London is one of the world’s great centres for discount London theatre lovers. Few cities offer comparable variety or quality, or such rational prices. It would be a indictableoffence not to organise tickets for one or two of the best making even if you’re not in general a theatre-goer.
If you’re booking ahead the best thing to do is to phone the theatre tickets box office and see if you can buy tickets direct from them without having to pay appointment to middlemen. Most box offices are open Monday to Saturday from 10 am to 8 pm. If the production is sold out you strength be able to buy a returned ticket on the day of the performance, although for something accepted like Starlight Express you strength need to start queuing before the returns actually go on sale.
Student stand-by tickets are at times available on production of similarity cards one hour before the performance starts.
Tickets for the subsidised theatres (the Royal National, the Barbican and the Royal Court) can only be bought from the theatre box offices agency and authority and agencyoccupation.
On the day of performance you can buy half-price tickets for West End making from the Leicester Square Half-Price Ticket Booth, on the south lateral of Leicester Square. It opens day-after-day from noon to 6.30 pm and charges £2 appointment per ticket. Note that you can’t buy tickets for musicals like Cats and Starlight Express here. Nor can you buy tickets for The Mousetrap, although the boards showing availability at West End shows also suggest the odds on getting a ticket at one of these seller.
Many theatre agencies also sell theatre tickets, especially for accepted musicals like Cats, but most charge a hefty appointment. Be particularly wary of commercial booths near Leicester Square (like the one opposite the Hippodrome on Cranbourne St) which advertise half-price tickets without mentioning the appointment added to the price. The worst possible option is to buy from a tout selling tickets in the street.
The Society of London Theatre offers the following advice for people buying tickets from an agency.
The nation’s flagship theatre is the Royal National Theatre, with three auditoria on the South Bank, the Olivier, the Lyttleton and the Cottesloe. It showcases classics and contemporary plays, and hosts visitor appearances by the world’s best youthful companies.
Tickets for night performances at the Olivier and Lyttleton cost from £10. Visitors to the box office can everyonce in a while buy one or two tickets for same-day performances.