheapest ticket for plays was £20.95, up 1.5% on 2023. Five shows shared the cheapest ticket for plays, at £15 – Bluets at Royal Court Theatre, The Secret Garden at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, Fawlty Towers: the Play at the Apollo Theatre, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child at the Palace Theatre and A View from the Bridge at Theatre Royal Haymarket.
However the cheapest ticket of the whole survey was for Les Rendezvous/The Dream/Rhapsody at the Royal Opera House, which had tickets priced at £4 for the June 15 evening performance.
An ROH spokesperson said: "We’re delighted to be able to offer a range of ticket prices to our audiences, ensuring that an evening of world-class ballet or opera is an affordable option for everyone.
"We believe it’s hugely important we continue to provide ticket prices for all budgets and we’re proud to be able to offer tickets for less than £5 for some of our most popular shows."
Across commercial theatres, the average bottom-price ticket was £25.86, 3.9% lower than last year, and the average top-price ticket was £166.98, an 11.5% increase on 2023.
For subsidised and not-for-profit theatres, the average cheapest ticket was £19.44 – down 4.4% – and the most-expensive seat averaged £104.89, down 6.5%.
This year’s survey had one anomaly – Operation Mincemeat, which had all tickets for the June 15 production prices at £93.30 (including a transaction fee).
The production has been using a "flat pricing" model – meaning that every seat in the theatre is priced the same at every show. Producer Jon Thoday last year explained that in order to offer cheaper tickets on Mondays and Tuesdays, this needed to be balanced with more expensive tickets on weekends.
For the full breakdown on The Stage West End ticketing survey results, click here
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