Four Ways To Get Cheap (Or Free) Theatre Tickets

I absolutely love going to the theatre. The atmosphere, the costume, and the music is incredible and I have been lucky to see quite a lot of shows. I used to go a lot as a teenager and early 20-something, but haven’t been as much in my late 20’s. Part of that reason is that theatre tickets can be so expensive. Especially if you want good seats, which generally I do. There are ways though to get cheaper theatre tickets, and I’m going to run through some of my favourites below.

Today Tix

Today Tix is a website and app you can download to get some of the best deals on theatre tickets. All theatre shows are listed and there are some great deals to be had. Some shows offer rush tickets which are cheaper tickets which you can buy on the morning you want to go. You do have to be quick with these as they can sell out quickly, but you can generally get great seats for £20-25. I did this when Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was out and it worked so well.

Some shows offer lottery tickets where you enter a draw on the morning of a show. Around lunchtime, winners are announced who have a few hours to buy their tickets. I’ve seen this for some very high in demand shows and it’s great if you know you’re going to be in London.

If you don’t like on-the-day options they do have great prices and deals on shows. I bought School of Rock tickets for me and Luke at £25 each which I was so happy with. Even though the seats were upstairs they were still really good. And it means you can book in advance.

Central tickets

Central tickets pride themselves on bringing seat-filling opportunities. If a show/ event doesn’t sell as well tickets are released to Central Tickets and you can nab them for just a few pounds admin fee. This means that a show doesn’t look half full and people can take advantage of cheap shows. With these you do have to ensure you turn up otherwise you can be blocked from booking in the future. But if you’re interested in seeing something a bit different this could be the one for you.

They also offer paid-for tickets which can be quite discounted. I’ve booked a few musicals through them and always had really good prices for great seats.

On the day cheap tickets

Some theatres offer tickets on the day for cheap if you go there in person. You can find out if shows offer this on their tickets page and they can be such great value. I’ve never paid more than £25 and tickets are generally in the front few rows of the stalls.

With this option, you have to be prepared to queue as the tickets go quite quickly. They usually go out at 10 am so I’ve been before and queued from 9 am. But if it’s a show you want to see then it’s well worth the wait. Then you’ve got all day to enjoy London until the show starts.

The best one available at the moment is Aladdin which is in its final few months.

Stands in Central London

The way most people know to get cheaper theatre tickets is to approach the stands in and around Central London. There are quite a few around Leicester Square and Piccadilly Circus where the theatres are. The best option for these is if you don’t mind what you see as you can just find out what the best value seats are. You might find that a particular show hasn’t sold too well one night so there are lots of seats they’re trying to flog. And you may then get a great deal.

I used to do this a lot when I was a teenager and didn’t mind what I saw. Through this way, I saw so many great shows and was never disappointed.

What’s your favourite way to get theatre ticket deals?

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