Todaytix for Affordable Theatre tickets in London
Todaytix is a free ticketing app that has been running in New York since 2013, where it has been dubbed Broadway’s version of taxi app Uber. It is available in London, offering tickets for more than 40 shows that Todaytix claims can be bought in 30 seconds or less using the app. Users can search by date, price, genre and location, with tickets available from a week to 60 minutes before a show. Tickets are available for shows both on the fringe and in the West End, including Memphis and War Horse.
The app has been created by Broadway producer Merritt Baer and investor Brian Fenty, who claimed it would help discover “a new generation of theatregoing audiences”. In New York, the average age of users of Todaytix is 32, against an average Broadway audience age of 44.
Baer and Fenty said: “London’s West End is synonymous with theatre and we are ecstatic to be able to offer a service that makes theatre more accessible than ever.” Fenty explained that in New York, when the app was used to sell tickets for Let the Right One In at St Ann's, research had shown that the majority of people using Todaytix to see the show had never been to the venue before. "As we look to the future life and health of the theatre industry, an app like ours will appeal to new and younger audiences, and we can really bring in that next generation of theatregoers," he said.
Users who buy tickets using the app will pay a £3 charge per ticket. "That's all it will ever be. It does not scale based on the price of a ticket and we will never mark up ticket prices. We try to be as transparent as possible," Fenty said. The founders claimed that 30% of tickets for West End shows go unsold each year, and that the app would “create a meaningful bridge by offering users the unique ability to browse a wide range of West End shows”.
Using the app, which is part of the Society of Ticket Agents and Retailers, audience members will also be able to rate shows and receive notifications about when sold-out productions become available. Fenty added that theatre companies such as Delfont Mackintosh and Nimax had met him and Baer with "open arms". "We will have most of the West End's shows represented on our app," he added. Baer explained that the London team running the app currently comprises three people, but said this would expand over time. Baer’s credits as a producer include The Merchant of Venice, starring Al Pacino, in 2010.