Posted in: Current News, Pop Culture | Tagged: Guys And Dolls, london, west end

London West End Theatre For Cheap, Guys And Dolls For £10?

London's West End is significantly cheaper than Broadway, but is still outside most people's pockets to attend on a regular basis.

Published Mon, 17 Jun 2024 07:43:08 -0500

by Rich Johnston

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Article Summary

Discover how to snag cheap tickets for London West End shows, including big hits.
Use apps and services like Central Tickets to access major theater productions for less.
Highlights the value of preview tickets and half-price booths for affordable theater-going.
Reveals BBC's free radio and TV show recordings as the ultimate budget entertainment.

I live in London, which gives me great access to some of the world's greatest theatre. And I go to a lot of it. But while the West End is significantly cheaper than Broadway, it is still outside most people's pockets to attend on a regular basis. So how do I do it? I mean I know there are theatres that offer discount tickets to under 25s, but I am twice that now.

Well, there are some theatres like the Old Vic that run £10 preview tickets that you have to be psychic to know are coming. Then there are services like the Leicester Theatre Half Price Tickets booth and website run by the theatres, and sites like TodayTix that provide similar deals.

The best is probably the Central Tickets App. A steat filling service, it came into its own post-pandemic and as shows opened up, I went and saw Tom Stoppard's Leopoldstadt and Harry Enfield's The Windsors: Endgame in the same week for £5 each. As well as Doctor Who: Time Fracture six times. Those days are gone, but you do still see big shows pop up, but more than that, smaller shows I would never have heard of for £4 each. Anyway, I have just booked for Guys And Dolls at the Bridge Theatre, a big show with excellent reviews, for £10. I missed out last week so put myself on the waiting list, odds are there will be more next week too. They have also had similar prices recently for Fawlty Towers, Passing Strange, London Tide, DublinLand, Wedding Band, Marie Curie The Musical and more. Often, if I am in London town on an afternoon, I just look it up to see what's available that night and have found myself nine times out of ten seeing something amazing live with great seats for less than a price of a cinema tickets.

And then there are shows that are always good value, and the Soho Theatre will always be my go to. It's where I first saw Fleabag all those years ago, and have high hopes this month for the work-in-progress return for Sheeps: The Giggle Bunch (That's Our Name For You) for £13, down from Edinburgh.

And then there is the BBC which runs audience shows for TV and Radio – and honestly Radio gets you your biggest bang for your non-existent buck. The shows are free, and radio shows are far more in-and-out with fewer retakes. The News Quiz is always a banker.

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