Shoutbox

Hi guys

Just wondering if any of you guys have seen the Cirque du Soleil show Saltimbanco in the arena format. It's coming to Glasgow next year, but after this year carry on with Quidam (long story short: premium prices for crap seats) I'm skeptical about buying premium seats again.

Basically I'm getting offered 3 places with this pre-order at the moment:

Block BB*: Row A
Block J**: Row p
Block K**: Row A

*Floor        **Tiered



My gut instinct is obviously for the floor (purely cause...well how many times do you get front row) but not knowing the stage height, I feel like I might need a neck brace by the end of it. My other option is block K as with it being slightly higher that I'm likely to see everything going on

Of course I could wait for the general sale on Friday but I reckon if I do that I'll have no hope in hell of getting any of the locations I want.

So if anyone's seen it, any input would be greatly appreciated

Huggles
Vhari x

I haven't seen Saltimbanco, but I did see Quidam in arena format several years ago. We had Row A floor tickets, slightly off to the right when facing the stage (exactly where BB is on your diagram).

I was about 13 at the time, and obviously wasn't very tall, but I had absolutely no problem seeing all of the action on the stage, in fact I felt the front row seats were probably best as you see everything so closely, its kind of difficult to miss anything.

Hope I've helped mate.


That said, it was in Brisbane, and your show is in Glasgow, so a direct comparison cannot be made. But i'm fairly sure, from seeing various shows on TV that most arenas have a very similar layout.

Block BB: what you've said... depending on stage height you need to look up all the time. You wont have an overall view of the spectacle. "Frog" view. You're probably looking almost directly in the lighting all the time. And it is way to much to the side.



Note: such front row seats are usually never good!!! No matter what the show it is or where it is taken place. Unless you're coming to the show for that one actor or whatever and want to kiss his/her feet Although many people say they see everything very good from the first rows, it is actually seldom the case. Shows like that (and theater shows in general for that matter) are never made to be viewed from the first rows! You will always miss a big part of the grand picture.

Best row is between 10th and 15th row in the first block in front of the stage, in an average theater and in arena's, no matter what show. In a theater, those rows are also usually the rows right in front of the sound mixing boot (in case it is located between the seats, and not in the director's boot far behind the balcony). They also have the best sound (hence the sound boot is quite often located there in live shows). For arena's, the sound mixer is usually way more in the back though.


If block J wasn't on row P, then I would have choosen that one. But row P is way too far...

So, that leaves block K... although it is also a bit to the side unfortunatly. But for this show, that doesn't matter too much though. (in some other (theater) shows you might see stuff you shouldn't see though).



Note: presales and other sales are often done to fill up the gaps. This could mean that those seats aren't as popular as others or might have a restricted view (otherwise they don't need to fill them up). I'm not saying this is the case for this show, but it could be...

If there is a website to order your tickets, I would first check that out. Quite often you can choose your exact seat on such sites. If that is the case then try a few times until you find the best seat for your likings. Also remember that the option "Best seat available" will _not_ always give you the best seat available!! You're better of selecting the categories yourself.
And, there are usually more than one ticket sites/boxoffices available which offer tickets. And each have very often their own sections/rows available for sale. So, if you can't find a 'good' seat on one site/boxoffice, then check the other:
http://www.ticketmaster.co.uk/search?tm_link=tm_h...altimbanco+Glasgow
http://www.ticketsoup.com/TSEvent.aspx?EventID=11...%20-%20Saltimbanco
At first sight ticketsoup has far better choice than ticketmaster, including block CC and DD, and a bit cheaper!!


Also check if there isn't a detailed seating plan available where every seat can be seen individually. This plan can often be found on the site of the theater/arena/hall itself in the "technical rider" or "download" section under "rigging", "seating", "technical drawing" or similar items. (only rarely found on the site of the show or on the ticket service site).

Photo's of the concert hall where CDS will perform in Glasgow:
http://www.secc.co.uk/organise/concerts-and-event...-halls/hall-4.aspx
You can use those as a guide for the seating plan if you can't find a more detailed map than the one you have. But note that seating plans are often a bit different depending on the kind of show or event, etc.

EDIT: here is a detailed seating plan. But I dunno if it would be very usefull because the seatings on the floor are placed and numbered differently for the CDS show (the balcony/tiered seatings are numbered the same as your small plan though). So be carefull.

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Have great fun! I don't quite often say that, but the premium price is worth it for this show (for most shows from CDS actually), if you have a proper premium seat of course...

Hey Guys

Well decision was made last week to go for the front row of the tiered seating (Block K). That way we're more than likely to see everything that's going on.

I know what you're saying about pre-sales, but knowing how popular Cirque is (and the fact that it's only place in Scotland it's visiting) I wasn't prepared to run the risk of not getting decent seats (even know I was prepared to be standing outside the box office at the SECC on the Friday to make sure plus I only had 2 days which I could choose from (as apparently I'm going on holiday on the Friday/Saturday)

As for the seat location, well I guess it depends on what you're seeing and where it is.  Preferentially, I prefer close to the stage IF you know it's not going to be some big flashy production. Most tickets recently have been 4/5 rows from the front which for my photographically speaking is perfect for me and have been pretty simple productions. And mostly those tickets have been only a month or weeks before the show is due.

p.s. Tickets were about the same from Ticketsoup and Ticketmaster. But at least taking it through Ticketmaster I got the choice of adding insurance that meant should I be unable to attend the event (through illness or whatnot), we should get our money back

Huggles
Vhari x

Enjoy the show, with le Cirque du Soleil, you can't go wrong. I saw Saltimbanco 2 years ago if my memory serves me right and it was a very nice show, very colorful