Ticket concerns for Youth Theatre
A Nelson theatre company is worried it could be left $15,000 out-of-pocket if Ticket Rocket does not honour ticket sales to its two current productions.
Nelson Youth Theatre’s school holiday productions opened yesterday but the unresolved ticket issues have left it worried for its future.
Director Richard Carruthers said the not-for-profit theatre company was pondering a $15,000 loss of ticket sales if Ticket Rocket was unable to settle on its two upcoming productions, Mamma Mia! and Shrek Jr.
Carruthers said Ticket Rocket’s cash-flow problems had left them ‘‘in a bit of a hole’’ and if the money was not recovered it could be the difference ‘‘between whether we break even or lose a significant amount of money’’.
‘‘Sure, in this Covid age it isn’t great compared to people who have lost their jobs, but we’re a not-for-profit little society running a youth theatre.
‘‘It could be just a circumstance of the coronavirus, but there’s just no answers.’’
About 700 tickets to both shows at the Theatre Royal had been sold through Ticket Rocket up until last week, which Carruthers said would still be honoured.
Tickets for Mamma Mia, Shrek Jr and other upcoming shows were now showing up on sale through Eventfinda.
Formerly known as TicketDirect, Ticket Rocket is an alliance of more than 45 independent New Zealand venues.
Recent media articles have highlighted the significant cashflow challenges faced by the well-known New Zealand ticketing company.
Among the concerns raised were the ticketing agency’s ability to pay its debts to customer complaints around getting refunds for events cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Event promoters have also had trouble – Royal New Zealand Ballet says it chased Ticket Rocket for months for payment.
Last week, the Hurricanes Super Rugby franchise contacted the police to try to recover a significant amount of money from Ticket Rocket, after supporters claimed they hadn’t received refunds from cancelled games.
Nelson Historic Theatre Trust chairman Mark Christensen, who runs the Nelson Centre of Musical Arts and Theatre Royal venues, said while there had been some delays around settlement with Ticket Rocket, he was unaware of any local shows pulling out as a result of the situation.
‘‘All our cancellations are due to the lockdown.
‘‘I’m not sure what’s happening with them at the moment but our arrangement is they hold funds in trust for the shows that we’re doing. Then when the shows are finished they settle the shows and pay the promoter – that’s generally how it happens.’’
However, Carruthers was not confident of seeing any money returned, given the growing list of people seeking refunds or contact with the company.
‘‘There’s others out there looking to get back hundreds of thousands – we’re just small fry.
‘‘The best thing we can do right now is sell more tickets.’’
Carruthers said he understood the Theatre Royal had phoned and emailed Ticket Rocket but had ‘‘zero’’ response.
Ticket Rocket is run by Dunedin businessman Matthew Davey.
A former business partner of Canadian-born Davey told Stuff last week Davey had been based overseas since last year, and the travel disruptions caused by Covid-19 would have made it difficult to oversee his business.
Stuff understands Davey has been in email contact with some venues and organisations to secure their services in the coming months.
Stuff attempted to contact Ticket Rocket for comment.