London Theaters

Do you want to experience Shakespeare at the Globe? The schedule of productions for next summer will not be out yet, but keep watch. If you want to book seats (which we like), you should buy your tickets soon after they are released to the public. This year that was early February.

Seeing a play in London is well worth it. As for suggestions, it depends on your interests and the age of your family members. Do you want a comedy, tragedy, serious drama, or big budget musical? Do you prefer a larger theater or a smaller intimate venue?

You can look at What’s on Stage to see what will be available. Also, Theatre Monkey helps you determine which seats to buy based on price, view, location, and comfort.

For something light, I enjoyed “The Play That Goes Wrong” which is hilarious and suitable for children.

https://www.whatsonstage.com/

http://www.theatremonkey.com/

https://bookings.whatsonstage.com/london-theatre/plays/the-play-that-goes-wrong

All the best,

Raymond

It's not so much the theatre as the production! To get a "feel" for what the offerings are you can check out London Theatre https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/whats-on/calendar/jun to see what's scheduled so far! As the previous poster mentioned, the offerings at the Globe aren't out yet. My husband and I go to the theatre several nights every time we're in London as it's one of our favorite things to do. For new, "big name" shows, you'll need to try and book tickets as soon as they are available. For shows that have been out for quite some time (like "Cats", "Phantom", etc., etc. you can usually get cheaper tickets at one of the ticket booths in Leicester Square. Depending on the show, you can generally get tickets either the day of or a few days in advance.

Not sure what your criteria are for recommendations. Seating, types of productions, unique or historic setting, etc. There are a ton of theaters in London with a variety of shows - classical to modern.

If you want something unique, you might look at Waterloo Station Theatre which is an old train station turned theater with seating on either side of the tracks.

We saw Kinky Boots at the Adelphi on the Strand two years ago. Great production, but the seating in the theater wasn't comfortable and the seats very close together.

The main thing is to find a show your whole family is interested in. Also work out transport - best is if you can walk to it or take a subway. Traffic in London stinks and getting a cab after a show lets out - arg!

If you want to see a show while in London, you can go to The Globe theatre. Or pick a play or musical based upon what you want to see and not on a particular theatre.

Now not sure what will be playing in June 2020 right now, but there are a wide variety of plays and musicals right now being performed. Wicked, Aladdin, Tina Turner Musical, The Lion King, Waitress, Come from Away, 9 to 5 the Musical, Pretty Woman and a whole lot more. I would google London plays to see what interests you. I am going to London in May and right now there are tickets for May and June but most plays are not selling tickets yet for the time I am going or even June. That said, there are some plays and musicals that do have tickets available for May and June but not all are on sale yet.

Hope this helps.

"it may be fun to see a show - which theaters are recommended?"

Aside from Shakespeare at the Globe, I think most people are more interested in the plays than the theatres they are in. I like checking out the theatre monkey website. You can decide whether to buy tickets in advance, or if you aren't too fussy about what play you see, buy discounted tickets on the day of the show from the ticket kiosk TKTS in Leicester Square.

We always try to take in at least one show when we're in London.

If you are in the mood for a comedy I highly recommend "The Play that Goes Wrong". I've seen it twice on Broadway and the West End, and it was so funny my face literally hurt from laughing so much. It's also very family friendly.
https://www.theplaythatgoeswrong.com/london

We have never been disappointed with anything we have seen and we have seen most productions. There was one exception and that was Matilda which I suppose kids would like. We really enjoyed Oliver and saw it near the end of its run and I thought Matilda would compare--but no comparison--seats at Cambridge theater were so uncomfortable. Some friends said their kids loved Lion King.

As has been stated, the theatre itself is of little importance, it's all about the production. Most theatres date from the Victorian era and seating is small and cramped. The upper levels are also quite steep and if you suffer from vertigo it can be a bit intimidating standing up and moving around.

https://www.harrypottertheplay.com/uk/

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, in London...but hold on to your wallet, it's v. expensive. Might be worth it if your family are die-hard HP fans.

When I was in London a while ago, I decided I would seek out plays that were (1) British, definitely not American, (2) uppers not depressing, so more likely comedies or musicals, rather than heavy dramas, (3) plays which I had not seen before, and (4) where I could buy discounted, or at least not expensive, tickets. I ended up at Billy Elliot and War Horse, where I had seen the movie so knew the story, but never the play. Both were excellent, especially War Horse with its “Lion King-like” horses. Both those should appeal to kids too.
I also went to the Globe Theatre for The Merchant of Venice. Seats can be expensive and not very comfortable. I got ground tickets for £5, which means standing up in front of the stage. After a day of tourism, I had planned on taking in the theater, spectacle, costuming and experience, and then leaving at the intermission, but I ended up staying til the end, as exhausting as it was to be on my feet that long. A great experience!

My hubby and I love going to the theater while in London. We have seen Hamilton, Wicked and The Play That Goes Wrong in the past couple of years. We choose based on what we would like to see, rather than the theater itself. Enjoy!

Both were excellent, especially War Horse with its “Lion King-like”
horses. Both those should appeal to kids too.

War Horse was specifically written and designed for an under-18 audience.

I think the theater is less important than the play you want to see. The play will determine the venue you go to.

Theatre in London is fantastic.

This year I’ll be seeing Witness for the Prosecution. The twist? It’s being produced in the council chamber in the venerable County Hall building.

Besides seeing the original Chorus Line cast on closing night in San Francisco, one of the best nights of theatre was seeing the quintessential “American” play “ Guys and Dolls, “ many years ago in London.

Along with the Theatre Monkey and London Theatre websites in January start looking online at Timeout magazine.

You should also consider seeing Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap.

I just got back from London a couple of weeks ago. Hamilton at the Victoria Palace Theatre and Come From Away at the Phoenix Theatre were both excellent.

Another vote for The Play that Goes Wrong. We saw it last weekend and it was hysterical.

I saw "The Play That Goes Wrong" a few years ago in London and found it to be one of the FUNNIEST plays I had ever seen.

natschrjn, I think the answer is the same as if you had asked, "We're going to New York, should we see a show?" There are good shows and bad shows in both places. There have been a lot of English imports on Broadway in the last 30 years, but American shows (like Lion King) also go the other way.

It depends primarily on what your family usually likes for entertainment. Someone here I think, recently answered another poster by pointing out that a night of blank-verse Shakespeare is not most family's idea of a fun evening out! No matter how authentic the historic replica theater is.

When you are going to spend this kind of money (of course, there are small scale theaters that are quite inexpensive as well) for a family-worth of tickets, you owe it to yourself to do a lot of research. My hometown newspaper, the New York Times, often reviews plays in London (and those plays often close before my next trip to London!) But you have to see if the play, or the cast, or the production make it something everyone in your family would enjoy. If you would not normally go to a 2 to 3 hour live play or musical at home, I would question why you would go in London.

The quality of the West End productions is extremely high, as they are on Broadway. But quality is not the same as enjoyment-value, for your family. I've despised some musicals (like The Addams Family) on Broadway, and I've found off-beat, risky productions (like Fela) to be enthralling and memorable.

Because you have a limited number of days to see something, it's much harder to seek and obtain any kind of discount. I give special attention to uniquely local operations; I still hope to see a Christmas Pantomime sometime. And we went to the Vienna Staatsoper even though we don't regularly go to the opera at home.

Although it is somewhat clunky to operate, theatremonkey has served me well over the years. It includes comments on good and bad seats in some theatres. Some shows, particularly the international musicals, seem to be in permanent production but it is the nature of the game that most offerings come and go. It is far too early to guess what will be running next summer. A play, as opposed to a musical, may have more of an English flavour.

I have enjoyed experiencing the nature of the wide range of the theatres themselves in London. North Americans may be surprised at how small, and intimate, some of the leading venues are. The slapstick in The Play that Goes Wrong, for instance, spills into the audience. But I also love the Royal Albert Hall for shows, not plays, and its unique central hall can hold up to 5,000 in a stunning round auditorium. It offers tours, as does the lavishly renovated and expanded Royal Opera House.

Theatre attendance has been rising so there can be some scepticism about why leftover seats are on sale at the bargain ticket booth. One practical tip: Those cheap seats in the first or second row may give you a splendid view of the performers' knees.

I love London Theatre! It's one of the reasons I go to London as often as I do. Last year I saw Macbeth, Hamilton, both parts of Harry Potter & the Cursed Child, and Company. Even with the exchange the prices are lower and the quality just as good as NYC. There are always many shows to choose from, and it all depends on what you want to see.

I've seen a lot of good tips here, especially for lower price seats. But, there are a couple of venues that I don't think have been mentioned. One is the National Theater in the South Bank Center https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/ where I've seen excellent productions of Othello, and Follies. Another is the Royal Shakespeare Company at the Barbican - although I think the Barbican season might be over before summer. They have other events besides plays. https://www.barbican.org.uk/

Keep an eye on the "Time Out" website for future shows. Also, consider splitting into pairs for tickets - it will be easier that trying to get four seats together. You aren't supposed to chat during the show anyway!

This year I’ll be seeing Witness for the Prosecution. The twist? It’s being produced in the council chamber in the venerable County Hall building.
Claudia - that sounds awesome!