We'll be spending 8 or 9 days in London in the early Fall, with days, probably, to Canterbury, Brighton and Hampton Court (we've already visited Bath, York, Cambridge and Greenwich on earlier holidays). We'd like to see a "straight", I.e.,, non-musical, play in the West End, perhaps one with an English actor or two we've seen in film or in ITV/BBC mystery or otherwise dramatic television productions. Our earlier "live" theatre experiences were the musical "Anything Goes" at the Drury Lane and Romeo and Juliet at the Globe on the South Bank. If we choose not to take a chance on bargain day of the performance tickets, how far in advance should we be looking to reserve on line good seats at plays that are likely to still be successfully in their runs on our London arrival?
Posted by
Arlington, WA
993 posts
I know this isn't how you want to do it but, my husband goes straight to the ticket office at the first possible moment after we get to London. We might not get in that day (and would probably fall asleep anyroad) but nearly always the next. Face to face is so much easier. BTW I loved "The 39 Steps". The only
English actor I new that one was from Midsomer Murders.
Posted by
Virginia, USA
5846 posts
If you go to Official London Theatre and click on the "London Shows" link, you will come to a page where you can put in your date range (on the left side of the page) and see what will be playing during your visit. If you want to see a show with a well-known actor or actress, you probably need to buy in advance. For example, I saw "The Audience" with Helen Mirren a couple of weeks ago when I was in London. I bought the ticket two months in advance, but did not have a particularly good seat as it was already close to sold out. A lot of plays starring well-known actors have short runs. If you decide to buy in advance, I recommend checking theatremonkey.com which has seating charts, reviews of seats, and info on where to buy tickets along with fees. On the other hand, if you wait until you arrive, you should have no problem finding a show to see ... it just might not be the specific one you want. A couple of the plays that I've thought were excellent were "War Horse" and "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night" ... however neither of these is a traditional play. I also enjoyed "The 39 Steps" and that one is usually available at the TKTS booth.
Posted by
Tel Aviv
15777 posts
theatremonkey.com is the best resource for info on London theatre. I haven't looked to see what's on, but last year I saw One Man, Two Guvnors - super funny. 39 Steps is even funnier if you watch the old Hitchcock movie beforehand.
Posted by
Land of La
9217 posts
http://www.tkts.co.uk/ You can now see what might be on the board in advance.
Check Timeout magazine and Theatre monkey now. If its Dame Mirren or Dame Dench or Inspector Barnaby from Midsomer Murders tickets will sell fast. Hypothetically,if you HAD to see a Michael Gambon or Derek Jacoby I'd buy the moment tickets went on sale. If you are adventurous you could wait to night of the performance and see if tickets we turned back in. Did that years ago with Dame Maggie Smith in Lady in A Van but it was a single ticket and I got lucky. Vanessa Redgrave and James Earl Jones are doing much Ado About nothing in September. tickets on sale now. I'm going in October.
Posted by
Troy, Oh, USA
2804 posts
The Mousetrap is a great play, it's the longest running show in the world. This is their 61st year. It's a Agatha Christie mystery, it's at the St. Martins theatre.
Posted by
BC, Canada
345 posts
I agree, if there's something specific you want to see, buy the tickets the minute you know where/when you'll be. Sure, you might be able to get them cheaper closer to the date, or you might not be able to get them at all. I'll never regret paying full price to see Helen Mirren, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellan, Christopher Eccleston, Diana Rigg, and many more. It's a tiny expense in the larger bucket of your trip funds.
Posted by
OP
Seattle
149 posts
I particularly agree in principal with jumpingbug's last point. For most of us middle-income Americans, a European trip is still a major elective expense and there may well be places to economize, but, in the total cost of visiting a place to which one may never afford to return, there are some costs that we've decided to bear rather than missing opportunities to enjoy experiences we'd not get at home. On a only vaguely related issue, for example, after a couple of trip experiences, we now expend that relative bit extra for a "luxury", that is, having a hotel laundry or nearby our hotel laundry do our laundry every three or four days while are out viewing the sights we came to see (rather than spending two to four hours in a laundromat, if we can find one), because we recognize that sunk cost of the trip is substantial. We all set our various travel priorities and ours may not be functional for everyone. For London, we've always rented a flat--at there we can do or own laundry in the evening while we rest our-well traveled feet.