Middleincome burden dents theatre's income

Takonkiet Viravan, managing director of Scenario, which operates the theatre, said current economic conditions had strongly diluted the purchasing power of middleincome earners.

"We've witnessed a 40percent drop in sales of mediumpriced tick¬ets, which cost Bt1,000 and Bt1,500 and are targeted at firstjobbers and young modern consumers. These middleincome earners have lower purchasing power and are seriously affected by higher costs of living and the increase in fuel prices," Takonkiet said.

However, the theatre has seen significant growth in sales of highpriced tickets, costing Bt2,500 and Bt3,000, because higherincome earners have not been affected by the economic conditions.

"Our overall business is still okay, and we expect the Muang Thai Ratchadalai Theatre - which cost Bt500 million to open - to reach the breakeven point within six or seven years of its opening," he said.

The theatre has now been oper¬ating for 14 months and in that time staged six dramas and musical plays: "Fah Jarot Sai", "Luk Khun Luang", "Bunlung Mek", "Bang Rak Soi 9", "Su Fun An Ying Yai" and "Kang Lung Phap, the Musical".

"It is quite difficult to make a suc¬cessful theatre - the hardware - without good software support - stage drama," said Takonkiet, giving the example of the company's suc¬cessful drama "Fah Jarot Sai", which earned more than Bt100 million in ticket sales from 53 performances.

He said since May, the company had restructured its prices by adding Bt3,000 tickets and increasing the number of higherpriced seats to subsidise the fall in mediumpriced ticket sales.

The Muang Thai Ratchadalai Theatre has 1,500 seats, onethird of which are priced at Bt500 and Bt1,500. About 95 per cent of the theatre's revenue comes from ticket sales and the rest from sponsorship.