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Click HERE for reviews of current West End shows.

**SCROLL DOWN for special offers**

BUYING TICKETS

You can buy tickets through ticket brokers online, by mail or phone, or in many hotels and storefront offices, but even the most honest will charge you about 25% over the ticket cost, in most cases just for phoning the theatre for you. It is almost always better to deal with the theatre box office directly. You can book tickets by phone with a credit card, for a service charge of one or two pounds, or buy them in person at the theatre, with no additional charge.

If you do choose to use a broker, it is helpful to know that they are required by law to give you the following information before asking for money or credit card details: the exact location of your tickets (part of the theatre, row and seat numbers), the base price (what you'd pay at the theatre), their commission or other charges, and the total price. If they don't volunteer this information before asking for money, end the transaction and shop elsewhere.

SAVING MONEY

Day Seats Several West End shows have adopted the National Theatre's long-held policy of holding back a block of cheap seats for sale on the day of performance. Currently HAIR, THE LION KING, WICKED, STOMP, MAMMA MIA and BILLY ELLIOT, among others, along with all shows at the Donmar and the National Theatre, have day seats. You might want to check with the theatre in advance to find out what time to begin queuing.

Half Price Those on a budget will want to visit the Society of London Theatres' half-price "tkts" booth in Leicester Square, where tickets to many shows are sold at deep discounts up to seven days in advance. You have to buy in person (no phone orders), selecting from the list of what's available, but in practice all but a very few sold-out hits are available most days. Discounts vary, but are generally close to half-price, and the booth also sells full-price tickets (with no commission) for the few shows without discounts, so you can make it a one-stop shopping centre for all your theatre buying. (For North Londoners, there is now a second tkts booth at Brent Cross Shopping Centre.)

(Be sure to use the official "tkts" booth, which is a free-standing building in Leicester Square itself, not the many storefront brokers on the side streets that all call themselves the "official" half-price booth but somehow run out of discounts just as you get there, and have been known to sell balcony seats at stalls prices.)

Groups If you bought every seat in the house, you would expect a discount. But in fact most shows will give you a discount for groups as small as 6. Ring the theatre and ask about group rates.

Standby Students and senior citizens can get the best deal with standby tickets. Most theatres will sell you the best remaining seats for the next performance, for about the price of the cheapest. In most cases standby tickets aren't available until about an hour before the show, though some theatres will sell them earlier in the day, or even a day in advance. Phone or visit the theatre and ask of they're likely to have standby -- they'll give you an honest answer.

Beat the Critics Most new shows have a week or more of preview performances before the official Opening Night. While sometimes there are last-minute script changes or technical glitches, 95% of the time you'll see the same show as everyone else later on. If you don't need critics to tell you whether you'll like it, you can save up to 50% on ticket prices during previews.

**RAILROAD OFFER**

If you come to London by train (intercity or commuter, but not underground), you can get two-for-one tickets to AVENUE Q,  BLOOD BROTHERS, CHICAGO, DREAMBOATS AND PETTICOATS,  GREASE, LES MISERABLES, SISTER ACT, STOMP, THIRTY-NINE STEPS, THRILLER, WOMAN IN BLACK and WE WILL ROCK YOU, along with other London attractions.CLICK HERE for details.

**OYSTER CARD OFFERS**

At the moment, there are no two-for-one offers for Oyster Card holders. When a new batch are announced, we will provide a link from this page.

**CHEAP TICKETS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE**

Mousetrap Theatre Projects is a charity (funded in part by the profits of the eternally-running whodunit) that encourages young people's involvement in theatre. Among their programmes are one that offers 15-18 year olds West End tickets for as little as £5, and another providing £10 tickets to 19-23 year olds. CLICK HERE for details.

**NATIONAL THEATRE ENTRY PASS**

For a limited time, young theatregoers between 15 and 19 can join the National Theatre's free Entry Pass system enabling them to buy tickets to NT shows for £5. CLICK HERE for details.

**FREE TICKETS**

There's nothing cheaper than free! To encourage young audiences, the Arts Council underwrites free tickets to many West End, fringe and regional theatres for those under 25. CLICK HERE for details.

**KIDS WEEK**

It's two weeks, actually - August 13-27, during which many shows offer up to two free kids' tickets with every adult, along with other discounts, workshops, special events, etc. CLICK HERE for details.

**OTHER SPECIAL DEALS**

From time to time individual shows run test ads in a single newspaper or magazine, offering a special deal, just to see how the ad pulls. And the Society of London Theatres offers deals to their limited Official London Theatre mailing list. We'll keep you informed of all we find. In each case, phone or visit the theatre directly, and ask for 'the Metro offer,' 'the Official London Theatre offer,' etc.  Note that in some cases reductions may be limited to weeknights.

ALL THE FUN OF THE FAIR - Garrick Theatre. Two-for-one on top seats. To September 5. Ask for Metro Reader Offer.

BURN THE FLOOR - Shaftsbury Theatre. Two-for-one on top seats. To September 2. Ask for Metro Celebrate Offer.

THE COMEDY OF ERRORS - Open Air Theatre. Two-for-one on top seats. To July 31. Ask for Evening Standard offer ES241.

DIRTY DANCING - Aldwych Theatre. Top seats £35. To September 30. Ask for Evening Standard offer.

DREAMBOATS AND PETTICOATS - Playhouse Theatre. Half-price tickets at the box office if you're carrying one of the Dreamboats CDs. To July 31.

EDUCATING RITA - Trafalgar Studios. Top seats £20. To October 30. Ask for Official London Theatre Comedy offer

GHOST STORIES - Duke of York's Theatre. Top seats £25. To August 14. Ask for Official London Theatre offer.

GREASE - Piccadilly Theatre. Two-for-one on top seats. To July 30. Ask for Metro offer.

THE HABIT OF ART - National Theatre. Top seats £29.50. To August 15. Ask for Official London Theatre Code 2920.

INTO THE HOODS - Royal Festival Hall. Half-price for under-16s. July 30 - August 15

LA BOHEME - Soho Theatre. £5 off all prices. To August 14. Mention Metro Reader Offer.

ROOM ON THE BROOM - Garrick Theatre. Half-price tickets. To August 29. Mention Metro 'Celebrate Room on the Broom' offer

SHIRLEY VALENTINE - Trafalgar Studios. Top seats  £20. To October 30. Ask for Official London Theatre Comedy offer. Or top seats £10. Thursday matinees only, to September 30. Ask for Metro 'Celebrate the City' offer.

STOMP - Ambassadors Theatre. Top seats half price. Ask for London Planner offer.

TAP DOGS - Novello Theatre. Two-for-one on top two prices. To August 15. Ask for Metro offer.

THE 39 STEPS - Criterion Theatre. Top seats half-price. Ask for London Planner offer.

WE WILL ROCK YOU - Dominion Theatre. Two-for-one on top seats. To July 31. Ask for Metro offer.

THE WOMAN IN BLACK - Fortune Theatre. Top seats half-price. Ask for London Planner offer.

**FURTHER MONEY-SAVING TIPS**

For expert, impartial advice on saving money on everything from travel through hotels, restaurants and even phone calls, we recommend MONEYSAVINGLONDON.COM.

PROGRAMMES

Unlike in France, you're not expected to tip your usher. But unlike America, you don't get a free programme book. If you want one, you have to buy it from the usher - currently the most common price is £3. Typically a programme has cast and author biographies and some magazine-style articles. The National Theatre, the Royal Court and a very few others give out free one-page cast lists if that's all you want.

PERFORMANCE TIMES

For this you'll really have to check daily papers or ring the theatres, since there are no constants. Most shows have performances Monday through Saturday evenings, with matinees Saturday and one weekday, possibly Tuesday, more likely Wednesday or Thursday. But a few shows have a Sunday performance in place of Monday, and a couple have two performances on Friday.

Evening performances may start anytime between 7:00 and 8:30, with 7:30 and 8:00 the most common, so be sure to check when you buy your ticket. Matinees are most likely to be 2:30 or 3:00.

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