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Post by creakingstool on Oct 4, 2023 16:55:30 GMT
Bit of a theatre obsession newbie looking for advice. I've got a trip from Manchester to London planned with my 14 year old daughter, the 4th to 5th January.
I've booked Stranger Things, First Shadow for the evening of the Thursday, which is the reason for the trip, but as we both love theatre I'm considering trying to make it a 3 show trip by adding on matinées Thursday and Friday.
Taking cost into consideration I'm thinking of waiting till last minute, possibly on the day having discovered the tkts online website recently. I know we'll be limited for shows for those specific times and have my eye on A Christmas Carol for the Friday as it sounds great and DD is studying it for GCSEs but is that week likely to be lower on ticket availability last minute with it being Christmas period?
What are you thoughts on this wait till the day approach? Any tips or advice? Silly idea that won't save me money or is winging it good?
Thankyou 😊
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5,707 posts
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Post by lynette on Oct 4, 2023 17:26:52 GMT
Christmas usually busy for the shows that children will like and the ‘outings’ shows. Personally I would book in advance so you can then not worry and go to a few ‘sights’, do a bit of shopping and eat knowing you are fixed up.
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Post by TallPaul on Oct 4, 2023 17:58:11 GMT
If you can hold your nerve a little longer, you could think about booking in the New Year Sale. Despite the name, tickets are sold from November. officiallondontheatre.com/sale/ |
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Post by punxsutawney on Oct 4, 2023 18:10:06 GMT
You will probably struggle to find a Friday matinee - I believe the only one running at present is Book of Mormon, which may not be one to take your 14 year old daughter to!
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Post by solangelafitte on Oct 4, 2023 18:55:26 GMT
My advice would probably be if you definitely want a three show trips I'd grab the Friday matinee tickets for A Christmas Carol since they're likely to go faster and your options for Friday matinees are limited as it is. Having said that, they're not the cheapest if you're looking to keep the price down.
You definitely have more options for Thursdays so I'd say keep an eye over the next few weeks for what's still available and then follow TallPaul's advice on checking out the New Year Sale when that comes around. Leaving it until TKTS on the day might be risky for that time of year.
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Post by SamB (was badoerfan) on Oct 4, 2023 20:01:58 GMT
If you do want to do it on the day, also make sure you have TodayTix and unlock rush tickets for any shows you're interested in. Some shows just have a few rush tickets for each performance, some have quite a lot (selling off unsold inventory). Though as others said, at that time of year it might be tough to get in there quickly enough.
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Post by SuttonPeron on Oct 5, 2023 18:22:57 GMT
Frequent traveler to London here. My only advice: get on the train/plane/whatever, with everything booked. You won´t have to be stressed, you´ll get to pick whatever shows you want, and it´s really not worth to risk it all on rush. Those dates London will be full of people, and there´ll be very high demand. Unless you want the cheapest tickets at the venue, don´t book yet. Be on the look for offers. If you do want the cheapest seats, book them now!
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Post by creakingstool on Oct 6, 2023 15:53:57 GMT
Thanks everyone, really useful information here.
I've got a list of all the options and will keep an eye on availability. Might wait for that November sale and see what's offered and then make some decisions.
Trains first, hopefully be out next week, fingers crossed they don't end up on strike!
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Oct 6, 2023 19:42:34 GMT
Frequent traveler to London here. My only advice: get on the train/plane/whatever, with everything booked. You won´t have to be stressed, you´ll get to pick whatever shows you want, and it´s really not worth to risk it all on rush. Those dates London will be full of people, and there´ll be very high demand. Unless you want the cheapest tickets at the venue, don´t book yet. Be on the look for offers. If you do want the cheapest seats, book them now! I would totally agree. I wouldn’t dream of going down from Manchester without everything pre booked and planned out. I can’t imagine the stress of having invested all that money in travel and hotels, especially with an excited child, and then scratting around for “bargain” tickets. I’m afraid the bargain west end tickets are not for those of us yokels travelling to and staying in London. Not saying nobody will ever get one but come on. You want to risk that? Turning up and seeing a load of stuff that’s second or third choice… forget it. |
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Post by SuttonPeron on Oct 6, 2023 20:54:25 GMT
I´ll always remember a "vlogger" from my country who went to London on a trip and ranted on socials about how she couldn´t get rush tickets to SIX... That was funny! Seriously, it´s as easy as paying a bit more to be so much more comfortable and enjoy the trip fully.
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Post by creakingstool on Oct 7, 2023 7:59:36 GMT
Thanks for the new replies.
Just to clarify, there will be no upset teenager on the trip. She knows nothing about it yet, The Stranger Things tickets are a Christmas present and quite honestly that's plenty enough for our 1 night trip to London. We wouldn't normally do multiple shows due to cost.
If I buy tickets to the matinées it will be a bonus and getting 'sale' tickets or even trying 'rush' on the day might be the only way to afford it. Time will tell. If not there are plenty of other things we can fill those hours with 😊 Just good to get a heads up on things I'm not really aware of.
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Post by profquatermass on Oct 7, 2023 9:47:41 GMT
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Post by creakingstool on Oct 7, 2023 12:34:11 GMT
Thanks, this sounds really interesting and while I've visited the V&A before my daughter hasn't so would be a good option. |
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Post by Dr Tom on Oct 8, 2023 17:18:06 GMT
So long as you're flexible on what show you see, getting Rush on Thursday is easy. You can also use TKTS after midnight on the day for discounts.
The options for a Friday are very limited. The main one is Book of Mormon, but Rush is tough for that (and I don't think it's a good match for parents with children - plus the humour now hits best for people in their 30s or above). There's also Choir of Man, but that's late afternoon so it depends what time your train is. Might be worth seeing if there are any fringe productions running nearer the time, or even if the National Theatre has a Friday matinee.
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