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Secrets of the seat fillers: London's labyrinth of free theatre tickets

A number of agencies offer freebies for struggling shows, but the growth in ‘papering’ doesn’t seem to be harming sales

Theatre in London can mean an expensive night out. While lots of venues have their own schemes for cheaper tickets, another option is to join the ranks of the paperers.

Operating beneath the surface of theatreland, paperers pay only the marginal booking fees levied on free tickets to struggling shows – those that have been panned by critics or haven’t got their attention. I’ve been able to impress friends and family by treating them to off-the-wall and experimental plays, as well as musicals, ballet and opera. Paperers – so called because they paper over gaps in an audience – help conceal that a show is struggling and hopefully lend it a word-of-mouth boost, if it’s any good.

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from Culture | The Guardian https://ift.tt/2EVagrf
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