8 Tips for Booking Theatre Tickets in London

I have been on a theatre booking binge lately. If you have been following my twitter feed, you'll have noticed. I have now booked so many tickets I'll be going to the theatre each month till the end of the year! I'm not crazy (OK maybe a little) but seriously, only in London can you get a theatre ticket at the same price of a nice dinner somewhere, in some cases, even less. 

London's theatres and shows is one of the things I absolutely love about this city. It is affordable, there is so much variety to choose from and its such a nice night out. Over the past couple of years I have seen, Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables, Lion King, Much Ado About Nothing, The Cripple of Innishman (hilarious), Lady Windemeres Fan, A Midsummer Nights Dream, The Woman in Black and The Drowned Man. And I have enjoyed each and every one.

Much Ado About Nothing - Noel Coward Theatre

Now I have booked:

1. The Man Who Climbed Out Of His Face - this month
2. A Comedy of Errors - September
3. Book of Mormon - October
4. Twelfth Night - November
5. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime - December

And I still have so many more on my list! Actually, I think I might try to get myself to the BBC Proms too, not strictly theatre but still...

Phantom of the Opera - Source

If you think you cant afford to go to the theatre, think again! Here are some tips to get you booking too!

1. Approach the theatre company direct! Often ticketing agencies, even 'discount' ones, will add a hefty markup on the value of a ticket and you can end up paying more!
2. Book waaaaaaaaay in advance, cheap seats go fast so get in early. Some places will even give you a discount for doing just that. For example, Book of Mormon don't charge a booking fee if you book ahead by 12 weeks.
3. Book mid week. Often midweek tickets are much cheaper than Friday night or weekend tickets.
4. Signup for newsletters. OK, OK, we all hate spam mail, but sometimes you will get notified of specials or given promo codes. Find a show you want to see and sign up to its newsletter. Don't worry, you can always unsubscribe after you've seen the show ;) You can also keep an eye on Time Out's offers. Occasionally they will have a really good deal. I managed to get a tickets to the Woman in Black for £10 pounds back in June because of it.
5. If you are a student, a lot, if not all, theatre companies will give you a discount.



The Drowned Man - source

6. Get a good group of friends together. Almost all theatre companies will give discounts for group bookings. Too easy!
7. Check the ticket prices. Don't just assume its expensive. If you follow tip number 2, you'll be surprised by how 'cheap' the tickets are to some of the big shows.
8. Put the cost in perspective!!! Look at what you currently spend your money on... coffee? lunch? eating out? drinks on weekends? brunch with the girls? A cute top or must have shoes? There are so many ways you can find the money for a ticket, just make tiny adjustments to what you currently do.
9. [Added 11th August 2016] Download an app called 'Today Tix' onto your phone. A couple of nights ago I got £20 front row tickets to Kinky Boots by entering their daily ticket lottery. You can book regular tickets through this app too, but as I was mainly interested in the special deals so I haven't tried that out. Do let me know if you have used or had any luck with this app!

Do you have any theatre going tips?