In the rush to get tickets on sale before December and Christmas spending really kicks in (it's a bona fide tactic I'm told from at least one box office) three of London's main theatre's have inadvertently announced new seasons at the same time.

The Donmar Warehouse was first last week with three new productions - I'm expecting my friends membership mail out with ticket purchasing schedule to plop on the doormat any day. Then the National Theatre announced four new productions with tickets going on sale for members on Thursday.

And finally the Royal Court is doing its usual, and extremely irritating, announce at 7am, tickets on sale 9am tomorrow morning. (It's irritating because it leaves only 2 hours to co-ordinate production choices and available dates with friends before hitting the website and battling with the refresh button.)

But that is a different bug bear. Essentially the timing of the announcements means is that if you want to see everything (and I want to see nearly everything) between now and most likely the end of the month you are going to have to stump up a minimum of £188 on theatre tickets.  

OK so not everyone will go for everything and is quite as mad a theatre fan as I am, but still. Even if you manage to get the cheap and naturally very much in demand tickets - £12 Travelex at the NT, £10 Mondays at the RC and £20 Monday at the Donmar it is getting on for £200. And that's before you start buying tickets for others.

So this is a plea to the National, Royal Court and Donmar: Talk, plan and stagger, just a little bit. Please. Some of us want to be able to afford to eat this month.

Empty pocket pic: Dan Moyle on Flickr