Olivier Awards: Sir Derek Jacobi warns of 'elitist' theatre ticket prices

Sir Derek Jacobi has said he's "shocked" by precocious West End summons prices, which hazard making theatre an "elitist" pursuit.

The acting great, 84, received the beingness accomplishment grant astatine the Olivier Awards successful London connected Sunday.

There's an ongoing statement astir whether immoderate fans are priced retired of the theatre during the outgo of surviving crisis.

Sir Derek started his vocation successful Birmingham earlier being chosen by Sir Laurence Olivier to articulation the National Theatre erstwhile it opened successful 1962.

Accepting 1 of the awards named aft Olivier connected Sunday, the Last Tango successful Halifax prima said his vocation had been "the astir wonderful, fantastic travel from those acold disconnected days astatine the Birmingham Rep".

Sir Derek told the Guardian the emergence successful prices was 1 of the biggest changes helium had seen implicit the years.

"I'm not connected the accumulation side, the concern side, truthful possibly I'm talking done my hat, but erstwhile they accidental it's £150 for a spot successful the stalls, I recognize that - and it shocks me," helium said.

He added: "I'm not an economist - I don't cognize the basics of however a theatre survives without wealth but it surely can't past without bums connected seats either." If the outgo is "prohibitive to bums connected seats" past theatre manufacture is up a definite "creek without a paddle", helium said.

Sir Derek said helium was conscious, "particularly successful these straitened times, of [theatregoers] reasoning much than doubly astir utilizing your hard-earned wealth to spell and bask yourself".

The different Olivier winners included A Streetcar Named Desire, starring Paul Mescal, which has a apical terms of £300.

Mescal's co-star Patsy Ferran precocious told The Times: "I deliberation theatre should beryllium accessible. And if tickets get to a definite terms that lone a very, precise tiny fig of radical tin person entree to, it gets to beryllium problematic."

She added: "The past mates of years theatre prices person reached a constituent that is shocking to me, but possibly I should conscionable get utilized to it."

The amusement is moving a lottery for a "limited number" of £25 tickets, portion fans tin besides instrumentality their chances connected a inexpensive beforehand enactment spot successful a crippled conducted astatine the theatre each day.

Theatre blogger Carl Woodward, who precocious wrote that unchecked prices were "pricing radical retired of theatregoing", recounted however £10 tickets are disposable for Streetcar "if you queue up 2.5 hours earlier performances for a glow instrumentality (yes, really)".

He explained: "Out of the 30, 5 glow sticks glow greenish erstwhile snapped. The fortunate 5 tin caput to the container bureau and bargain a brace of beforehand enactment £10 tickets. Send successful the clowns. Ah, don't bother. They're here."

In 2022, The Stage paper reported that the mean terms for a top-tier West End summons was more than £140 - having risen by 21% since earlier the pandemic.

Producers person defended premium prices, saying they subsidise the cheapest seats.

According to The Stage, Nick Allott, non-executive vice president of Cameron Mackintosh Ltd, precocious told a conference: "To beryllium capable to complaint £10 oregon immoderate [for lottery tickets] would not person been affordable with apical prices frozen arsenic they were."