Ever wondered how some people manage to make multiple trips to the theatre each month without breaking the bank? I know I used to. With my strong appetite for theatre, it’s not long after my last visit to a show that I’m immediately in the mood to book another. So, how do I manage to get tickets regularly without making a giant dent in my bank account? I’ve created a guide to cheap West End and regional theatre tickets as I’ve been asked this very question quite a few times!
Rush Tickets
Remember the days of queuing up at the Leicester Square ticket booth to grab heavily discounted theatre tickets on the day? Well, you no longer have to do that with the likes of the TodayTix app paving the way for the internet generation. Each morning at 10am, the app releases a limited number of cheap seats for a number of amazing West End productions. Fancy an evening at Dear Evan Hansen or Come From Away? This is a perfect way to save money on a spontaneous theatre trip while you’re in the big city!
Sign Up For Email Alerts
I might be stating the obvious here but as a marketer I know companies love to fill our inboxes with offers to incentavise us to make a purchase. Production companies are no different and are always sliding ticket deals into the inbox of many-a-theatre lover. My advice would be to sign up to as many ticket agencies and theatre newsletters as you can. If you don’t want your main inbox to be jammed with all that extra traffic, you could set up an email account specifically for the purpose of receiving ticket deals. Some good newsletters to subscribe to include ATG Tickets and LOVEtheatre (both part of the Ambassador Theatre Group – which is also great for touring production offers), Ticketmaster, See Tickets, Nimax Theatres, Official London Theatre and London Theatre Direct.
Disney's Magical Mondays
If, like me, you’re a fan of Disney and theatre then you’re going to love Disney’s new Magical Monday offering. Replacing the previous ‘Day Seat’ ticket offer, patrons now have the opportunity to purchase £25 tickets to a select number of Disney productions. Each Monday at 12pm, a number of tickets for that week’s performances become available to purchase for £25 but I recommend being quick as they often prove to be popular and sell out within minutes! In the West End, Frozen and The Lion King are currently included in the offer, while you can also purchase tickets to The Beauty and the Beast tour before it plays a residency at the London Palladium. Click here to find out more about Disney’s Magical Mondays and score cheap tickets to world-renowned productions! While not a Disney production, Wicked offers a similar scheme in the format of the Front Row 24 releasing £29.50 tickets for the front row of the following week’s performances. I took advantage of this recently, you can read my review here!
Milk Your Age
Theatres love to bring in new audienes and many agencies understand that appealing to young people is important as they are the partons of the future. If you’re under 30, there are a number of ticket schemes in place to help you save money on your next trip to the theatre! Some of these include:
- Manchester Royal Exchange: £7 tickets for under 30s.
- Royal Shakespeare Company: £5 tickets in Stratford-Upon-Avon for 16-25 year-olds. The company also offer twenty £5 tickets for their London season at the Barbican. Keep an eye out on the new TikTok £10 ticket offering for Matilda The Musical, too!
- ATG Tickets: Now, this one might take a little bit of trial and error. However, I’ve managed to get quite a few good deals for shows at theatres owned by ATG recently. Usually Under 25s can get some sort of discount on mid-week performances. For example, I managed to see Waitress in Manchester with a £10 discount and received half price tickets for School of Rock.
- National Theatre: 16-18 year-olds are entitled to £5 tickets, while 19-25 year-olds can grab £10 tickets.
It’s not only youngsters who can benefit from ticket discount schemes. Many theatres offer concession prices and discounts for older patrons. There may be some restrictions, as discounts like these are often only valid during mid-week performances to fill the auditorium. The Royal Shakespeare Company also offer over-65s discount of 20% on Monday and Tuesday evening performances, as well as mid-week matinees. It is always worth checking with the booking agent or theatre before making a purchase.
SeatPlan Rewards
Fancy earning theatre tickets by doing something you love (aka visiting the theatre)? With SeatPlan’s reward scheme you can do just that! By uploading photos of the view from your seat, you can earn credits toward theatre tokens. Each photo you upload is worth at least 50 points. Once you’ve earned enough points, you’re entitled to various vouchers to help toward the purchase of a theatre ticket. For example, 750 points earns you a £10 Encore ticket voucher.
Enter A Lottery
While it may be great to one day win the actual lottery, I’m still hoping to score £10 tickets in the Hamilton lottery! What is a ticket lottery? Well, many shows in the West End now allow you to sign up for a random weekly draw to be in with a chance to purchase discounted tickets. As I’ve mentioned, Hamilton runs a lottery on Today Tix to purchase up to two tickets for £10, while Andrew Lloyd Webber’s new Cinderella runs a weekly draw for patrons to purchase £25 tickets.
Do Your Seat Research
If you’re looking to see a show on the budget and you can’t find any deals, don’t fret! Often you can get some fantastic views of the stage at a lower price point. When I can’t find any deals, I like to use SeatPlan to see reviews from others who have sat in some of the cheaper seats. You can also see photos of the view from many of the seats across many theatres so it gives you an idea of what you’re paying for. This website has saved me a lot of money in the past as I’ve realised you don’t always have to spend loads of money to get a great view and enjoy a show!
I truly believe that theatre should be an accesible art form for everyone. These are just a few tips to securing great value tickets as many theatres have their own schemes so it is always worth doing your research. With this guide, I’m hopeful you’ll be able to take some tips to find cheap tickets and will be able to visit the theatre on a more regular basis!
Let me know in the comments if you’ve ever used one of these cheap ticket cheats before, or if you have any other tips to score discounts on tickets to the theatre.
