Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
office right when it opens. For example, the popular show
Wicked
saves its front-row tick-
ets to sell at half-price at 10:00 on the day of the show, but you must buy them in person at
the box office...and on busy days, people line up early. (Restrictions may apply: You may
be limited to two half-price tickets; if you can buy multiple cheap tickets, the seats may not
be together; and with front-row seats, be warned you may not be able to see the stage floor
or actors' feet.) To find out about deals, look at the show's website, call the box office, or
simply drop in to find out the drill (the theaters are mostly in highly trafficked tourist areas,
so you're likely to wander past your chosen theater at some point during your visit). Even if
a show is “sold out,” there's usually a way to get a seat. Call the theater box office and ask
how.
If you don't care where you sit, you can often buy the absolute cheapest seats—those
with an obstructed view or in the nosebleed section—at the box office; these tickets often
cost less than £20. Some theaters are so small that there's hardly a bad seat. After the lights
go down, scooting up is less than a capital offense. Shakespeare did it.
Booking Through Other Agencies:
Although booking through a middleman (such as
the TI, your hotel, or ticket agency) is quick and easy, prices are inflated by a standard 25
percent fee. Ticket agencies (whether in the US or in London) are just scalpers with an ad-
dress. If you're buying from an agency, look at the ticket carefully (your price should be no
more than 30 percent over the printed face value; the 20 percent VAT is already included in
the face value) and understand where you're sitting according to the floor plan (if your view
is restricted, it will state this on the ticket).
Agencies are worthwhile only if a show you've just got to see is sold out at the box of-
fice. They scarf up hot tickets, planning to make a killing after the show is sold out. US
bookingagencies gettheir tickets fromanother agency,addingtoyourexpense byinvolving
yet another middleman. Many tickets sold on the street are forgeries. Although some theat-
ersusebookingagenciestohandletheiradvancesales,you'lllikelysavemoneybyavoiding
the middleman.
Theater Options
West End Theaters:
The commercial (nonsubsidized) theaters cluster around Soho (es-
pecially along Shaftesbury Avenue) and Covent Garden. With a centuries-old tradition of
pleasing the masses, these present London theater at its glitziest.
Plays:
If you're interested in straight-up plays rather than bombastic West-End musicals
or Shakespeare (explained next), you'll have many choices. A few recent cinematic block-
busters (including
The King's Speech
and
War Horse
) started out as London plays. Straight
plays tend to have shorter runs than famous musicals: Check out the latest at
www.officiallondontheatre.co.uk
, ask at the tkts booth, or just watch for ads on the Tube.
One particularly good venue is the
Royal National Theatre,
which has a range of im-
