booking theater tickets in London

[whylion]

We will be in London for a few nights before our QM2 crossing. Has anyone had anyone used http://www.londontheatrebookings.com/ to buy tickets ahead of time (we're from the US)?

Thanks

[guernseyguy]

I have not - I generally just go to the Leicester Square Tickets Booth:

 

http://www.officiallondontheatre.co.uk/tkts

 

Which almost always has something worth seeing for that day - at half price (plus £2.50 handling).

 

Of course, if there is a specific show you want to see that might not work - and some shows are never sold by them. The site you mentioned did seem to have quite a high per ticket handling charge - so might be worth searching for other sites - or if you want to see a very popular show, many sell some tickets on the day of the performance.

 

Peter

[pnhmrk]

I have not - I generally just go to the Leicester Square Tickets Booth:

 

http://www.officiallondontheatre.co.uk/tkts

 

Which almost always has something worth seeing for that day - at half price (plus £2.50 handling).

 

I'm with you there. That's the cheapest place to get theatre tickets in London.

 

Of course, if there is a specific show you want to see that might not work

 

You can never guarantee that they'll have tickets for a particular show. Shows like Phantom of the Opera are sold out months ahead - they never get tickets for the popular shows.

 

The site you mentioned did seem to have quite a high per ticket handling charge

 

They are offering shows that are otherwise sold out - they can charge what they like and get away with it!

 

So might be worth searching for other sites

 

Try www.ticketmaster.co.uk - the same company as in the States. They're not too bad if you're booking in advance.

[Kindlychap]

Isn't it possible to simply approach the theatre's own box office?

 

Matthew

[KenC]

Have recently used this site - it gives big discounts and seat references before booking (not always the case with discount sites)

 

http://www.LondonTheatreBoxOffice.net

 

 

Ken

[Joyfredsblondecruiser]

I went to londontown.com and booked my tickets there. I booked the Mousetrap. I saw this years ago with my Mother in San Francisco and I read the book since I am a great fan of Agatha Christie. Happy Sailing, Joy

[flag fan]

I used www.broadway.com, which has a link to London tickets--if you click on the "Get Tickets" button on the first page, there are two tabs on the second page, one for Broadway and one for London. What I liked about this site was it has seating charts for all the theaters. I also used it to gets tickets for pre-cruise Broadway shows. I have also used londontown.com and booked directly with the theatres on line. They all worked out fine. Some mail tickets out and others you pick up at the theater.

[Ken_W]

You can also go to the play or musical's website (for example, Equus' website is http://www.equustheplay.com/) and there will be a link to purchase tickets. In some cases it will take you to Ticketmaster, but it may lead to other purchasing options.

 

I used Ticketmaster to get tickets for Equus a couple of weeks ago and was able to get 6th row in the Royal Circle (the mezzanine here in the U.S.) but for kicks I looked up tickets for sale for the same performance and found that today I could have had two tickets, second row of the Royal Circle, on the aisle, same price, and that would have been just slightly prefereable. Live and learn!

 

Anyone else planning on seeing Maggie Smith in Albee's Lady from Dubuque?

[mufi]

Before you book it is worth looking at the "theatre monkey" site, Google should find it. Great for telling you where the best seats are in all the London theatres and avoiding pillars and restricted views etc.

 

David.

[Bramcruiser]

Great advice everyone. I'll be spending 5 nights and 4 days in London this summer and thus this topic is timely. Yes, I wouldn't be too upset if I paid a little more to guarantee a popular show but could also handle same-day half-price tickets. Now the real hard part...........just what to see? But at least I see my options laid out. Thanks everyone.

 

David

[scottjeanne]

I have booked tickets through two sites in the USA. One is www.superbreak.com which will book hotel and theatre togehter at very good prices. The other is www.seetickets.com which is a visitlondon link. If you request tickets now for this summer, you should have no problem getting tickets in an excellent location. We are seeing Phantom of the Opera (again-I think this will be our 6th or 7th time) during our one day stay in London after our QE2 sailing in July.

[JDRMYS]

For the best results in getting well located London tickets in advance, we have found that using the theatre's website or telephoning the theatre directly is the most efficacious method. That's how we got our pre-cruise tickets to Hay Fever with Judy Dench in June and to Moon for the Misbegotten with Kevin Spacey in November. It was a very simple process and we got excellent seats.

 

We have also found that the best source for information about the London theatre scene is at Londontheatre.co.uk. This is an on line subsription service that sends out extremely detailed monthly updates about every production running or planned for the London theatre.

[pnhmrk]

One is www.superbreak.com which will book hotel and theatre together at very good prices.

 

I like Superbreak but couldn't recommend them for theatre bookings. Remember that theatres do not discount on most evening and all matinée shows, neither do they pay any commission on any booking. Superbreak must make their profit somewhere so you are paying that on top of the face value of the ticket AND the booking fee. You are normally far cheaper booking your hotel with them and your tickets separately (they are good at getting otherwise sold out tickets though).

[pnhmrk]

I have booked tickets through two sites in the USA. One is www.superbreak.com

 

BTW Superbreak isn't in the States - They're based in York, about half an hour's walk from me!