‘The drama’s laws the drama’s patrons give,” wrote Dr Johnson. He was wrong about aesthetics but he was right about audience power as proved by the news that the National Theatre in London is to pilot a scheme from February whereby selected performances will begin at 6.30pm. This is in response to a survey of 8,000 theatregoers who voted overwhelmingly for an earlier starting time.
It is the reasons people gave that are fascinating: they want more time to eat, to catch a train home and to discuss the performance. Although as a deadline-conscious critic I hardly ever ate out after a show, I was acutely aware of the problems involved: unlike Spain or Italy, we are not a late-night culture and, even if you could find a restaurant still open after the play, the waiters often made it clear that they too had homes to go to. I also sympathise with the transport issue: after 10pm trains, in particular, become less frequent and I’ve spent many a late night killing time at Waterloo station wondering whether I would ever see my suburban home again.
