A SCOTTISH technology start-up has entered into a commercial partnership with a hit West End musical.
Software company Make It Social is providing a ticket selling service for Wicked, which charts the story of the witches in The Wizard Of Oz from their perspective.
The deal has been billed as the West End’s first social booking service, allowing fans to book tickets as a group but pay individually for the show.
It builds on contracts the Scottish company, which has 10 staff and is based at the Codebase technology incubator in Edinburgh, has secured with the Scottish Rugby Union, Harlequins Rugby Union, Surrey County Cricket Club and Brighton and Hove Football Club.
And it echoes similar group booking facilities which are becoming available for party nights in bars and restaurants.
Eddie Robb, who founded Make it Social in 2013, said: “Our technology is about bringing people together in the real world to have fun experiences, build relationships and create memories.
“We are delighted that people going to see Wicked will be able to benefit from our truly social platform – it’s a really exciting opportunity.”
Wicked, which is now the West End’s eighth longest- running show, is currently playing in London’s Apollo Victoria Theatre, an Ambassador Theatre Group (ATG) venue.
The award-winning show has had a 10-year run on Broadway and has been produced in cities around the US, UK and Ireland.
Barry Grant, of ATG, said: “We are delighted to be working with Make it Social and Wicked to launch this new booking platform in the West End. There is a real need to make organising social groups easier for everyone and harnessing this new technology does just that.”
Luke Shires, managing director of Joe Public, which handles sales and marketing for Wicked, said: “Joe Public is proud to continue our tradition of industry firsts through this exciting partnership with Make It Social – now in its 10th year, Wicked continues to grow from strength to strength, and this truly interactive social booking platform for small groups will make it easier than ever before for audiences to enjoy the hit musical.”
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