Welcome to our Frequently Asked Questions page – here’s some answers to some of the things we get asked most regularly!

Why are all the seats not on sale straight away?

We try to make sure we have a mix of shows across our year – some have broad audiences and others are more niche, some will sell out and others will sell 50% – 70% of the seats available. We noticed that for those show that didn’t sell out we had a problem –the audience would be spread out and areas of the auditorium would feel bare. While we always aim to sell everything we can, we don’t always hit 100% – we have a strong belief that the experience of live theatre is improved by an auditorium being full – being around people also enjoying the same experience – if we can’t do that (which we can’t for everything) then we ensure a great experience by making sure that the auditorium feels busy.

Noone likes looking at empty seats so, as people tend to look forward and to the side during shows and rarely behind them, it means it made sense for us to try and get people further forward in the auditorium through a combination of locking the back of the house at first and changes to our prices. We’ve been doing this for the last 6 months and on the whole, and for the large majority of our audiences, it has improved the experience.

In terms of seating availability, we review availability on a weekly basis and release seats when demand requires it (we aim to have at least 80 seats onsale for all show to ensure people have options). Crucially we’ve also changed our pricing so that seats are cheaper towards the front and more expensive towards the back – to encourage early booking and also to help the auditorium fill in a way that’s conducive to making the house feel more busy. All this is really helping us with our longer term sustainability ensuring that we can continue to produce our own work, work with the community and keep bringing world renowned companies to our stage.

How can I see a show for a lower price?

Excellent question.

Across most shows we present 10% of the tickets sold at the lowest advertised price (usually £10) and for our own, Theatr Clwyd produced shows, Open Dress performances prices are just £5. For shows that are in high demand ticket prices may increase so it’s always better to book early to get the best seats at the best available prices. People who subscribe (which is well worth doing) can also save up to 30% of the ticket price (if they book early). If you need any help or advice then please ring our box office (01352 344101) who’ll be able to advise you on the best price available for any individual performance or across a show’s run.

Our top tips:

• Book early – the tickets will be a lower price in better locations than if you book late.
• Buy a subscription – subscribers save a significant amount by booking multiple shows
• Become a member – members find our about shows before anyone else and have the first opportunity to purchase lower priced seats.

Why are tickets for certain shows more expensive?

Our pricing works to balance two priorities:

• Making sure we have accessibly priced tickets so that people with low-incomes can see our work
• Making sure that we are financially sustainable so that we can continue creating shows and working throughout our community
• For the vast majority of shows we present, 10% of the tickets are sold at the lowest advertised price (usually £10)
• For our own, Theatr Clwyd produced shows, Open Dress performances prices are just £5
• We have substantial discounts for under 26s for most shows (generally £10 tickets for any seat on any performance)
• We work with disadvantaged groups in our community through our creative engagement team to provide low or no cost access to our work
• We are part of the HYNT scheme that gives free companion tickets for eligible people
• We have subscription deals, which, when booked early means you can see world-class theatre, in the best seats, for up to 30% less.

The first priority (accessibly priced tickets) we achieve in a few ways:

We feel this is incredibly important BUT (and this is a big but!) we have to balance it with the second priority, financial sustainability to ensure we’re here for a long time and can continue doing it. How do we do this?

• For some shows that are in high demand ticket prices may increase – if a show is popular and the lower accessibly priced tickets have all sold out, that is when increases may (but not always) happen. If we are able to release more tickets, allowing more people to see the show, we may release these at a premium price. (There will always be, where prices are advertised as “From XX”, 10% of the tickets sold at that price.)
• Our prices are similar to other comparable regional theatre’s around the UK and are considerably cheaper and more accessible that many capital city venues, commercial theatres and the West End.
• This policy allows us to continue with our accessible price initiatives.
• Book early – the tickets will be a lower price in better locations than if you book late.
• Buy a subscription – subscribers save a significant amount by booking multiple shows
• Become a member – members find out about shows earlier and have the first opportunity to purchase lower priced seats

If you want to see any of our shows for a lower price:

If you need any help or advice then please ring our box office (01352 344101) who’ll be able to advise you on the best price available for any individual performance or across a show’s run.

Why are there no concessions for senior citizens?

Concessions exist for two reasons:

• To enable low-income groups who cannot afford to come to the theatre to attend
• To enable long-term growth of audiences to ensure the theatre has audiences for generations to come.

In the past we offered a senior citizen’s concession that reduced prices by £2 – not enough to make the difference between visiting or not visiting, and a discount that wasn’t enjoyed by all audiences. However our accessible prices (on most of our productions 10% of our tickets are available for £10) means that we can make sure we’ve tickets available for £10 for each performance for anyone, offering far greater accessibility.

Of course those tickets are available to anyone, however, it is disproportionally better for older audiences, who, in general, tend to be able to plan longer in advance and book earlier.

Why do you offer a concession for those aged under 25?

Under 25s tend to book later, quite considerably later, they also tend to be the groups with the lowest disposable income. We offer a concession to this group to both help them visit financially and also to help build a sustainable audience base so that we have a long term future. It is, one of the many reasons we have such an extensive family programme – without us cultivating young people with a passion for theatre then we will find ourselves, in the long-term, with smaller and smaller audiences.

Is there air condition in the theatre and if not, why?

The theatre was built in 1976 without air conditioning and over the following years it has been a regular issue but one that, frustratingly, without major capital investment we’re unable to solve. We tried to solve the problem by hiring industrial air conditioning units but they are incredibly loud and can’t be used while the performance is happening and don’t make a substantial difference. It’s a similar situation for pretty much every non-new build theatre in the UK. What are we doing to solve it? In the short term we keep trying new ideas – all, so far have been far from the perfect solution. Long-term we’re hopefully embarking on a £30m capital redevelopment which will resolve this issue once and for all.