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Post by jackb on Jan 8, 2024 16:32:50 GMT
Hi there.
I'm going to be visiting London in April/May and, while I have already bought tickets to my absolute must see, I'm wondering if I should start getting tickets for other productions or if I should wait a bit.
I'm looking at Frozen and The Lion King (which seems pretty easy to get discounted with Disney Magical Mondays - but I'll have to wait until the actual week, and I wonder if it would sell out all good seats if the closing notice for Frozen comes before my trip), Wicked (front row seats every Wednesday?) and others such as Hamilton, Moulin Rouge, Matilda, MJ, Hadestown, Moulin Rouge, Sister Act, Opening Act, Little Big Things, Operation Mincemeat, Six, Phantom and Les Mis (maybe Cabaret as well, but I'll first see the production in my country, which opens in March and then decide if I want to see it once more in London)... maybe The Mousetrap and Stranger Things for plays.
I have already downloaded TodayTix to familiarize myself with it and make an account in case there's any discounts available, and I read about the TKTS booth, are there any shows regularly and price-worthy there?
May the West End experts chime in?
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1,864 posts
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Post by Dave B on Jan 8, 2024 16:52:21 GMT
Little Big Things closes in March, so you can knock that off your list.
Hadestown should be part of NT Rush with a weeks worth of tickets available the Friday beforehand (https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/fridayrush/)
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312 posts
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Post by jm25 on Jan 8, 2024 20:48:39 GMT
Welcome! I think the answers to your questions depend on how much you want to see the shows you've mentioned and how okay you would be if you missed out on seeing any of them.
When I went to New York last year, I opted to buy all of my tickets in advance because I didn't want to spend my holiday worrying about whether I'd get tickets to the shows I wanted to see, or having to spend hours in line hoping for a discounted ticket. It was much more expensive doing it that way but for me it was worth it for the peace of mind. Admittedly, I was fortunate in that I was able to afford to take that approach, and appreciate that not everyone might be able to do that.
Do you come to London often? If so, then perhaps it won't feel so risky holding out for rush/discounted tickets. Again, when I went to NYC I didn't think I'd be back for a while so thought it was worth splurging for the shows I wanted to see. (Though now they've announced Sunset Boulevard is transferring to Broadway, here I am planning another trip!) But if you come regularly and know that you'll have opportunities in future to see shows you may potentially miss out on then, again, it won't feel like too great a loss if you miss out on any this time around.
Barring a couple of exceptions, I generally find rush tickets quite hard to obtain, though perhaps I just try for the wrong shows. I think it's largely because apps like TodayTix have become increasingly popular and the general public have become more savvy about rush offers. Front row for Wicked is generally pretty easy (so long as you purchase as soon as tickets are released) but rush tickets for shows like Six are notoriously difficult to come by - same even goes for National Theatre shows in my experience. Lotteries for very popular/otherwise expensive shows like Hamilton, Cabaret, etc. are also very difficult to win. You may have more luck for Operation Mincemeat but even that is harder to win these days as more and more people have signed up to the draw.
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Post by fiyerorocher on Jan 9, 2024 9:59:53 GMT
Operation Mincemeat never discounts and they're selling more of their (ridiculously overpriced) seats these days so lottery wins aren't as easy to get. If you want to see that, book a Monday or a Tuesday and do it ASAP. And you should see it, it's excellent. Just about worth getting your head around the pricing structure to see.
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