Theatre in London

Negin You might want to consider the Globe theatre. It's a great building and the plays tend to have enough action and spectacle to entertain youngsters. If you get standing tickets, which are only £5, they can also move about. The summer programme is here http://www.shakespearesglobe.com/theatre/on-stage Alan

You already listed one of my suggestions. Grab the paper when you get there and decide as a family what you would like to see and then go. Or, go to this website and see what grabs you: http://www.officiallondontheatre.co.uk/london_shows/. Also, try the half price ticket booth at Leicester Square. You go the day of and again decide what you would like to see with the added benefit of it being 50% off. Going to the Globe theater and standing to watch a play is also a great suggestion

http://www.timeout.com/london/theatre/ http://www.officiallondontheatre.co.uk/

Go to the London theatre sites suggested by Michael. When you are in London just grab the newspaper (a good one) and they will list whats on. But absolutely go to the half Price ticket booth at Leicester Square first. They "always' have tickets available for a number of different shows. If you dont need to go to the current hit, you are bound to find something you will like. Also consider the matinee shows. (I think there are matinees on Wednesdays and Saturdays for quite a few shows- so you arent up too late). There are also the equivalent of "off-Broadway" shows, but they are often away from the West End. We always go to a lot of shows in London, and always find quite a few we like at the half-price booth I would not suggest the Globe (Shakesepeare) for your kids- unless it is one of the comedies- and even these can be a bit obtuse. You also arent going to get a discount.

Thank you all so much.
I've printed out your very helpful tips.

You might want to check into TKTS half price tickets for Billy Elliot. We saw it on Broadway last year with a 13 year old boy and 11 year old girl. The 11 year old was adamant she didn't want to see a "kiddie" show like Beauty and the Beast...it was perfect because the lead character was their age, but the story itself is much more teen/adult focused. We all loved it -- the dancing is spectacular -- and like Oliver, it is very British, which would be fun in London. However, if you don't want the kids to hear any rough language or references to sexuality, it's probably not for you.

Wizzard of Oz is currently playing. Check out TKTS for tickets. You might also consider Wicked. In the summer there are outdoor performances in Regent Park. Check for these when you arrive.
We have used Albemarle's of London in the past for tickets- if you want to be certain to buy them before you go rather than using TKTS for day of tickets. They are reliable and will either mail the tickets to you or have them waiting at your hotel.

Ruth, Billy Elliott sounds appealing. One question: is the accent difficult to understand? The movie was hard to understand at times. Thank you all so much.
Really do appreciate the tips.

We took our granddaughter to see BE last summer. I was a little worried about the accents but she didn't have any trouble with the majority of the dialogue. Since she is only 8 I was hoping that the heavily accented FU* would go right over her head and it did...* We did give her a little background about the musical and history lesson though before we went. We watched the movie after seeing the musical and we all decided that the accents were more difficult in the movie. Every summer there are short running plays put on for the duration of the school holidays. We caught one of those at Waterloo station that she loved. We also went to see War Horse. I HIGHLY recommend this play for your family. You will be amazed.

Thanks so much, Mona.

I saw Billy Elliot in London about a year ago, and there was no problem understanding the dialogue.

Thanks so much.

I would disagree regarding the comment to avoid the Globe. When I was around your kids' ages, I studied Shakespeare in school. It might be cool for your kids to see a play, in London, at the Globe that they studied in School. I would have loved that at that age (or this age, for that matter). This really depends on your kids, and you'll know if they'll go for it. But a $5 "groundling" ticket lets you walk about during the performance, just as in Elizabethen times. I'm not saying it's a slam dunk for your family, but it's definitely worth considering.

Thanks. We'll consider that also.

Theatre Monkey (www.theatremonkey.com) is the best site for London theatre. All the information you could possibly want.

Thanks so much.