Dominic West: Broadway Audiences 'Don't Necessarily Want to Be There'

Dominic West has said that audience subscriptions mean that theatregoers on Broadway do not "necessarily want to be there."

West was speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, as the West End transfer was announced for his upcoming appearance in A View From The Bridge. The actor spoke in favour of the opportunity to attract new theatregoers, as the production at the Theatre Royal Haymarket will offer 100 tickets for each performance for £20 to those under 25 years old.

Asked if he got a different feel about the audience members who want to be there or are part of a package deal, he said:

“My experience in New York really affected that-they have subscription audiences there so people buy tickets for a whole season so they don’t necessarily want to be there, whereas when I’ve worked in my hometown of Sheffield a few times, they’re queueing round the block for the first preview, in Bath there’s a similarly very, very loyal local audience who are very hungry to see great plays”

The actor has previously spoken out about how he believes that West End audiences are full of tourists who do not want to be there and how highly he values regional theatre. 

Presenter Mishal Husain asked if the motivation of the audience makes a difference to him or gives him more energy.

“I think it does" West responded "the theatre is all about complicity between an audience and an actor, it’s about what you get from a live audience, as opposed to a different medium. An audience’s energy inevitably affects you, where the laughs come, where the shocks come, where the gasps come..and so an audience’s enthusiasm really feeds your performance”

Speaking of his experience playing the then Prince Charles in Netflix’s The Crown, he said that it was “a relief to go back to the theatre and not have to talk about the monarchy anymore.”

Having met King Charles and done work for The Prince’s Trust, West said he was reluctant to take on the role of the Prince of Wales in the show, but “you don’t turn down a Peter Morgan script very easily. He’s such a great writer and it’s such a great show, I loved being on it. I loved wearing the clothes, I loved driving the cars and I loved having people bow to me, it was an absolutely wonderful feeling-I miss it!”

A View From A Bridge is at Ustinov Studio, Theatre Royal Bath from 16 February to 16 March, then transfers to Theatre Royal Haymarket from 23 May to 3 August