Theatre Hacking: A Guide to Cheaper Tickets
- Artemis
- Oct 18, 2019
- 8 min read
Theatre...a word all too often associated with the wealthier amongst us, a posh evening out, a lofty occasion. But, especially as of recent years, that isn’t exactly the case. Theatre is becoming more and more something enjoyed by everyone, as this celebration of art and life should be. Cast recordings provide valuable insights into musicals for people to enjoy without travelling to a show, published scripts provide the opportunity for people to delve into plays, and there are large and booming fandoms present on social media sites like Tumblr and Facebook, with people of all ages falling in love with the concept of theatre. Whether it be a musical about teenagers for teenagers or a venerated ‘classic’ such as ‘Les Miserables’, it’s fair to say that the connotation isn’t exactly true. But, despite that, there’s one pressing issue still prominent, which is ticket prices, this a main factor in keeping the association of wealth and privilege around the theatre, though many involved in the arts are trying to combat this. The reveal of news announced today that ‘Moulin Rouge’, currently playing at the Al Hirschfield Theatre in New York, is to transfer to the West End come 2021, has me pondering this issue more. A lavish production truly, some complaints arose regarding the Broadway prices, always notoriously more pricey than the West End. Who likes $229 for a back of the mezzanine? But, the question is, will the West End be a high charger also? Sometimes we’re stuck with rotten luck with shows. However, the good news is, with a good majority, you don’t have to be a high earner to get a seat. So, after a lengthy introduction, here’s your guide to getting good prices for West End and touring productions!
TOURING AND LOCAL !
I’ll start this with confessing that my knowledge related to touring shows is primarily focused towards Manchester, and slowly, Leicester. But, the good news is, that offers and tricks found here are often replicated in other cities.
One haunt of mine for the theatre is the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester. I’ve seen three smashing productions there, these being Guys and Dolls, Frankenstein, and The Producers. How much have I spent on tickets there altogether, you ask? Thirty pounds! That’s right, only ten pounds a ticket, each time. This is because they offer day seats that you can purchase both in person and on the phone. A bargain price, so long as you’re willing to mind a little pain, as the seats are banquette seating. It’s a worthwhile ache though, for these seats are right around the circular stage, providing you front-row action. And if you can’t get ahold of one of these tickets, they also offer discounted preview tickets, and cheaper offers varying on age. Offering high-quality productions, with brilliant prices….they’re worth a visit.
Another theatre I love to visit is The Lowry, in Salford. A way to good prices here is being between the ages of 18-25, though the age used to be from 16. This free membership gives you discount tickets for productions, and I’ve managed to see the touring production of Cabaret for £10 pounds as one highlight, another highlight being £10 for a ticket to the SIX the musical, which is now selling out nightly in the West End. Aside from these brilliant offers, they often do smaller discounts for shows that they do not offer £5 or £10 pounds for. Most seats, even in the back of the grand circle, offer a great view, and with this theatre offering high quality touring productions for cheaper prices, unlike the grander Palace Theatre in Manchester- along with not charging around eight pounds extra to a ticket on top of ticket price-, I highly recommend this theatre, that’s surrounded by a lovely shopping outlet, and television and radio studios.
A few other offers, in general, to mention for local theatres within Manchester! An absolute highlight has to be the Hope Mill Theatre located in Ancoats, Manchester, which has provided me with one of my greatest theatrical experiences to date, this being their extraordinary production of Spring Awakening, which I caught there twice, along with other productions like Club Mex and Aspects of Love, the latter of which received a London transfer. Though there isn’t day seats or membership for younger members, they do offer some concession deals. Most importantly to note for the reason this is a good price, is the delight of them producing such high quality and stunning productions in such a small venue, with all seats the same price. Not a bad seat in the house, though I recommend arriving early in order to be in the first group allowed to enter the theatre. This trick led me to the experience of seeing Spring Awakening front row twice- Aspects of Love, I spent a few extra pounds for the delight of an on-stage table seat, as if I were in a Parisian cafe. It’s something, for sure, circus tricks being done upon a table you’re sitting at! The two other theatres I will name here are the most costly ones in Manchester, the ATG ticketed Palace Theatre and Opera House. For sure, these are lovely venues, with wonderful shows. But, they hit high with their tickets, especially in the Palace. With ATG touring venues, I suggest asking around and googling promo codes. I was fortunate to purchase £25 pound tickets for front row & Juliet tickets which played there recently, through an early bird code, and I managed to discover a Buy One Get One Free ticket deal for it also at a later date. In addition to this, you may be lucky enough to catch a show that offers discounts for students or younger ages. This a feature only recently introduced, and only for some shows, it allowed me to see Amelie on tour, for a better seat, at a better price. Of course, the added ticket fees remain a disappointment though, meaning you’re unlikely to have these two theatres being your best bet for a good price. Though, try and book a few at once if you can, save multiple ticket fees.
I’m fairly new to Leicester, but one theatre is already proving to be a treasure trove of theatre. This theatre is the Curve Theatre, which I recently caught the new touring production of Cabaret in ( which, seeing as this is the second time Cabaret is mentioned in this article, I might as well suggest to you all to catch it, it’s a magnificent and haunting production). I’ve already booked a few tickets for future productions, and to my utter joy, I’ve found that pretty much all the productions, so long as you book early enough, offer £10 tickets, for all ages! What a bargain! Considering how difficult it is to see Phantom West End for any cheaper price, I was glad to nab a ticket at this price, and I’m sure to be making good use of this in the future, alongside the new 16-25 membership I’ve signed up for. I’ve not had a chance to see the offers for that yet, but I’m excited to see the good prices I and others can receive.
So, all in all...for your local theatres, check out the memberships and age discounts and promo codes that you can find out for your bigger touring productions. Be sure to also check out your smaller professional theatres, that offer in-house, non-touring productions, that are often high quality for cheap prices.
WEST END !
The beating heart of London to many a fan of theatre, the West End doesn’t have to sound so threateningly pricey as one might assume it to be. In fact, I would say the real price of the West End is the cost of travel and staying over, rather than the prices of the tickets themselves, as tickets can be bargains. Below are some methods and sites to help you find a better deal.
A warning that often crops up in theatres is 'RESTRICTED VIEW'. Whilst I understand that this can be problematic and a nuisance to some, I absolutely adore coming across these words. Why, you ask? Well, quite simply because it means a cheaper ticket, and sometimes, a seat closer to the stage. A higher stage isn't an issue for me if it means, say, front row tickets for SIX in the West End. The interaction with the Queens is ethereal and seeing this high-impact show so close is worth it. Tickets are around £32.75 for this seat, and the view isn't at all bad. Another good show I found this useful in was A Comedy About A Bank Robbery...little over £10 for a third-row ticket. It was at the very end of the row and claimed a restricted view, but I held no issue. Oh, and on the topic of Mischief Theatre, they typically offer fairly good ticket prices, for wondrous shows. I even managed to catch episodes of their upcoming tv series recorded, for free, which I hope people keep an eye out for on BBC. People often complain shows are expensive, such as the recent small outrage over the announced Upstart Crow Live ticket prices, a justified annoyance. But, my ticket cost around £20, for a front-row grand circle ticket. Not bad at all! So, make sure to look for those restricted view tickets, and don't be so put off by the claims. You can often get front of the grand circle for the cheapest tickets in the house, purely because of the bar that runs across the front. If you're concerned, Seat Plan often shows the view from the seat. I'd say restricted view is the saviour for good prices.
TodayTix is something that can be hit or miss, but something I recommend all the same. I'll start by mentioning to check prices here against website prices before booking, for they can be more expensive through TodayTix. But, at the same time, this app offers brilliant bargains also! An example being the Immersive Great Gatsby tickets I found for eleven pounds cheaper than on the website. They also offer on the day ticket lotteries, where you can get good seats, cheap seats, or both, on the day, providing you win an on the day lottery. This isn't the best for those who live out of London, but it enabled me to add in an extra show for a pre-planned trip. Recently they even offered £25 tickets for a range of popular West End Shows, which I took advantage of for one, it was lovely seeing Wicked for a cheap cost, but a good seat.
The above two are my personal favourite best bets for buying London tickets. But some other hacks are
*Buy preview tickets, this works for both West End and local productions. Tickets will often be cheaper, for no worse a show.
*Sign up to ticketing emails ran by shows and theatres, which sometimes offer seat band upgrades for free, early booking chances, and discount codes.
*Do a general search, check other websites offering tickets, be sure to watch out for which requires a larger ticketing fee, and which doesn't.
*Give some love to smaller theatres, these often offer cheap prices, and the views are great, such as the Southwark Playhouse.
*Follow theatre-related twitters for on your feed discount notices, places such as the Theatre Cafe sometimes offers these (Oh, and what a lovely pre-show destination to visit also!).
*If you're already in London for another show, why not throw in a cheap show such as Witness for the Prosecution for only ten pounds?
*Keep an out for stagey competitions through email and twitter...I'm still waiting to win one, but better to try than not!
And finally, this isn't even on theatre ticket prices, but travel and stays. Try out a megabus, meaning cheaper travel, and, you can potentially travel overnight, rather than pay for a hotel. If you want to stay overnight, try out a hostel instead of a hotel, for this is rather cheaper. Staying overnight might seem an extra cost, but you can squeeze four shows into one weekend for cheap, and save on having to travel multiple times.
Thank you for reading my first blog post, and hopefully, you'll stick around for more! I understand many of these have the need for one to be of a certain age, but I'm so pleased many teenagers and students like myself hold for this opportunity.
Sincerely, me.
Comments