New to West End Theater Questions

[theminutepast]

Posted: 1/11/15 at 10:22am

Hi, all. I'll be going across the pond to London in late June and early July. It will be my first time there and I'm excited to take in as much theater as I can. (Or should I say theatre?) I've noticed some differences about the West End that I wanted to confirm with those who know it well.

It seems that most shows perform Monday through Saturday. Are most shows dark on Sundays? In New York, Monday is the usual dark day.

I'd like to try day seats while I'm there, and I've used theatermonkey to get some preliminary data on how popular day seats might be for Miss Saigon. It seems that even in high season, people start lining up at the earliest at 8 am. Here people may line up for popular shows as early as 6 am. Should I be extra careful with day seats? Any tips on how to be successful?

Thank you for any pointers you can give.

[Mark_E]

Posted: 1/11/15 at 12:33pm

Yes most shows are dark Sunday. Theatremonkey has a chart showing which shows play on which days and also which days they have their matinees.

8am for Saigon in the midweek should be fine, although if you don't mind waiting earlier then go for it.

[theminutepast]

Posted: 1/11/15 at 7:12pm

Thanks for the help!

[ggersten]

Posted: 1/11/15 at 9:26pm

The other tip is to just go the box office of a show you want to see and ask for a day seat or very politely "is there anything you can do for me? We got a heavily discounted ticket in the stalls for Mamma Mia on a Friday night that way - as well as discounted tickets to lots of other shows - just by asking. The TKTS booth is mostly useless, by reputation. We never used it during our 7 month sojourn. Some of the booth people are very good as well - we liked the one in Picadilly Circus in front of the Boots store. Got to know the people who operated the booth and they would make phone calls. This may even work for Miss Saigon as there will be a new cast starting in May/June - although the summer tourists may overwhelm it.

Also, use the theatre websites - the Mackintosh website (for Miss Saigon) seems to use dynamic pricing sometimes - so a seat may drop in price dramatically, day to day. (We got what would have been premium seats for Mormon when one afternoon the price dropped 50 pounds! Still expensive - but basically half-price)

Now, of course, don't limit yourself to the actual West End theatres - there's lots of smaller theatres off the West End to see shows - such as Hampstead, Almeida, Menier, The Young Vic, the National Theatre, Southwark.

You also may wish to check out theatreforum.com for discussion about shows. And Timeoutlondon has lots of discount offers, in addition to the ones listed on the theatremonkey website.

Other differences: (1) programs are not free (2) ice cream is sold during the interval (3) the safety curtains are cool (4) attire can be very casual, especially in the summer (5) standing ovations are not common like on Broadway AND (6) SHOWS START ON TIME (mostly - don't count on even a few minute delay)

Updated On: 1/11/15 at 09:26 PM

[Whileshesleeps]

Posted: 1/12/15 at 3:42am

There are ways of getting allocated into better seats - much easier is you are by yourself or two people together.
I've lost count of the times that I've booked the cheapest seats for show that are long running but not showing to capacity audiences or those not doing so well and then found I'm upgraded to the stalls.
Checking with front of house staff on arrival and being cheeky asking nicely if its possible to be upgraded, can result if you're prepared to hand around the foyer allow them to fill gaps in the better seats at the last minute. This worked for me recently at Women On The Verge, despite it being a pretty full audience.
www.lastminute.com is a good web site to check the discounted tickets (but always compare with the theatre web site too as deals aren't always as good as they look with hidden extra costs sometimes).
The ticket booth in Leicester Square also discounts seats (usually top priced seats first)which can produce some good bargains.

[Theatrefan2]

Posted: 1/12/15 at 10:54pm

I saw Miss Saigon last month and day seated - I actually stopped by the box office at 3:00 pm on a Monday and got a seat. A Saturday day seat for Scotsboro Boys at 5:00 pm so it really can be hit or miss. Also you can mention at the box office if you are a student or a senior. Some shows have signs outside the theatre which advertise day seats.

I suggest you have something in mind of what you want to see before you go over.

[theminutepast]

Posted: 1/14/15 at 10:34pm

Thank you so much for all the advice. I'm thrilled for my visit.