Theatre in London
 

Can someone tell me appropriate dress and ball park range on cost?

I have topped on of MANY threads for you about what to wear.<BR><BR>

Thanks for your help!

Top price tickets are generally one-third to one-half of what they would be on Broadway. In addition there are more far less expensive seats.<BR>Also many (actually most) productions make half price seats available at the official half-price ticket booth in Leicester Square. <BR>If you are paying full price at the box office, expect to pay a maximum of 40 to 45 pounds for musicals, maximum of about 35 for non musicals.

45 pounds is $65.50 US dollars.<BR><BR>Except for the top -can't get a ticket anyway- shows like the Producers, I think that is close to the price of tickets for shows in NYC.<BR><BR>

I am surprised to hear that tickets for shows in London are half the price of those in NY.<BR>When we saw a musical a couple of years ago,in London, the price then was about $65-US and it has gone up since then.<BR>

http://www.albemarle-london.com/<BR><BR>Merri, I found this site,which gives you the list of all plays and things going on in London,prices,availability,it is a great site!<BR>Also, Patrick,sorry I doubted you:) I am shocked to see the difference in prices since we were there last.

Most musicals in New York are now $90 top price. The Producers broke the trend most recently when they hit $100, and I believe have since gone over that.<BR>But yes, I stand firm with my statement of one third to one half less than Broadway.<BR>Also people need to realize that many of you buy your London theatre tickets through agencies. Those tickets average 10 to 15 US dollars above the box office price.<BR>I recently bought four top price tickets for Chitty, Chitty, Bang-Bang, which I believe has the record for the highest priced London musical ever. Still, the tickets were a total of $243 US, or $ 60 each, a good 40% less than The Producers -- the highest priced ticket on Broadway.

And I failed to mention, Kate, that the Albemarle site, although great for getting seating charts is one of those agencies that average $10 to $15 a ticket above the box office price. See www.officiallondontheatre.co.uk for the actual prices and phone numbers to call the box offices direct.

Dress for London theater is very informal. It seems to me that Londoners view going to the theater much like we view going to a movie theater and dress about as we would at a movie. You will see a wide range of dress from the very informal to the quite formal. I felt comfortable in jeans and a long sleeved shirt. In London I choose the theater as much as the production. I avoid the newer theaters and instead go to the wonderful older ones such as the Savoy or Haymarket.

Ralph - Maybe you are confused about which theatres are which. The Savoy is certainly not an old one. It WAS built in the late 19th century (which is not old by London standards - Drury Lane for instance dates from the 17th cen.) but was redesigned in the 20's-30's and is VERY art deco with silver, stainless steel and mirrors everywhere. It is a wonderful theatre - but definitely not old or old looking.

Patrick,<BR>thanks for the site,we will be using it this Oct,although we buy our tickets to shows when we are there.<BR>We are presently trying to get tickets to take a young one to see The Lion King.Sadly,a family of 3 will cost anywhere from $70-$95 each to see it.I hope the prices are less in London as there are plays we would like for him to see there too.<BR>Last year Mamma Mia was good,but not that inexpensive.<BR>I guess it depends on the popularity of the show,as in the Producers.We paid top price for that,in addition to the boredom of standing in the ticket line on a hot summer afternoon,for tickets in Nov! But plays like Contact are easy to get tickets for and are less expensive.

Yes, Lion King is cheaper in London, and although it is the only place I've seen it, friends have enjoyed it more in London than in New York -- mainly due to better sound.<BR>The range of prices for Lion King in London is from 17.50 pounds ($25.55 US) to a top price of 40 pounds (58.40 US). <BR>For some performances, the top price is even less. In addition, you can buy from the box office with absolutely no charge for using a credit card and no handling or postage fee. Compare that to the extra couple of dollars a ticket buying for Broadway from Ticketmaster or other agency.<BR>Kate, if you are serious about Lion King I suggest you call the theatre directly now and book good seats for October. Or is the "little one" you speak of not going to be with you in London?

We were just there (May 10-14).<BR>We bought tickets to MFL over the phone, direct from theatre, before we left. Price was 40 pounds plus 1 pound service per ticket. They arrived 5 days later(South Florida).<BR><BR>We purchased tickets for Blood Brothers at TKTS (same day at Leicester Sq)for a Saturday night performance. First balcony 5th row. Very small theatre. Seats were great and show too. Price was 42 pounds for 2 tickets (I guess that was half price).<BR>

Patrick-<BR>the little one will be in London and I am thinking that according to your advice,he will be better off seeing it there,and we will find something else here(NY). <BR>He liked Stomp-maybe I will go in the other direction and take him to the Ballet:)<BR>Thanks for the advice & sites~Kate

Buy your tickets at Leicaster Sq. Half-=Price Ticket Booths. Last week we saw Mama Mia, Lion King, and Full Monty and never paid more than 36 pounds. Full Monty was 18.50 pounds and hilarious! Dress was very informal; maybe 25% had evening wear on and that tended to be the young teenage girls that wanted to strut their stuff! Wear black, black, black and you'll fit right in!

Brenda, I'm a little confused by your post which seems to suggest you got your tickets for Mama Mia and Lion King at the half price booth in Leicester Square, which would be news to me. <BR>Also what did you pay 36 pounds for? To my best knowledge the highest price for the shows you mention is 40 pounds so where does the 36 pounds figure in? I sincerely hope you didn't go to one of those "scam" booths near Leicester Square that have big signs saying "half price" where they sell you 20 pound tickets for 26 pounds or so and tell you they're half price!!!<BR>Your Full Monty tickets sound about right, however, assuming they were top priced seats.