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Thursday, March 19, 2026
Fed Up With High Costs, American Theater Takes a Trip to London
The New York Times: In a ramshackle onetime warehouse on the south side of London, with a leaky pitched roof, a shabby chic bar, and posters of shows gone by, a group of Americans gathered this winter to make a musical about a famous American writer.
4 comments:
Maxwell Hamilton
said...
I think articles like this are sort of misleading. Theater is expensive no matter where it is in the world. This isn't just an American problem. Theres really no extended taxes on doing theater here. That would virtually kill this industry almost immediately. But I think that these articles are making it seem like this isn't something that the world community should be tackling together. We as a whole should probably be focusing on making the arts in general more accessible to people. It isn't cheaper in london. London is just cheaper to live in, people make less money in the EU likely because the cost of living in Europe is actually lower then it is in the United States, so people just have less money. Thus the prices of shows are proportionally lower. To most people that live in Europe though they are paying the same amount relative to their income that Americans pay. This isn't an American problem its general problem, and I think this article is pushing that problem away from the production companies that make these shows and pushing it somewhere else on their behalf.
I have mixed feelings about this article, one the one hand it’s sad to see that costs have gotten so high that people have been putting on shows in London instead of America (I think that really shows that a lot of places just can’t keep up with the rising prices and something needs to be done quickly) but I’m also a bit confused on how this supposed to fix anything/ a lot of the reasons why they’re doing this. First off the labour costs while yes American actors and backstage workers have higher salaries that’s previously that is just due to the changing times, the amount of money given to them is not impeding any show, which why the concept of going overseas to pay less money to those workers make me feel a bit icky. Also while yes you’ll be saving money on production costs I feel like you’ll loose some of the money you would have made back in America since people in London don’t spend the same amount of money on tickets.
How exciting! As someone who wants to live and work in the theater in the UK at some point in the near future this is extremely promising. I've long wondered why we're not seeing more new works coming out of the UK, but I must just not be looking in the right places. It's so interesting that American creative teams are going to the UK in order to develop their shows to eventually bring them to Broadway. The cost comparisons of a five-week run in London being the same cost as a two-week presentation in New York is insane. It's a no-brainer that producers should take their shows to the UK during the development phases. I am curious how these American stories are being received by audiences in the UK. It's clear from the data that they're showing up to the shows but I wonder what the ratings and reviews are like. from what I've seen Broadway transfers of UK shows don't tend to do very well in the US particularly in the Tony Awards. a show that one tens of Oliver's turns out with one Tony award. whether this is prejudice or a difference in show standards I'm not sure, but I'm curious if it's a similar thing from shows that start in the US going to the UK?
As a frequent theater goer in the United States of America, I understand why people would rather travel to London to do theater at a more affordable price. However, problems of affordability are apparent everywhere, not just in the United States of America. Yes, Broadway can be very expensive and is not accessible for all people. But I would argue putting up a show in London just to avoid those fees is no better than just producing it in the United States at a higher cost if you already live in London and don't have to pay for flight ticket fees, hotel fees, getting a passport along with all other planning that goes behind traveling to a different country, London theatre does feel very affordable however, it also seems cheaper as a United States resident to just see either local or Broadway theater. However, I was recently planning a trip to Europe with my roommates and it felt very reasonable compared to what it is like traveling in the United States right now so I do understand the joys of this article.
4 comments:
I think articles like this are sort of misleading. Theater is expensive no matter where it is in the world. This isn't just an American problem. Theres really no extended taxes on doing theater here. That would virtually kill this industry almost immediately. But I think that these articles are making it seem like this isn't something that the world community should be tackling together. We as a whole should probably be focusing on making the arts in general more accessible to people. It isn't cheaper in london. London is just cheaper to live in, people make less money in the EU likely because the cost of living in Europe is actually lower then it is in the United States, so people just have less money. Thus the prices of shows are proportionally lower. To most people that live in Europe though they are paying the same amount relative to their income that Americans pay. This isn't an American problem its general problem, and I think this article is pushing that problem away from the production companies that make these shows and pushing it somewhere else on their behalf.
I have mixed feelings about this article, one the one hand it’s sad to see that costs have gotten so high that people have been putting on shows in London instead of America (I think that really shows that a lot of places just can’t keep up with the rising prices and something needs to be done quickly) but I’m also a bit confused on how this supposed to fix anything/ a lot of the reasons why they’re doing this. First off the labour costs while yes American actors and backstage workers have higher salaries that’s previously that is just due to the changing times, the amount of money given to them is not impeding any show, which why the concept of going overseas to pay less money to those workers make me feel a bit icky. Also while yes you’ll be saving money on production costs I feel like you’ll loose some of the money you would have made back in America since people in London don’t spend the same amount of money on tickets.
How exciting! As someone who wants to live and work in the theater in the UK at some point in the near future this is extremely promising. I've long wondered why we're not seeing more new works coming out of the UK, but I must just not be looking in the right places. It's so interesting that American creative teams are going to the UK in order to develop their shows to eventually bring them to Broadway. The cost comparisons of a five-week run in London being the same cost as a two-week presentation in New York is insane. It's a no-brainer that producers should take their shows to the UK during the development phases. I am curious how these American stories are being received by audiences in the UK. It's clear from the data that they're showing up to the shows but I wonder what the ratings and reviews are like. from what I've seen Broadway transfers of UK shows don't tend to do very well in the US particularly in the Tony Awards. a show that one tens of Oliver's turns out with one Tony award. whether this is prejudice or a difference in show standards I'm not sure, but I'm curious if it's a similar thing from shows that start in the US going to the UK?
As a frequent theater goer in the United States of America, I understand why people would rather travel to London to do theater at a more affordable price. However, problems of affordability are apparent everywhere, not just in the United States of America. Yes, Broadway can be very expensive and is not accessible for all people. But I would argue putting up a show in London just to avoid those fees is no better than just producing it in the United States at a higher cost if you already live in London and don't have to pay for flight ticket fees, hotel fees, getting a passport along with all other planning that goes behind traveling to a different country, London theatre does feel very affordable however, it also seems cheaper as a United States resident to just see either local or Broadway theater. However, I was recently planning a trip to Europe with my roommates and it felt very reasonable compared to what it is like traveling in the United States right now so I do understand the joys of this article.
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