Do you go to the theatre alone?

[mkmswain]

Posted: 1/29/18 at 10:37am

Lyn Gardner wrote in her column about enjoying going to theatre alone, but feels there's a bit of a stigma attached.

Do you like going to the theatre on your own, and if so, what are some of the benefits? And do theatres make it easy/welcoming?

[nataliealana]

Posted: 1/29/18 at 2:59pm

I often prefer it! Sometimes I find myself very conscious of whether my companion is enjoying a show. Don't get me wrong, when they do love something it does enhance my enjoyment of night. But there is absolutely nothing worse than sitting next to someone with their face tripping them.

The only problem I find it sometimes with unassigned seating at a Fringe show I'll pick my seat and be there early and at the last minute someone in a pair asks me to move so they can sit together. Grumble grumble.

[TimWright]

Posted: 1/30/18 at 5:16am

I used to do this a lot. Often WE theatres are quite accommodating to last minute singles at the box office so it can be very good value. I've often sat in an unsold 'premium' seat at a stand-by rate. 

I quite like it but I can see why it's intimidating, it's still seen as a social activity. 

[Gary Naylor]

Posted: 1/30/18 at 7:40am

I prefer to go Plus One, but I've no problem going alone.

But I grew up with a mother who worked in a cinema so I would often be watching a movie alone in the matinees having been comped in. (At 18 or so, I went in to see a Gene Wilder / Richard Pryor buddy bromance vehicle and the support movie - we had them in the 80s - was Richard Pryor Live On Sunset Strip. Well that was a surprise...)  

[PatrickDC]

Posted: 1/31/18 at 10:07pm

I'm absolutely fine going by myself as you can usually score some amazing single seats. And sometimes you meet interesting people you might not otherwise meet if you were chatting with friends. On my first trip to London in 1990, I went to ASPECTS OF LOVE at the Prince of Wales. I sat next to another single, a professor from Nottingham Trent University. We chatted at intermission, and he suggested we have a pint afterward. Wish I could remember the pub but it was about two blocks away from the theater. We had a lovely, long conversation about AOL and other theater. (I still recall we both loved Maria Bjornson's set piece when the brick wall of the mansion in Pau broke apart to represent the Pyrenees. God, I adored Maria's work.) We wrote each other occasionally -- I love a man who handwrites correspondence, though back then it was more common -- about shows we'd seen. Sadly, about five years later he passed from AIDS, but I really cherished his long-distance friendship even though we never saw each other in person again.  

[spiewak]

Posted: 1/31/18 at 10:45pm

I've never done it, but I respect people who have and thing it can be a nice option. There's something refreshing about not having to rely on/communicate with anyone else. 

Plus, once the show starts, doesn't matter who's around me :)

[Lot666]

Posted: 2/1/18 at 8:37am

I have absolutely no problem with going to the theatre alone, and have done it many times in both New York and London. I don't even think about it; if there's something I want to see and my husband or other traveling companion isn't interested, I just buy one ticket. I've never felt uncomfortable attending any show alone.

[candydog2]

Posted: 2/15/18 at 8:31pm

Most of my theatre trips involve me going alone to be honest! I have friends who enjoy theatre, but actually booking tickets with someone else is a bit of a scheduling nightmare, and then there's the pricing on possibly different budgets. Not to mention getting your always-late-for-everything friend to the theatre on time. Living in a city, everyone is always so busy - it's nice to just book a ticket for myself and enjoy the show without having to worry about getting a second person there.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 2/26/18 at 1:22pm

I frequently go alone.  Love it.   It's not that I mind going with friends, etc...I just love the freedom that comes along with it.  

[carolinaguy]

Posted: 2/26/18 at 2:41pm

I frequently go alone and I've never had a problem. Even when I go with friends, we often don't sit together because several of us really prefer aisle seats, so we end up sitting across from or behind/in front of each other. As someone said, once the show starts it makes no difference anyway. I would say the only disadvantage is that there's no one to watch your stuff at your seat if you need to run to the restroom during intermission, so you have to take it all with you.

[petey_p]

Posted: 3/6/18 at 3:03pm

I much prefer going alone to movies and plays. Like someone else mentioned, I am always very conscious of the reaction of my companion(s) if I see something with a friend. Obviously one is aware of the collective energy in the room when watching something, and that is why I watch very little film or theatre at home on my own screens. I like being part of a group, but not necessarily a group of intimates. Certainly if I find myself next to another singleton a conversation will usually ensue, but even then I prefer not hearing their opinions: if I'm liking something I feel a very magical bubble has been formed between me and the performers and the production and I hate having that broken in any way.

[Musical-Matt]

Posted: 3/7/18 at 5:41pm

I often prefer to go alone.....then there is nobody to annoy you! but also I like to go with my mum as that is how I got into theatre. Since meeting my now wife (who had never been to the theatre before meeting me) go together as it is something that I got her into and we enjoy it as a hobby together.

Sometimes I find going on my own is therapeutic.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 3/10/18 at 10:25am

Going to the theatre alone is one of my favorite things. You don't have to worry about if the person you are with is enjoying the show or not. You can truly just take in the experience for yourself. I thoroughly enjoy going with friends and my mom as well, but there's something very freeing and relaxing about going alone.

[rosscoe(au)]

Posted: 3/10/18 at 9:00pm

When I do theatre trips to both London and New York I go alone, I have dinner in restaurants by myself as well. Have no problem with it. Also mostly do holidays on my own. 

Have always managed to get great seats in London by being a solo theatre go’er, most of them day seats at wonderful prices 

[BIG BALONEY]

Posted: 3/11/18 at 8:34am

I love going solo because of the freedom it gives you in many ways.

[uncageg]

Posted: 3/27/18 at 1:39pm

I go alone a lot. Mostly because people I have asked in the past to join me have been undecided or back out.

If it is a serious play, I prefer to go alone. I enjoy attending musicals and comedies with a friend.

[Demitri2]

Posted: 3/29/18 at 1:23pm

As stated by others, the best thing about going alone is having much more luck scoring a single ticket especially if it's a hit show. 

[dunebuddy]

Posted: 4/21/18 at 7:22pm

I do prefer going to the theater with someone as I enjoy sharing the experience and talking about the show when it's over.

More often than not, however, I find that I do go alone.  My husband is not as big a fan of the theater as I am so I get concerned as to whether he is enjoying it.  On more than one occassion when he did come with me, once the lights went out his eyes would close and he would fall asleep. (He does the same at the cinema as well).   After spending big bucks on a performance, that really pisses me off.  So it's come to the point now that I don't even ask him to join me anymore when I do my theater sojourns to the City.  No problems with that as I find myself enjoying the experience more not having to concern myself with him.

[BWF]

Posted: 6/3/18 at 9:56am

I have no problem going on my own if its something I want to see.

[raddersons]

Posted: 6/4/18 at 6:30pm

I didn't really start analyzing theater until I started to go alone. Now I only go with my fellow theater-obsessives or by myself -- it lets me analyze and break down the performance without worrying whether or not my friend is having fun or not.

[Gizmo6]

Posted: 6/4/18 at 6:50pm

PatrickDC said: "I'm absolutely fine going by myself as you can usually score some amazing single seats. And sometimes you meet interesting people you might not otherwise meet if you were chatting with friends. On my first trip to London in 1990, I went to ASPECTS OF LOVE at the Prince of Wales. I sat next to another single, a professor from Nottingham Trent University. We chatted at intermission, and he suggested we have apint afterward. Wish I could remember the pub but it was about two blocks away from the theater. We had a lovely, long conversation about AOL and other theater. (I still recall we both loved Maria Bjornson's set piece when the brick wall of the mansion in Pau broke apart to represent the Pyrenees. God, I adored Maria's work.) We wrote each other occasionally -- I love a man who handwrites correspondence, though back then it was more common-- about shows we'd seen. Sadly, about five years later he passed from AIDS, but I really cherished his long-distance friendship even though we never saw each other in person again."

That’s such a touching story Patrick and a lovely testament to the man you fondly remember all these years after a brief encounter. And yet a tragic reminder of the AIDS epidemic. 

I go to the theatre alone all the time, I used to be fascinated by all the ‘old dears’ who went alone and now I’m becoming one of them, I love sharing stories with other lone theatre goers especially the ‘old dears’ who amaze me with wonderful tales of productions past. 

[Eastwickian]

Posted: 6/5/18 at 6:38pm

Yep, for most of my ‘intense’ years of theatre-going I went by myself - as a number of others have said, you can often get good deals on single tickets (for less popular shows) and it was the only way I could afford it! Now I’m married and my wife isn’t really into theatre I still prefer going alone as I’m always a bit worried about whether she’s enjoying it and that tends to distract me (even if she is!).

I’m not the chatty type - I prefer to wander around the theatre and read my programme pre-show, though always happy if someone more gregarious strikes up conversation :)

[Paterson]

Posted: 6/15/18 at 3:18pm

I enjoy the occasional solo theatre trip, and always had a good experience.  There was that one time when I got a bit of a funny look when I cracked open my cocktail in a can before the (evening) show started, but I think that may have been jealousy! Like many others here, I've benefitted from a better seat, and I enjoy reading a programme in the calm before a performance, and looking around the theatre doing a bit of people watching during the interval.

It feels very indulgent, as you are there just for your own benefit, and doubly so if its a week day matinee when I'd normally be at work!

I used to go to the cinema on my own a lot when I was a student. I liked to go to the local art house cinema, which didn't have multiple screenings of each film, so without much choice of when to see a film, you often had the choice of seeing it on your own, or not at all. Getting over that mental hump of going on your own is very liberating.

[LexiGirl]

Posted: 6/22/18 at 6:02pm

Absolutely! I usually go with someone, but there have been several times when I’ve gone to NYC by myself or with my husband while he was working, so I’d go to shows alone. I liked it because I didn’t have to worry about the person going with me trying to talk me out of buying the higher priced tickets. I often got better seats because it was just me. And many times I’ve sat next to people who were very nice and talkative, sometimes also by themselves or with another person. Plus if you go with someone who doesn’t enjoy theatre as much as you do, it kinda sucks the fun out of it if they don’t like the show. So mostly great experiences for me!

[Loopin’theloop]

Posted: 6/22/18 at 8:51pm

I don’t get why some people make such a big deal out of it, like eating alone. There are people horrified at the thought of eating alone, which I find so weird. Some of my favourite parts of the week are alone having lunch, possibly with a book or just my thoughts.

Anyway, we all the posters above have said, I love going to the theatre alone. It isn’t very often but it’s soneibething I enjoy