Novelty value in Town Hall

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 33035, 30 September 1972, Page 18

Novelty value in Town Hall

It seems that the new Town Hall complex is attracting people to performances that might have had a less enthusiastic response in the old venues.

Bookings for four of the forthcoming events at the Town Hall — Rock ’n’ Stuff,; "Henry V,” the Christchurch Schools Music Festival and the Mobil Song Quest —I have been very heavy this! week. So far. evening perfor-j mances of "Henry V” are booked out. except for a few single seats on two evenings,] and seats for matinee perfor-j mances are almost sold out.! Tickets for the first night! of the Christchurch Schools’! Music Festival, which went! on sale to parents and relatives of the children taking; pan on Thursday, were sold] out within two hours of the; booking office’s opening, and; a queue for tickets, which | began to form at 6.30 a.m.. stretched down to the Victoria Street Bridge. "Much the same happened! today,” the president of the Schools’ Music Festival Asso-I ciation (Mr B. R. Hansen)! said yesterday.

“A queue started to form at about 8.30 a.m. and by 11 a.m. all tickets for the second festival concert were entirely sold out.

“The demand for seats exceeded all our wildest expectations,” he said. “There are whole schools who are unable to get seats, and naturally the parents are very angry’ at not being able to see their children.

“We used the same system as in the past for booking seats, but curiosity about the building has stimulated a new interest among parents. There are a lot of people coming this year who have not been to the festival in the past." Mr Hansen said that the festival association was planning to hold three extra concerts for the parents of those children who were unable to obtain seats, on October 25, 26 and 27.

Bookings for Rock ’n* Stuff, the first rock concert to be held in the Town Hall, have also been filling rapidly since they opened on Monday.

Apart from the “backstage gallery” — the choir seating at the back of the stage in the auditorium — only a few seats remain in the outside stalls.