We will be in London in March and want to see a play. Is it best to order tickets ahead or should we wait and purchase them when we arrive? We want to make sure we have some good seats.

I'm a little confused by your question. Is it a specific play you want to see, or just see a play? And do you prefer a straight play to a musical? If you have your heart set on Mama Mia or Lion King for example, then definitely get your tickets ahead, although it is already a bit late for those shows. On the other hand, you can go to the official half-price ticket booth at Leicester Square on the day of the show you want to attend. This is the totally separate small building standing at the south side of the actual park, not one of the rip-off booths near by. They will sell from a good variety of plays and musicals and will only have good seats (the top price ones and usually in great locations) for half-price of face value plus a 2 pound service charge. They are cash sales only. Pick up the brochure ahead of time and decide from the list posted on the board of what's available that day. Although the line may look long, it is quite organized and the most I have ever stood in the line is a little less than half an hour. If you do some research ahead of time and really get your heart set on a particular show, you may want to go to the actual theatre box office when you get there and ask what performance they have the best seats for and buy them that way. There are a couple of good London Theatre websites, which you can get by doing a search, or just post back here and we will give them to you. Some recent posts have also given some pretty specific comments and suggestions for good current London plays and musicals, if you do a search.

Hello, <BR> <BR>Order tickets in advance if you want to see a specific show, especially a popular one. If you are flexible, you can try the half-priced ticket kiosk in Leicester Square. Here is the web address for the half-priced outlet: <BR> <BR> http://home.clara.net/clara.net/r/a/p/rap/webspace/half <BR> <BR>Assuming you want to obtain tickets in advance, one possiblity is to go online to: <BR> <BR> http://www.ticketmaster.co.uk <BR> <BR>The UK ticketmaster site has theater schedules and other information. Now you can obtain tickets using Ticketmaster, but you'll pay a booking fee. You can also get the telephone number for many theaters and call them directly (during London business hours). Many theaters will sell you tickets directly--charging your credit card--and hold them for you at the will call window until the evening of the play. This method also MAY get you a better seat selection. <BR> <BR>Enjoy your trip. <BR> <BR>David White <BR>LET'S TAKE THE KIDS TO LONDON--A FAMILY TRAVEL GUIDE <BR>http://www.KidsToLondon.com

The Lion King's British web site has a notation that American Express Card holders can call a special number for tickets, using their AMEX card. I called the number from the US and got excellent seats for the night we wanted. An added bonus is there are no booking fees.

try whatsonstage.com for London theater. Hot plays right now are listed... also reviews.