Co-Founder of Theatre App Getgo Culture Joshua Beecham talks about the Innovative Theatre Subscription Service

With the rise in popularity of phone apps, the accessing of products/services has become increasingly easier, the e-commerce industry in effect making shopping experiences convenient for customers as they’re able to utilise apps at whatever time and whenever. Apps can be found for a variety of industries whether that be gaming, beauty, social networks, you name it, however theatre seems to be new ground. Having been inspired to create an app, Getgo Culture, to help introduce audiences to new theatre experiences, Joshua Beecham and his team look to make theatre a lot more accessible to both theatre goers and those new to the theatre. Read on to find out more about this exciting and innovative theatre subscription service!

Hi Joshua, how do you feel about the launch of Getgo Culture, the first theatre subscription service?

I’m really excited to get it out there. We’ve just opened and are now offering a limited number of discounted memberships, before launching fully to the world. It’s been our baby for quite some time now, so we’re really keen to crack on with getting the masses out to the arts more often.

The service will curate unique theatre experiences for customers on a monthly basis, selecting shows tailored to preferences and availability. What can customers expect from the service?

Ease of use. Value for money. Incredible arts events, handpicked by experts.

The team is made up of Arts Experts ready to curate a range of arts experiences. What’s the process from the customer expressing their preferences, to them watching a production?

A customer will start by going through our sign up process: they’ll tell us what art forms they’re most interested in and let us know more details about what they like (such as new writing or international work), then they’ll tell us how adventurous they are. They’ll also be able to flag up anything we should avoid like long running times or explicit material. Then they’ll select the date they want to go to their event that month. We know that people are busy and things can pop up, so they can change their dates or preferences anytime until they are locked into the event, which is usually one week before their trip. Once they’re locked in, we’ll reveal the details of what they’re going to through the app.

What inspired the creation of Getgo Culture?

As an actor, I’m always going to the theatre, but quite often when I look around the auditorium I see lots of empty seats at amazing events. So I wondered what would happen if I took my friends and family, who typically never ventured away from the West-end, to a range of different arts events: “That was amazing, how did you even find that?” and “I loved it! But I don’t have the time to trawl through everything that’s on” was what I got a lot. It seemed like two very clear problems came up. Venues needed new audiences and more seats filled, and audiences who weren’t directly involved in the arts needed a service to guide them through the thousands of arts events that London has to offer.

As a team, have there been challenges to creating this useful service?

I think the biggest challenge was ironing out the logistical details, and staying on the path of “How can we really make the service useful for subscribers?”. I ran a trial of Getgo Culture last year and the feedback really helped us keep on track with building something that customers want, and not just what we think they want.

As a team, have you learned anything new from creating the service?

No matter what someone’s preferences are, there is an event out there that they’ll love.

Tech, now more than ever is playing a crucial role, particularly when booking cultural experiences. What are your hopes for Getgo Culture?

We hope to strike a balance between tech and human interaction. We want our app to be as efficient and as easy to use as possible, but we don’t ever want to forget the key role that our Arts Experts play in curating the events for subscribers. A harmony between these two is the goal.

How can customers join Getgo Culture?

Through our crowdfunder under the “Rewards” section.

Questions by Lucy Basaba.

The Getgo Culture team are currently running a crowdfunding campaign to support the launch of their subscription service, to support, visit here…