OXFORD'S Playhouse theatre has been accused of instituting a 'dictatorial' new ticketing policy.

Rather than let theatre-goers sit wherever they like, the Playhouse has started releasing seats in blocks, starting at the front.

The theatre has said it wants to make the show experience 'the best it can be' for actors and audiences by getting the rows nearest the stage full up first.

It has also said the new system is an attempt to boost revenues, though it insists no one will be forced to pay more than they used to, with more cheap tickets than ever.

But one theatre lover who has been going to the Playhouse for years has said the policy is so dictatorial she is considering whether or not to go back.

Jacquie Pearce-Gervis, best known to many in Oxfordshire as the long-serving chairwoman of health watchdog Patient Voice, discovered the new system this month.

She phoned up to book tickets for Driving Miss Daisy in November and ended up paying £25 for a seat near the front she did not want, rather than the £21.50 she paid for a further-back seat she actually did want to see Death of a Salesman.

She said: "I don't want people sitting in my lap and the first rows are very close. I want to be halfway up and see the whole show, and I like to be on the gangway.

"I go to the theatre most Saturdays: this is my money – I decide where I sit.

She added: "This time I will wait until the curtain goes up then move, but I do think it will put me off buying tickets there."

In a letter to the theatre she wrote: "I consider you are being most dictatorial. The Oxford Playhouse is for the people of Oxford and not for your desires."

Playhouse director Louise Chantal wrote back saying she was sorry Mrs Pearce-Gervis had not been happy with her experience.

She also revealed there had been much cheaper tickets available at the time Mrs Pearce-Gervis booked hers, including £17.50 for the end of row F, and apologised that staff had not made that clear.

Ms Chantal told the Oxford Mail the Playhouse had introduced the block-seating-release strategy after it had proved hugely successful in the United States, the West End and regional theatres.

She said 45 per cent of seats at Playhouse shows were 'cheaper than ever' but the theatre was also charging more for top-price seats.

She went on: "That means that from the minute booking opens, there are tickets available at the cheapest ever price. And the earlier people book, the more likely they are to access the £10 and £15 tickets.

"But in case anyone is worried that this means the cheap tickets might run out in the first release, then the Playhouse assures that ticket availability is monitored daily and if the lower prices start to run out, then more tickets are released further back."

She said the policy aimed to improve the atmosphere, but some shows' tickets would still be released all at once and the new policy would be reviewed next year.