But it needn’t be this way, at least during the remaining weeks of this summer. Across the country, there are many cultural seasons and special schemes that offer the budget-conscious the chance to experience most aspects of the performing arts without having to resort to loan sharks and credit extensions. One of the most high-profile, the free Three Tenors concert in Bath, in August, has already allocated its 7,000 tickets, but here are some other arts events that cost less than some West End cinema tickets or, indeed, nothing at all.
The Edinburgh Festival from this Friday will be introducing its Gateway Weekend, during which performances of theatre, opera, dance and music will be free to those under the age of 26. Audiences will be able to choose from events including Fiona Shaw and Jodhi May in The Seagull, Sir Charles Mackerras and Garry Walker conducting the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Sweden’s Cullberg Ballet, and The Last Night of Mankind, a play performed by the Argentine company El Periferico de Objetos.
Tickets will be available an hour and a half before each performance, which could mean big queues, but it’s a small price to pay for what amounts to a free preview of highlights to come. Also, Edinburgh will be continuing its successful Turn Up and Try It ticket scheme; 50 seats at £5 a throw will be available on the door an hour before every event during the three weeks of the festival.
Further south, Liverpool is still basking in the shock and awe of being named European Capital of Culture 2008 and has decided to kick things off as early as possible with a special celebratory day on August 20. There will be free entry to Tate Liverpool’s Paul Nash exhibition, the chance to win a holiday in Dublin if you visit two out of the city’s eight museums, and in the evening the opportunity to sing along with Darren Day and Christopher Biggins in Summer Holiday at the Empire Theatre, where all seat prices will be slashed to £10.
Not to be outshone by this theatrical landmark event, the RSC in Stratford will be holding its Festival Proms Week (Aug 25-30), during which 200 tickets for each performance of Richard III, Measure for Measure and The Taming of the Shrew will be on offer on the day, also at just £10 each. Audiences will be able to combine this with a visit to the RSC TOP Summer, a season of drama, live music and workshops that runs throughout the day at The Other Place, from August 15 to 31. None of the events here costs more than £5 a ticket — many are free — and include poetry and prose readings, and performances of short plays.
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London’s theatre has been hit by the downturn in tourism, but the upside to this is more seats for the home-grown fan. And there’s less excuse to complain about the expense. The National Theatre is continuing its hugely successful Travelex £10 season throughout the coming months, with reduced-price tickets for four of its critically acclaimed productions: Henry V, His Girl Friday, Tales from the Vienna Woods and Edmond, with Kenneth Branagh.
Meanwhile, outside its main doors, the Watch This Space free festival boasts more than 100 performances and 75 acts. Having “scoured festivals around the world” to find the best outdoor entertainment, the National is offering an eclectic daily mix of music, comedy, street theatre and acrobatics that continues until August 23. The afternoon and early evening line-ups include everything from world jazz and Indo-rock fusion to Argentinian rapping and contemporary Spanish dance.
There are more traditional ways to enjoy music in London without breaking the bank. Kenwood’s outdoor lakeside concerts in Hampstead continue every Saturday until August 30, and although it certainly costs if you sit in the special enclosure, it’s perfectly possible to enjoy the music for nothing if you join the picnicking thousands sitting in the grounds and don’t mind not seeing the orchestra. And it’s probably one of the most beautiful settings in London.
Elsewhere in the capital, the much publicised refiguring of Trafalgar Square has meant that the all-free Summer in the Square festival has been expanded to take advantage of the new pedestrianised space. Following the giant giraffes that appeared there last weekend, there will be displays of Australian puppetry, an afternoon of Brazilian music and carnival, and a performance by Pegasus Opera, the country’s only multicultural opera company. The finale on September 24 is Let There Be Light!, a concoction of lighting effects and inflatables from the French Compagnie de Quidams.
It’s arguable that the Proms Season, the grandaddy of them all, remains the cheapest way to see the world’s cultural finest — a whole musical education for £4 a standing ticket. But music fans who can’t make it to London might be able to join in at least on the Last Night on September 13. The Proms in the Park outdoor concerts, featuring live big-screen link-ups with the Albert Hall, are happening around the UK on a grand scale. In Belfast, tickets are free in advance, in Glasgow just £7.50 and in Swansea a mere £6.50 in advance (or £8 on the day). With those prices, you could have a pizza supper and change left from a £20 note.