- Title: ENGLAND: FREE SEATS AT LONDON THEATRE
- Date: 1st September 1960
- Summary: 1. GV.EXT. Strand Theatre. 0.05 2. CU. Poster 'The Princess'. 0.07 3. SV. Queue for gallery. 0.10 4. LV. People enter theatre. 0.12 5. AS. Man offers money for ticket, which is refused. 0.15 6. CU. Man takes tickets, replaces money in wallet. 0.20 7. STV. Audience up staircase. 0.25 8. SV. Ted Kneeland, at box office. 0.29 9. LV. Part of performance. 0.34 10. SV. Part of performance. 0.37 11. LV. End of performance curtain comes down. 0.42 12. LV. Curtain rises. 0.44 13. GV. Audience applaud. 0.48 14. SV. Audience applaud. 0.50 Initials BA/V/WS/CW Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 16th September 1960 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: LONDON, U.K.
- City:
- Country: United Kingdom
- Reuters ID: LVA2NGU2RJLR6XZHR1RPRM5QGPLT
- Story Text: The management of London's Strand Theatre and bakers of "The Princess", which opened there Aug 23, have taken the virtually unprecedented step of admitting the public free to the show.
Free admission is for performances from Aug 31 to Sept 6 inclusive, and follows harsh Press criticisms after the First Night. The theatre and backers hope the public will judge for themselves and save the show from early closure and financial loss because of the bad write-ups.
Shortly after announcement of the free ticket scheme, it was reported the theatre had been flooded by postal applications and was already fully booked for the whole of the "free week."
Seating capacity is 1,300 and it is hoped the 10,400 who see the show free will recommend it to their friends. Audiences are being asked to fill in a questionnaire at the theatre asking their opinion of the show - a ballet-musical first presented in Florida, USA, 18 months ago.
Will this unusual promotion gambit succeed? There were moments in the Aug 31 performance when the audience's applause clearly gave hopes of success.
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