Theatregoers put off booking shows over long run times

Telegraph

22-05-2025

Theatregoers are putting off booking shows in the West End over long run-times, a new report has suggested.
A performance time of more than two-and-a-half hours has been cited in a survey of over 20,000 of London's theatre patrons as a factor that discourages them from booking again.
Veteran West End producer Patrick Gracey said there are an increasing number of shorter plays on offer now with running times of 75 or 85 minutes instead of 150 minutes.
'I do think audiences enjoy that,' he told The Telegraph, but added that the length 'depends entirely on what is appropriate for that story'.
Theatregoers were asked in the survey, conducted by the Society of London Theatre (SOLT) and UK Theatre, what factors discouraged them from booking again.
More than 22 per cent said longer run times, 21 per cent cited a show without an interval and 24 per cent complained that a lack of public transport options in the evening was an issue.
The results form part of SOLT and UK Theatre's 2025 State of British Theatre report, released on Thursday.
Mr Gracey, who also serves as chair of SOLT's policy, research and advocacy committee, explained that typically musicals have a longer show time than plays.
'Not a huge number of shows have a run time over two-and-a-half hours, you tend to find more musicals do,' he said.
However, he added: 'I don't think run times have changed that much…I think at the end of the day what producers and artists are driven by is what is the best version of this story.
'A night in the theatre can be the most extraordinary thing, no matter how long it is if the story is told well.'
Discussing the public transport offering complaint cited in the survey, he blamed a bad 'perception' of the transport system.
He explained: 'Over the past few years, we've seen various strikes and other issues with the rail network, and whether or not that is true for most people, it's that perception.
'So what we want to ensure is that moving forward, we hope that we have great transport links, because London does have great transport links that can ensure people feel comfortable coming to town and catching a show.'
New figures also revealed that theatre attendance continued at a record high last year, with the West End alone surpassing 17.1 million attendees and generating more than £1billion in revenue for the first time in history.
By comparison, the Premier League saw 2.5 million fewer attendees than the West End in the same timeframe.
Discussing the positive findings, Mr Gracey said: 'The strength of theatre is that it's one of the few places where you go and sit in a room with a whole lot of other people where you can't be playing with your phone and you get to experience that emotion live.
'I think that's wonderful because cinema attendance hasn't returned to the same level as theatre after post-pandemic… so it says a lot about theatre that that is actually what people go for, that people are willing to spend their money and their time [on it].'
The report found that cinema attendance was down by 28 per cent in the UK last year.
Mr Gracey said: 'What makes theatre unique, and that difference with cinema, is that live element, being in the room with those actors and experiencing that emotion with a group of strangers is the best thing in the world, and which is why I produce theatre.'
In the survey, 84 per cent of respondents said they were more likely to book a show if they had heard about it from friends and family, while 68 per cent said they valued familiarity with source material over recognisable celebrity names performing.
Recent star-studded casts in the West End have included celebrities Rami Malek, Tom Holland, Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick.
Elsewhere, the report found that West End ticket prices have fallen by 5.3 per cent in real terms since 2019, with more than a quarter priced under £35 and fewer than 4 per cent exceeding £150.
'I think that it's down to a combination of great shows and smart pricing,' Mr Gracey said of theatre's record numbers and revenue.