Director Jamie Lloyd blasts 'outrageous' theatre ticket prices

High theatre ticket prices in the West End are “creating a divide in the audience between the rich and the poor”, a top director has claimed.

Jamie Lloyd, who launched Doctor Faustus at the Duke of York’s Theatre starring Game Of Thrones’ Kit Harington last week, called the industry “corrupt” over decisions to charge more than £100 for some tickets.

In an interview with theatre magazine The Stage, he said despite people being willing to pay such high prices, it did not mean charging them was right.

Jamie, who has won an Olivier award and an Evening Standard award for past productions, also directed The Maids with Zawe Ashton and Downton Abbey’s Laura Carmichael, and Macbeth, which featured James McAvoy.

His production group, The Jamie Lloyd Company, runs a £15 Mondays scheme which makes every seat in the auditorium accessible at the reduced rate.

He described charging more than £100 for tickets as “outrageous” and said: “Like our Government, we are creating a divide in the audience between the rich and the poor. People will pay for them, but that does not mean it is right.”