December 2, 2008

Economic downturn? What economic downturn?

Aaron Alexander              posted 2 Dec 2008, 12:47 PM

From the Sydney Morning Herald:

“the Sydney Theatre Company broke its one-day box office sales record yesterday. More than 1900 tickets were sold in under two hours to next year’s productions at the STC, in the first day of individual ticket sales, with 3769 tickets sold by 5pm. The STC’s previous one-day box office record was set just weeks earlier following the release of tickets for the Sydney season of Shakespeare’s The War Of The Roses when 1814 tickets were sold on the first day of single ticket sales. STC productions next year include A Streetcar Named Desire, by Tennessee Williams – starring STC co-director Cate Blanchett – The Removalists by David Williamson and a “secret” production directed by Steven Soderbergh.”

That, folks, is nearly four thousand tickets sold for next year on the very first day. That does not include season ticket holders, or friends of the theatre who get special access, this is GP.

Questions…

Is this the Blanchett Effect?

Can Downstage still get Sam Neill??

In all seriousness though, there must be something to be learned here surely…even taking into account the fact that Sydney has 10 times Wellington’s population, when was the last time a Wellington theatre sold 400 tickets the day after season launch?