I am privileged to be invited to a lot of shows for free these days and often I am sat in the best seats. When this happens I always look around me and wonder how much other people have paid for their tickets. £60, £80, maybe even over £100. And what does that money buy you? A centrally positioned seat about 8 or so rows from the front. The perfect seat to see the entire stage from.
But what happens when someone sits in front of you, a foot or so taller than you? Your perfectly centred view of the stage suddenly becomes the worst seat in the house because you have a head directly in front of you and very little view of where the main action (the centre) is taking place on stage.
This happened recently where a tall man sat in front of a small old lady (no, not me). She caused a slight fuss and the man happily swapped places with his smaller friend so she could see more. But what is the etiquette in these situations? The man was entitled not to move, he had probably paid just as much for his ticket as she had. And then who’s to say he didn’t end up sitting in front of someone else rather on the short side?
Is it acceptable to ask theatre staff for a booster seat if your view is obstructed? Or does this then cause a knock on effect with every subsequent person behind you in the row?
Can you ever really guarantee getting a good view at the theatre or it is just luck? There is a big difference between £15 and £150, so surely for that money you would like a guarantee that you can see the whole show?
I won’t usually pay more than £45 for a ticket to see any show. But should people who do pay premium prices expect a guaranteed premium view?
