Suggestions on buying London show tickets
Apr 2nd, 2003, 05:11 PM
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Suggestions on buying London show tickets
I would like some suggestions of where to get good London theatre tix. I've seen on the forum that people have talked about getting at a discount when they got there. Is this safe to do & still get good tix? Would appreciate any suggestions.<BR>Thanks!
Apr 2nd, 2003, 05:34 PM
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There is a half price ticket booth in London for same day tickets. It works fine if you are not fussy about what you see. The booth is in Leicester Square.<BR><BR>By the way, I recommend that folks look for shows that will not cross the Atlantic. I can never understand why people are so fixated on seeing the big musicals. You can see them all over in the US.<BR><BR>If you look for serious drama or for specifically British plays, you will find a good selection at the half price ticket booth.
Apr 2nd, 2003, 09:01 PM
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littlehouse - it is very "safe" to wait until you are in London to buy yix for most shows. For a very few huge hits and limited runs, you would need to book ahead of time.<BR><BR>The Leicester Square 1/2 price TKTS booth will have excellent seats to most shows.<BR><BR>to give you an idea - here is what they had last Thursday:<BR><BR>MATINEE:<BR>Abigail's Party<BR>Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged)<BR>Contact<BR>Laughing Matter<BR>Les Miserables<BR>Our House<BR>Rat Pack<BR>Stomp<BR>Stones in His Pockets<BR>Three Sisters (25 % off)<BR><BR>EVENING:<BR>Abigail's Party<BR>Arsenic and Old Lace<BR>Auntie & Me<BR>Bible: Complete Word of God (abridged)<BR>Blood Brothers<BR>Chitty Chitty Bang Bang<BR>Cliff the Musical<BR>Contact<BR>Dance of Death (25% off)<BR>Fame<BR>Grease<BR>Joseph and the Amazing....<BR>King Lear (Old Vic) <BR>Les Miserables<BR>Mum's the Word<BR>My Brilliant Divorce (25% off)<BR>My Fair Lady<BR>Our House<BR>Phantom of the Opera<BR>Pretending To Be Me<BR>Ragtime<BR>Rat Pack<BR>Stomp<BR>Stones in His Pockets<BR>Taboo<BR>Three Sisters (25 % off)<BR>Woman in Black<BR>Zipp<BR><BR>
Apr 2nd, 2003, 10:27 PM
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Theater in London is great! Caveat! Don't buy from touts. Quality of seats from 1/2 price booth may not be good. Find seating charts for theater. A stalls seat for a lesser production may be more enjoyable than the seat in the last row of the balcony. Concierge at hotel can help. Access theater from USA by WWW/email. Most theaters have websites. After arrival, use time in the morning to visit theaters. Try the Royal Festival Hall for productions. The show at noon is free in the main lounge. Lastly, Theaters have returned ticket feature. Queue early. Consider matinees. Enjoy the whole bit, buy intermission drinks beforehand. <BR>
Apr 3rd, 2003, 05:36 AM
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make sure you see where the seats are we looked at 4 for a show for 2 adults and 2 children and they were in 4 different areas of the theatre.<BR>To cap it all they were in a sealed envelope and the guy selling didn't want us to open it until we had paid.<BR>Fortunately I did open it and didn't pay<BR><BR>Muck<BR>
Apr 3rd, 2003, 06:53 AM
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Littlehouse: This web site may help with your plans, regardless of where you decide to purchase your tickets.<BR><BR>http://www.londontheatre.co.uk/
Apr 3rd, 2003, 06:04 PM
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The TKTS booth is a stand-alone building on the south side of the square - near the National Portrait Gallery.<BR><BR>As you exit the Leicester Sq tube station you will immediately run into three "1/2 price" ticket sellers. They usually have long lines - but AVOID these. These are not the official booth and are really scalpers.<BR><BR>The seats sold at TKTS are usually VERY good - among the best in the theatre since they only sell "best available"
Apr 3rd, 2003, 06:13 PM
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Mucky, obviously you weren't at the official half price booth. That wouldn't happen there.<BR><BR>One additional point. Most of the tickets sold at the half price booth are the highest priced tickets (meaning the "best" seats) but sold at half price, as mentioned in the post above. If the bottom line is the most important thing, then you can often get rear seats at the actual theatre box offices for full cost, which will still be less than the half price "best" seats. I personally prefer good seats, but just something to consider if it is simply the cheapest seats you are looking for.
Apr 4th, 2003, 11:47 AM
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The official TKTS booth is the only one that is literally in the square (well, sitting just at the edge of the railing near the park-like benches), whereas the others are a part of shopping store stalls, and those have bright neon signs trying to lure you to them .... you can't miss the official booth if you look directly to the end of the grassy square, as Janis said.<BR><BR>I beg to differ a bit with the person who said why go see a musical when in London... while I might agree if you are thinking of seeing something like "Grease" or "Contact," we just saw "My Fair Lady," and to see that particular show, that is set in London, while we were actually IN London, well, it will be a cherished memory. 
Go see what you want to see, not what you think you should see. Even if the show you want to see is something you could catch while in NY or LA, just to say you saw it while in London will be a special memory. Have fun!!
Go see what you want to see, not what you think you should see. Even if the show you want to see is something you could catch while in NY or LA, just to say you saw it while in London will be a special memory. Have fun!!
