I wanted to go to the Schauspielhaus Hamburg with my friend, but the prices are absolutely crazy. For two regular seats you're easily paying 80-120 euros. That's completely out of proportion compared to how it used to be. Is it because of inflation, or are the theaters just making bigger margins?
It's just a mix of several factors: inflation hits theaters too, of course, but then there are higher operating costs (wages, rent, technology), less public funding in some states, and the fact that fewer people go to the theater than they used to - so the fixed costs have to be spread across fewer tickets. Some theaters also deliberately try to make money with higher prices for better seats, while keeping cheaper categories more affordable. Check if there are box office discounts or reduced rates - lots of theaters have them, but they're not always advertised obviously.
Check if you can book Wednesday or Thursday matinees - they're often way cheaper than Friday/Saturday, and Schauspielhaus Hamburg regularly has reduced prices for those 🎭
That's exactly what I did on my last theater trip: a weekday matinee instead of Saturday night, and boom - instead of 110 euros for two tickets I only paid 60. Operating costs (staff, heating, tech, rent) have genuinely gone up, and public funding isn't what it used to be, so theaters pass that on to audiences - but they reward you if you're flexible.
The tickets really are crazy expensive, but a lot of people overlook the fact that Hamburg being a major city automatically means higher rents and salaries for theaters - the Schauspielhaus isn't just some small regional theater. On top of that, fewer people are going to the theater these days, so theaters have to spread the same fixed costs across fewer visitors instead of being able to lower prices.
You're right, there are lots of reasons - but one important point gets short shrift in the other answers: a lot of theaters never really brought their capacity back to pre-Covid levels after Corona, so they have to spread the same fixed costs across fewer ticket sales! That drives prices way up, no matter how much they'd cut back. On top of that, big venues like the Schauspielhaus Hamburg can't lower their rates as flexibly as smaller theaters - they're just not as adaptable when it comes to operating costs.
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