Olivier award-nominee veteran actor hits out at expensive £300 West End theatre tickets - saying it is time to 'sit up and scream'

Published: 09:36, 9 June 2026 | Updated: 09:41, 9 June 2026 Olivier award-nominee Paul Rhys has hit out at the 'very frightening' cost of West End theatre tickets - which have risen to more than £300 in some cases.  The 62-year-old urged people to 'sit up and scream' about the costs which, he says, are making the theatre unaffordable and pricing out families.  It comes after tickets for shows such as Inter Alia starring Rosamund Pike topped out between £278.50 and £298, while a seat to watch Sex and the City's Sarah Jessica Parker in Plaza Suite cost £395.  Rhys, who earned a Best Performance nomination for his portrayal of Edgar in King Lear, told The Times: 'When the arts are cut back in any culture, you're in danger, because voices are silenced and normal portals become reduced portals, so they become privileged echo chambers.  'I think it's very frightening. It's £250 for a theatre ticket. Well, who the f*** can afford that? I can't.  'A family of four, that's £1,000 for the tickets. I don't know who this is speaking to any more, and we have all got to sit up and scream about it.' A survey conducted in 2025 found that the most expensive tickets to West End events had risen by five per cent on the previous year.  One example saw the price of a seat at a production of Giant, starring John Lithgow as Roald Dahl, rise to as much as £436 through dynamic pricing in April 2025.  Olivier-award nominee Paul Rhys, 62, has hit out at West End theatre ticket prices which, he says, are pricing out families It comes after tickets for shows such as Inter Alia starring Rosamund Pike (pictured) topped out between £278.50 and £298 Earlier this year, the Young Vic's artistic director Nadia Fall claimed prices were at a 'tipping point' as London risked edging towards the cost of attending a Broadway show.  She also warned that overly expensive ticket prices could leave producers and actors with 'heartburn' as they battle to put on a show that justifies the cost.  'It does make my eyes water and it does make me a little bit frightened when I look at Broadway and see tickets for $400 being the norm, up to $700,' Fall said at a launch event in April.  It came after ex-Doctor Who actor David Tennant, 55, dubbed ticket costs 'ludicrous' while warning that theatres were pricing out a younger audience.  He said: 'Obviously I would like to imagine that's something that everyone should be allowed to enjoy, and yet when I'm in a show in the West End, I'm aware that there are tickets selling for ludicrous amounts of money.  'But they get sold, at which point you think: "Well, what's the theatre management meant to do?" If it's a commercial enterprise, should they be expected to give tickets away?  'The danger is you're strangling the next generation of an audience coming through.'   Theatres and touring productions have been grappling with rising expenses and financial pressure since the pandemic, with a report earlier this year finding the sector is in 'steep decline' and could reach a critical level.  The State of Touring report found that performances of drama plays on tour had dropped by almost three-quarters between 2019 and 2024.  'This steep decline is a long-term and continuing trend, which is likely to reach a critical level without intervention,' it stated.  The report, which examined theatre, music, dance and opera, also warned that the sector 'needs not just a sticking plaster but urgent corrective action.'  Despite those struggles, an estimated 37 million people visited theatres in the United Kingdom last year.  The West End, meanwhile, welcomed more than 17 million spectators - three million more than New York's Broadway. The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.