A Twentysomething's Mini Guide to London Theatre on the Cheap

SherlockFan85

I've booked and attended quite a lot of London theatre shows in the past couple of months, and I recommend signing up to Time Out Offers, as they've had some great £10-£15 deals on tickets for top shows (including One Man, Two Guvnors, Ghosts, The Duck House, Strangers on a Train, etc.)

If you do not have mobility/sight problems, do consider the "cheapie" seats, or those with restricted/partially restricted views. Often this is exaggerated and personally I would rather pay £60 to watch 5-6 different plays than one play in the stalls. In the smaller venues the difference is very negligible and quite often the seat next to you can cost double for no difference in view!

Every Monday at 10am The Donmar Warehouse releases front row tickets for the following week's performances for £10.

Sign up to Theatre shows and venue's Facebook/Twitter accounts as well as mailing lists. They often provide the info about a play in the first instance and sometimes host competitions. Also follow ticket companies such as ATG & Delfont Mackintosh. For example, the Old Vic mentioned on their Twitter account that they're offering £10 Upper Circle tickets today to see Fortune's Fool, which is brand new

The Royal Court offer £10 tickets on Mondays.

If you're under 25 (not me sadly!) sign up to the Old Vic's scheme where you get tickets for £12.

Do consider (if possible) going to the theatre in person to book a ticket if it's a really popular show. I've had a lot of biting-nails moments trying to book tickets online recently and been bitterly disappointed at being unable to book tickets for both Coriolanus and American Psycho: The Musical. However, when I physically went to the venues, tickets were actually available and to my utter surprise am now going to see both! :eek:

Returns tickets are nearly ALWAYS available to every performance on the day. That's exactly what I plan to do to see David Tennant in Richard II this Jan

These are the shows I have/will be seeing in the next couple of months and the prices I paid for tickets:

One Man, Two Guv'nors - £10
The Cripple of Inishmaan - £12
Mojo - £15
Les Miserables - £12
Coriolanus - £10
Let The Right One In - £12
Birdland - £12
Shakespeare in Love - £15
1984 - £8
Strangers on a Train - £11
American Psycho: The Muscial - £10
Richard II (hopefully!) - £10-15
Ghosts (hopefully!) - £10

For that price I could have just seen Les Mis in a slightly better seat!

I will officially now NEVER pay more than £20 for a ticket, until Hamlet with Benedict Cumberbatch tickets are released.... there is no such thing as too close in this case :D

I will update this if I discover/think of anything else!

terryw

Great Post. Thanks for the tips.

Also worth checking out www.lastminute.com for cheap tickets.

p00hsticks

rablovesroo wrote: »

Returns tickets are nearly ALWAYS available to every performance on the day. That's exactly what I plan to do to see David Tennant in Richard II this Jan

Great post.

Your mention of 'Dicky 2' and Coriolanus also prompts me to draw peoples attention to the fact that the RSC are now arranging live screenings of their productions into cinema, just as the National Theatre have done for several years now.

The RSCs version of Richard II with David Tennant was shown late last year, with Henry IV parts 1 & 2 and Two Gentleman of Verona planned for 2014.
http://onscreen.rsc.org.uk/

The National Theatre have screenings of performances of Warhorse, Coriolanus and King Lear planned for the year (OP, I hope you caught Benedict Cumberbatch in Danny Boyles brilliant version of Frankenstein that was recently encored).
http://ntlive.nationaltheatre.org.uk/productions

Ok, it's not the same atmosphere as being in the theatre, but for those of us out on the sticks, for £10 - £15 a ticket you can get to see a top class production right on your doorstep. I've been to quite a few now and the sound, close up shots and editting have all been superb.

There are also live ballet and opera performances from Covent Garden.

SherlockFan85

Thanks p00hsticks, yes I saw both versions.... I have a Benedict Cumberbatch problem

SherlockFan85

Time Out offers currently have tickets to see 12 Angry Men at the Garrick Theatre for as little as £10-11 (restricted view) over March/April


http://uk-offers.timeout.com/deals/entertainment-12-angry-men-offer


Ignore the "tickets from £26" bit - there are plenty of cheaper seats when you look at the actual dates

p00hsticks

SherlockFan85 wrote: »

I will officially now NEVER pay more than £20 for a ticket, until Hamlet with Benedict Cumberbatch tickets are released.... there is no such thing as too close in this case :D

Better start saving :-)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-26680729

SherlockFan85

Oh it is ON like Donkey Kong!!