The "new" Royal Opera House, Covent Garden

[Scheherezade]

I walked through without a single ticket check, both at the start and after the intervals. The ushers on duty smiled very pleasantly and just let me through. Perhaps it was because I looked particularly purposeful and made a point of smiling back.

[Xandra Newman]

12 hours ago, penelopesimpson said:

It IS a lovely place to have a drink but shouldn't this be a lovely place for people who have bought a ticket?  You don't go to a restaurant and have other people sitting at your table.  I am simply suggesting that entry should be restricted to ticket holders during performance times.

 

FULLY agree! Many years ago it used to be like that. I remember the ROH was open in the morning to everybody,  I was able to buy a coffee and sit on the terrace but after a certain time (I think it was 13:00 or 14:00) the ROH would close to the walk-in public. Much fairer to those who had spent money on a ticket.

[ninamargaret]

can't imagine a well heeled opera patron who has paid around £280for a ticket being very happy at having to stand while someone sits over a coffee and their laptop! Or is this a subtle way of getting rid of elitism?

[capybara]

Access to the 'old' foyer was restricted to one door last night, resulting in a ridiculous queue out into Bow Street. This (new) approach seemed related to random bag checks.

My ticket was checked at 4 different points - even en route to the ladies!

[Fonty]

2 hours ago, ninamargaret said:

can't imagine a well heeled opera patron who has paid around £280for a ticket being very happy at having to stand while someone sits over a coffee and their laptop! Or is this a subtle way of getting rid of elitism?

 

Well, this hard up ballet goer who frequents the cheap seats in the amphitheatre is extremely annoyed at the thought!

[Anna C]

2 hours ago, capybara said:

Access to the 'old' foyer was restricted to one door last night, resulting in a ridiculous queue out into Bow Street. This (new) approach seemed related to random bag checks.

My ticket was checked at 4 different points - even en route to the ladies!

 

My ticket was checked twice; once at the door from the old Bow Street foyer into the lift and stairs area, again at “Door 1D” which I think was formerly Stalls Circle Right.  We waltzed in from the Piazza (the revolving door got stuck twice) without a bag or ticket check.  I asked a staff member about bags and he said they’re now doing “random” bag checks because the terrorist threat had reduced.  An interesting coincidence that the threat level was apparently lowered precisely when the “Open Up” project was completed.....🤔

[Richard LH]

36 minutes ago, Anna C said:

I asked a staff member about bags and he said they’re now doing “random” bag checks because the terrorist threat had reduced.

Well let's hope he is more in tune with the current risks than MI5, who still have the terrorist threat level as "Severe", meaning an attack is highly likely. Whether bag checks (random or otherwise) make much difference, though, is another matter. 

[Anna C]

8 minutes ago, Richard LH said:

Well let's hope he is more in tune with the current risks than MI5, who still have the terrorist threat level as "Severe", meaning an attack is highly likely. Whether bag checks (random or otherwise) make much difference, though, is another matter. 

 

Indeed. He did “reassure” me that the ROH gets its information from the Met Office (!) and that Met Police say the threat level is now reduced.  I dispute this because as you say, it is still listed as severe which it has been for some time.  

 

The bag checks were at least slightly reassuring so it’s disappointing that they have been reduced - and that I felt fobbed off when I enquired.  “Met Office”; honestly. 

[Fiz]

I was wondering what the weather had to do with it! 🙄

[bridiem]

Maybe he was talking about the snow/rain issue in Mayerling? 😁

[Balletfanp]

55 minutes ago, Richard LH said:

Well let's hope he is more in tune with the current risks than MI5, who still have the terrorist threat level as "Severe", meaning an attack is highly likely. Whether bag checks (random or otherwise) make much difference, though, is another matter. 

 

Given that the bag searches I have experienced at the ROH have been cursory at best, I would highly doubt that they make a difference!

[Anna C]

5 minutes ago, bridiem said:

Maybe he was talking about the snow/rain issue in Mayerling? 😁

 

I did wonder! 😂😂

[Anna C]

4 minutes ago, Balletfanp said:

 

Given that the bag searches I have experienced at the ROH have been cursory at best, I would highly doubt that they make a difference!

 

I know.  At least they were making an effort, I suppose.  It’s not as if all the nearby theatres have also stopped.

[graemew]

We attended the Opening Night for Mayerling and felt the "flow" around the building worked well. The Ampitheatre Level 5 cloakroom worked extremely well (particularly compared with what we have put up with for the last year or more) and the new staircase from the bottom of the escalator down to the exit was a boom in avoiding the "old" crush as the flow mixed with patrons leaving the stalls. I asked an usher about the lack of security and was advised that there had been close consultation with the Security Services and that there were "people around". Must have been the gent in the raincoat and trilby leaning against a pillar reading the "Standard".

[penelopesimpson]

13 hours ago, ninamargaret said:

can't imagine a well heeled opera patron who has paid around £280for a ticket being very happy at having to stand while someone sits over a coffee and their laptop! Or is this a subtle way of getting rid of elitism?

Why is it elite to spend your money on the Arts?  I drive an old car, rarely go on holiday and don’t go to the cinema or smoke.  (Also don’t do the horses/dogs/bingo, but don’t brand those who do as tasteless plebs)  But I do buy good seats at ROH and enjoy a glass in the Interval.  Discretionary spending is surely a matter of choice, not a class thing?

 

Not questioning your post, NinaMargaret, just fed up with being labelled.

Edited October 26, 2018 by penelopesimpson

[penelopesimpson]

The only time my ticket was checked last week was when I left my coat.  I questioned this and was told that people who were not attending performances had been abusing the facility.

 

Now I am really confused.  They threw the place open to the world, what did they expect?  Where does it say you need a ticket to leave a coat?  Did anyone think all this through?

[ninamargaret]

46 minutes ago, penelopesimpson said:

Why is it elite to spend your money on the Arts?  I drive an old car, rarely go on holiday and don’t go to the cinema or smoke.  (Also don’t do the horses/dogs/bingo, but don’t brand those who do as tasteless plebs)  But I do buy good seats at ROH and enjoy a glass in the Interval.  Discretionary spending is surely a matter of choice, not a class thing?

 

Not questioning your post, NinaMargaret, just fed up with being labelled.

Interestingly enough I attended a small focus group at my local theatre today, partly aimed at attracting new audiences, and I was not the only person complaining bitterly at the way anyone who has,an interest in the arts is branded as elitist. A member of the group said she was still annoyed that when the big renovation at the ROH  took place a newspaper headline made much of the fact that lottery funding had been used to pay for entertainment for ' the toffs'! But no one commented about football fans going halfway around the world to see matches!

Edited October 26, 2018 by ninamargaret
Spelling correction

[Sim]

2 hours ago, penelopesimpson said:

The only time my ticket was checked last week was when I left my coat.  I questioned this and was told that people who were not attending performances had been abusing the facility.

 

Now I am really confused.  They threw the place open to the world, what did they expect?  Where does it say you need a ticket to leave a coat?  Did anyone think all this through?

No. 

[capybara]

11 hours ago, penelopesimpson said:

Now I am really confused.  They threw the place open to the world, what did they expect?  Where does it say you need a ticket to leave a coat?  Did anyone think all this through?

 

I don't think that the ROH 'front of house' team understands about risk analysis and thinking through the possible unintended consequences of their new policy. It seems to be a case of "let's see how it goes" and "problem-solve along the way".

[penelopesimpson]

Definitely irritating but, more worrying, that they seem to be adopting the same approach to Security.  If there was ever a problem, they would be castigated for removing security checks at the same time as opening the building to anyone and having absolutely no idea who was inside.  

[ninamargaret]

45 minutes ago, penelopesimpson said:

Definitely irritating but, more worrying, that they seem to be adopting the same approach to Security.  If there was ever a problem, they would be castigated for removing security checks at the same time as opening the building to anyone and having absolutely no idea who was inside.  

Or where they were!

[Xandra Newman]

I have been to some theatres where you have no other way of getting in but to go through metal detectors and EVERY bag is searched (not randomly as at the ROH) before you are let in. It feels very reassuring being in such theatres but the ROH seemingly doesn't feel the need to do this.The total lack of security at the ROH worries me. The seemingly indifferent attitude towards any serious security measure is beyond me. With apparently sporadic ticket checking just about anybody can walk into the auditorium (...and they are not always wearing a beard). Unbelievable!

[Colman]

I’m fascinated to know why people are so attached to intrusive security measures that wouldn’t  have stopped any recent attack and generally only have the effect of lining up people nicely for anyone planning carry out the sort of attacks that have been happening. Is it possible that they’ve done a threat analysis and come to the conclusion that it’s pointless? That they do have security staff watching for people acting suspiciously instead? 

[ninamargaret]

to be fair, the National Theatre. which has a similar open to all policy, does not have any obvious security arrangements, other than an occasional security man and a sign saying you can't take large bags into the theatres. while it may be more welcoming to just be able to  wander in, I think some sort of security should be obvious. And the physical lay out of the Opera House seems, to me, to offer rather more opportunities for people to stray off the more public areas.

[graemew]

Whenever there have been increased National levels of security my experience is that the ROH has been quick to respond and appeared to do so in a thorough manner. With this in mind I would be surprised if security issues have been pushed into Any Other Business and not been seriously evaluated.  Perhaps I'm in Cloud Cuckoo Land

[Amelia]

I went recently to see "Lady Windermere’s Fan" at Vaudeville Theatre, which is 5-min. walk from the ROH. The security at the entrance was very strict. They checked my handbag properly and discovered “a weapon” — a comb with a long pin-like metallic end. They removed it, wrapped it in a piece of paper and gave me a small paper ticket for getting my comb back after the performance.
I would better prefer this system to free-for-all entry without a check.

[Colman]

You were planning to stab someone with a  comb?

[JennyTaylor]

35 minutes ago, Colman said:

You were planning to stab someone with a  comb?

This reminds me when I went to a football match in Nice (very low key) and they confiscated a bottle of Sun cream.  What did they think I was going to do with it??  I managed to retrieve it at half time 

[penelopesimpson]

7 hours ago, graemew said:

Whenever there have been increased National levels of security my experience is that the ROH has been quick to respond and appeared to do so in a thorough manner. With this in mind I would be surprised if security issues have been pushed into Any Other Business and not been seriously evaluated.  Perhaps I'm in Cloud Cuckoo Land

Hmm.  If that is the case, then all the other venues practicing good security are 'out of the loop?'

[graemew]

20 minutes ago, penelopesimpson said:

Hmm.  If that is the case, then all the other venues practicing good security are 'out of the loop?'

How do the Barbican, Royal Festival Hall or National Theatre compare? Not been to any of those for a while but they all similarly placed walk-in venues.

[Anna C]

3 minutes ago, graemew said:

How do the Barbican, Royal Festival Hall or National Theatre compare? Not been to any of those for a while but they all similarly placed walk-in venues.

 

That’s a good question, although I’d also ask how often those venues are evacuated? From memory, the ROH was evacuated in February due to a “suspicious package” and a google search also reports evacuations in May and December 2017.  It’s one thing to evacuate when you have a good idea of who is still in the building (staff, dancers, musicians and ticket holders), quite another when you have members of the public in and out all day.   Obviously that’s not a problem that’s limited to the ROH but it must be a logistical nuisance. 

 

 

[Amelia]

3 hours ago, Colman said:

You were planning to stab someone with a  comb?

 

I just remembered now that this comb was also 'confiscated' on the first day when the bags check was introduced by the British Museum.

[Colman]

9 hours ago, Amelia said:

 

I just remembered now that this comb was also 'confiscated' on the first day when the bags check was introduced by the British Museum.

 

I’m now imagining some sort of foot-long tactical comb in black metal with built-in taser.

Edited October 28, 2018 by Colman