From 27 April 2026, we will be moving from our current charge of £3.95 per booking to a 6% per-ticket fee. This applies to shows at all our venues.
This change applies to all tickets purchased online, over the phone and in person at our Box Office.
This transition ensures that we are fully compliant with the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act (DMCC). Which asks that ticket prices are transparent and represent all possible fees before reaching the basket.
This fee helps cover some of the unavoidable costs of our ticketing system, payment processing, and the operation of our box office service. We are proud to run a Norwich Theatre-owned and operated box office, delivering exceptional customer service alongside a deep understanding of our audiences. We have made a conscious decision to continue investing in this in-house service. While outsourcing could recover these costs in full, we believe it would ultimately be detrimental to the experience we provide for our audiences. Outsourcing would also lead to higher fees being passed on to our audiences, with the national average sitting at circa 15% per ticket.
To honour your loyalty and commitment to Norwich Theatre, this fee will not apply to Ambassadors, Corporates and members of our Friends scheme.
FAQs
We are moving to a 6% per-ticket fee to ensure that our ticketing process is fully compliant with the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act (DMCC), which seeks transparency for customers around pricing ahead of reaching the checkout. All fees will be displayed within the ticket price. Charging a % instead of a fixed fee per ticket will ensure that charges are proportionate to the price of the ticket.
We are charged for every transaction that is made, and this fee helps us cover some of payment processing, technology, website software and the costs of staff. We are proud to continue to offer an in-person, over the phone and online box office service, run by teams who know and understand the needs of our audiences, we would not want to have to outsource this function as this would lead to a worse customer experience for audiences, as well as likely higher fees. By charging this 6% we are able to cover a percentage of the costs incurred through running our box office.
The new 6% fee will apply to all bookings made on or after 27 April 2026. Any tickets purchased before this date will be charged under the old flat-fee structure of £3.95 per transaction.
Yes. We occur costs for all transactions, and so as with basket fees, this also applies to in-person, over the phone and online transactions.
The new fee is per ticket. This allows us to clearly demonstrate the full cost of the ticket (including fees) throughout the whole booking process and will also cover the individual processing and administrative costs associated with every seat sold.
Free events and Take Part activities are exempt.
This fee does not apply to Ambassadors, Corporates and members of our Friends scheme.
No, groups of 10+ will not pay the per ticket charge; instead, there will be an administrative fee of £5 for groups of 10 – 50 and £10 for groups of 50+. This will cover the cost of processing tickets as well as the admin associated with arranging the bookings.
The booking fee is vital to our operations. It covers some of the costs incurred for:
- The technology and security for our website.
- Processing and issuing tickets through our ticketing provider
- Payment gateway charges.
- Staffing for our Box Office and phone lines.
Yes, this fully complies with the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act (DMCC).
The new legislation does not ban booking fees; instead, it bans hidden fees. The law requires that all mandatory fees be disclosed clearly and up front so that customers aren’t surprised at the final stage of checkout. Moving to per ticket charges instead of basket charges enables us to deliver this level of transparency.
No, we value all our audiences and wouldn’t want to make attending as a larger group more challenging. Booking fees will be capped at £5 for groups of 10 – 50 people and £10 for groups of 50+. This will cover the cost of processing tickets as well as the admin associated with arranging the bookings.
This hasn’t changed. The per ticket continues to apply to payments at our Box Office counter. This ensures we can provide a face-to-face service for those who prefer it, while keeping our pricing transparent for everyone