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[title]Hi! I’m Time Out’s theatre editor, and arguably I got into this game purely to avoid having to pay for theatre tickets. But over the years I've picked up a few tricks on how to enjoy London theatre for less.
People tend to think of London theatre as expensive. And they can be right: top West End prices have soared in recent years, with the best tickets for many popular shows costing over £200 or even £300. That’s as much as an entire music festival for a couple of hours of theatre.
However, exorbitant top prices actually aren’t the whole story. For starters, the cheapest tickets for any given show are almost always less than £30 a pop, and often less than £20. This isn’t Broadway where everything is crazily priced. And the £200-plus tickets will only be a small minority (the issue is that they’re often the last ones to sell, for obvious reasons). There will always be inexpensive ways into a show, be it snagging a discounted online ticket or buying a bargain basement standing ticket.
Want to go to the theatre in London but don’t think you can afford it? Here’s a hopefully exhaustive guide to why you’re wrong.
Buy early
The number one reason why people think West End tickets are expensive is because they don’t try and buy them until the show has already opened in a blaze of publicity, at which point they discover only the top price tickets are left. The fact is that every show has cheap seats, but they often sell out. Pay attention to what’s coming up and try to get in as early as possible if there’s something you think sounds good. Here’s our guide to the best new London theatre shows to book for in advance. If there’s a long-running West End show you want to see, follow its socials so you when new blocks of tickets go on sale.
Online lotteries and rush tickets
Virtually every theatre show in London will have cheap last-minute tickets available digitally. Broadly speaking we’re either talking about an online lottery via which you can ‘win’ the chance to buy cheap stalls tickets (generally either to that day’s performance or the next) or first come first served ‘rush tickets’, wherein cheap stalls tickets are put on sale at a certain time, usually for the following week’s shows. See shows’ websites for details.
Day-seats
Until a few years ago the surest way to get a cheap stalls ticket was to queue for a day-seat: most major West End theatre shows would release a limited number of tickets at the box office at 10am on a first come, first served, in person callers only basis. The practice has somewhat declined with the rise of lotteries and rush tickets, but remains fairly widespread – you can usually research this online in advance.
The TKTS booth in Leicester Square
The iconic booth is operated by the Society of London Theatre and if you’re not hugely specific about what you see it’s terrific for a discounted ticket. It’s basically TKTS’s job to shift whatever unsold West End tickets there are for the next week or so, so while it’s not a great way tob get access to a sold out show, if you’re just looking for a West End show at a nice price you should check it out.
Snag a return
Returns queues remain a thing at pretty much every theatre. By necessity a last minute thing, they’re in person only, an opportiunity to buy returned tickets and ones that may have been held back from sale at a discounted price just before curtain. up. For a sold-out show it’s worth ringing the box office to get an idea of what time to get down to be in with a chance.
Try an online ticketing platform
There are lots of third-party ticket sellers – including your old pals Time Out! On the whole they operate much more dynamic prices than theatres. If you go via the theatre, the tickets will always be the same price. If you go via a third party seller you’re likely to be able to score a bargain to a show that’s not selling well. Conversely, a show selling well might be more expensive than the ‘offiical’ prices (but a third-party seller may still have inventory when the theatre itself has sold out).
Online ticket sales
There isn’t a major West End ticket sale every week, but it can feel like it. In particular, ‘London Theatre Week’ happens twice a year, and is a month long each time. Many big West End shows sign up for these sales, and as a minimum you’ll save a few quid booking via these offers. We regularly bring you news about major sales on our London news page.
Stand!
If Shakespeare’s Globe is the only London theatre that actively makes a virtue of standing – it’s a quintessential London experience to pay £5 to take to your feet as one of the famed ‘groundlings’ – many will let you stand at the back of the house for a nominal fee. Famously the Royal Court still offers 10p tickets in person from 6pm for each Downstairs performance (although it’ll set you back a princely £1 if you pay by card). The Donmar Warehouse and Soho Theatre do too.
Become a member
Are theatre memberships worth it? It’s a complicated question, but there is no doubt that they will give you by far the best priority booking access, which will enable you to have a much smoother purchasing experience for any show that’s likely to sell out. Memberships tend to start at around £50; it obviously makes little financial sense to have loads of them but they can be worth it if well-targeted. An American Express card will give you early access to National Theatre onsales, which can be handy.
Buy in bulk
Potentially a bit niche, but ‘group bookings’ (usually defined as 10 or more, though it varies from show to show) typically unlock special rates, and even the possibility of buying tickets way ahead of even members. You’ll usually need to speak to somebody direct from the theatre about this – the official website should give you contact information.
Go off-peak
There’s no hard-and-fast rule, but on the whole West End prices (and some other major theatres) are a little more expensive on Fridays and the weekend, and a little lower earlier in the week. It’s usually cheaper to go on a Tuesday than a Saturday, basically.
Be young
If you’re lucky enough to be under 25 (and in some cases under 30) many theatres will offer you special rates or deals. This varies a lot: major West End players the Jamie Lloyd Company typically reserve a large number of affordable tickets for younger audiences; the Almeida Theatre often has a free performance of its major shows exclusively for younglings; the National Theatre has a special 16-25 rate. In general if you have youth on your side, you should look into whether you can get a discount.
If you’re planning a visit to London and want to combine a show with a hotel stay, check out the best hotels in the West End.
If you want to know what musicals are currently or soon to run in London, take a gander at out musicals round-up.