How do I book theatre tickets?

In the past I've found the TheatreMonkey website helpful for its advice about seating in individual theatres. Many of the London theatres are fairly and quirky. In some, sitting in the first row means looking up at the actors' feet, or maybe their knees. TheatreMonkey will help you decide where you prefer to sit. It also has links to the ticket website for each theatre.

Last time we booked from the U.S. we used TKTS London site. Believe it's the same company that runs the TKTS kiosk at Leicester Square.

The theatremonkey website listed above will list the agent for the official box office for each theatre. In general, the official box office will have the lowest fees and best selection of seats. In most cases, you can buy your tickets online and pick up at the theatre on the day of performance. Some performances (e.g., Hamilton) have a slightly different process. You can check these websites periodically to see how far out they are selling.

Always make sure you are buying from the official ticket seller. In addition to Theatermonkey, you can go to the show's official website; there will always be a prominent link to "BUY TICKETS NOW."

If you buy from any other website, you will merely pay extra fees for no extra benefit. Or, it may not be a legitimate website, and you may not even have valid tickets.

This is true in every city - London, New York, etc. For instance Broadway dot com sounds official, but it is merely a reseller, that adds about $20 to each ticket ON TOP of the regular fees (which are high enough to begin with).

In addition, the show's website will have that theatre's specific Covid protocols, including exchange policies if you are sick and unable to attend the show you had tickets for.

When you buy an online ticket, you can print it out. I believe some can now be shown on phones. And you have the option to pick it up at the theatre at the "will call" window. If you insist on paper tickets being mailed to you, you will now pay for this (even domestically, which used to be free). It does differ for each show; for instance, Hamilton has very specific procedures because they've had problems with counterfeits. Again, all the options for ticket delivery and special requirements will be detailed when you purchase. Be sure to read them carefully so you don't have problems getting in.

As for how far in advance you can buy, that varies. In normal times, tickets are released in blocks of anywhere from 3 to 9 months, depending on the show. A year in advance would be unusual. For a hot show, you need to be ready to book the day the tickets are released; for others, there are plenty available for every performance. However, in these Covid times, shows are releasing much smaller blocks of tickets. The website for the show is the best source of this information - it will usually say something like "Now booking through January 2022." You can often get on an email list to be notified when the show releases new tickets - again, worth it for hot shows so you don't miss out.

I totally agree with Harold’s great advice. I always go the the theatres (where the show is at) website and get tickets. For an example I just looked for tickets for Hamilton, they are on up to February 13, 2022.

Be warned-we had Hamilton tickets for Mar 2020 and were refunded only a small fraction of the price we paid even though we had paid extra for refundable tickets. Fortunately, we did get to see it(more than once) on Disney +