Jul 21, 2008
Good news: There are multiple means of cutting your theater-going costs in London
The West End in London rivals Broadway in New York for its range of high-quality, big-budget stage performances. But currently (and for the foreseeable future), you pay two American dollars for just one pound. Since tickets for London's musicals cost about £50 to £60, accessing much of that world-class entertainment is problematic.
But you don't have to pay that much. Exactly as in New York, most London productions (save the ones that are sold out for weeks on end) offer discounts, if only you know where to find them. Several websites round up the going deals, present them to you, and then give you the necessary discount codes and links to book them yourself.
One of those sites is Theatremonkey.com (www.theatremonkey.com), which lists half-price promotions and meal-and-a-ticket packages. The site BroadwayBox.com (www.broadwaybox.com/london), which is mostly about New York, also brings some West End discount codes to the masses.
Some other ways to save?
If all else fails, you can buy same-day, half-price tickets to a range of shows (including dance) at the TKTS booth (www.officiallondontheatre.co.uk/tkts) on the south side of Leicester Square. Like the Manhattan booth that inspired it, tickets are half-price there, but unlike the New York booth, it accepts credit cards, not just cash, adding to its convenience.
Happy theater going, mates!
Write and read comments about this post.
But you don't have to pay that much. Exactly as in New York, most London productions (save the ones that are sold out for weeks on end) offer discounts, if only you know where to find them. Several websites round up the going deals, present them to you, and then give you the necessary discount codes and links to book them yourself.
One of those sites is Theatremonkey.com (www.theatremonkey.com), which lists half-price promotions and meal-and-a-ticket packages. The site BroadwayBox.com (www.broadwaybox.com/london), which is mostly about New York, also brings some West End discount codes to the masses.
Some other ways to save?
- Given a lead time of a few weeks, lastminute.com (www.lastminute.com) sells many shows for half price, as does LOVEtheatre.com (www.lovetheatre.com; click "Special Offers"). Booking fees of a few pounds usually apply.
- Matinees are often slightly cheaper than evening shows.
- Ask at box offices about standing room tickets. Not all theaters have them, but the Donmar, the National, and the Old Vic, to take three examples, do, and they sell for under 10 pounds. These are usually only available if the show's seats are sold out.
- Seats at the very back of the theater might cost a quarter to a third of what the seats in the front do -- but bring opera glasses.
- Some older theaters sell what are called restricted-view seats. You may have to crane your neck at times to see around the edge of the balcony or a pillar, and if the staging has actors at the extreme sides of the stage you might not be able to see them momentarily, but you'll be in the room. Such seats cost about a third what top-price seats do. Theatremonkey.com posts audience members' opinions about which theatres have decent restricted-view seats and which are too terrible to consider.
- If you're a student and can prove it with I.D., some box offices may offer you discounts of 20% to 40%.
If all else fails, you can buy same-day, half-price tickets to a range of shows (including dance) at the TKTS booth (www.officiallondontheatre.co.uk/tkts) on the south side of Leicester Square. Like the Manhattan booth that inspired it, tickets are half-price there, but unlike the New York booth, it accepts credit cards, not just cash, adding to its convenience.
Happy theater going, mates!
Write and read comments about this post.
Fifty years ago, 
Arthur Frommer is generally acknowledged to be the nation's foremost travel authority. He is the founder of the
