You can see good London theatre for much less than the headline price by using official schemes: same-day deals at The Official London Theatre Ticket Booth in Leicester Square, day seats sold at theatre box offices in the morning, standing tickets, previews and special prices for young people. The one rule that matters most is to buy only from the theatre or its official partners, because a cheap-looking ticket from an unofficial reseller can cost more or be cancelled.
Theatre tickets in London are priced like airline seats. The same show can cost very different amounts depending on the day, the time, the seat and how far ahead you book. The best seats for a hit musical on a Saturday evening are expensive, but a Tuesday evening, a seat higher up or a ticket bought on the day can bring the price down a long way.
This guide explains the main ways to pay less, starting with the simplest. None of them needs a local address or a British bank card, and most work for a visitor staying only a few days. For an overview of how shows, seats and booking work, read our guide to West End theatre first.
Cheaper tickets in brief
- Same-day deals
- The Official London Theatre Ticket Booth, Leicester Square, and the same deals online
- Online release
- On-the-day tickets go on sale at 12:01am each day
- Day seats
- Sold in person at some theatres' box offices on the day, usually two per person
- Standing at the Globe
- £5 or £10 in the Yard; £5 Rush tickets online every Friday at 11am
- Young people
- For example £5 tickets for 25s and under at the Almeida; free opera for under-21s at ENO
- Families
- Kids Week in the summer holidays: a child goes free with a full-paying adult
The Official London Theatre Ticket Booth in Leicester Square
For decades visitors knew it as the TKTS booth or the half-price ticket booth. Its official name is now The Official London Theatre Ticket Booth, run in partnership with tkts by the Society of London Theatre (SOLT), a not-for-profit body that represents the theatre industry. It has sold tickets in Leicester Square since 1980, and any profit goes back into the theatre sector.
The booth is in the Clocktower building on the south side of Leicester Square. The nearest stations are Leicester Square, Piccadilly Circus and Charing Cross. It is open Monday to Saturday from 10:30am to 6pm and on Sunday from 11am to 4pm (September 2026). The staff can suggest shows, which helps if you have no fixed plan.
It sells both discounted and full-price tickets, mainly for performances the same day, though you can also buy for later dates. SOLT says there are usually around 30 to 40 shows on offer online each day, with deals of up to 50% off. The booth does not offer student, child or senior concessions, and a booking fee applies to cover its costs.
Buying the same deals online
You no longer need to queue in the square. The same on-the-day offers are on the Official London Theatre "Today's Tickets" page, and new on-the-day tickets are released at 12:01am daily. Buying online, Official London Theatre charges a £3 fee per ticket (September 2026). The tickets are e-tickets sent by email.
The real booth has one address. Other ticket outlets may use words such as "half price", "discount" or even "official" in their names and signs. The official booth is the one in the Clocktower building on the south side of the square, and its online sales run through officiallondontheatre.com. If a shop or website is not one of those, it is not the official booth.
Day seats: turning up at the box office
Day seats are a small number of tickets that some theatres hold back for each performance and sell only on the day. They are usually cheap, and the seats can be in surprisingly good positions. The catch is that you must be there in person and early.
Nimax Theatres, which runs six West End theatres, describes the system clearly: day seats are sold in person on the day of the show at the box office or through an authorised app, usually with a limit of two tickets per customer, on a first come, first served basis. They are not sold online or by phone and are not available for every show. Other theatres use similar rules, but the details differ.
How to do it well:
- Check the show's official website the day before to see whether it offers day seats, and when the box office opens.
- Arrive before opening. For popular shows people may queue well before the doors open.
- Bring a payment card, and note that everyone who wants a ticket may need to be in the queue in person.
- Have a second show in mind nearby in case the seats run out.
Some productions also run digital lotteries or "rush" releases, where cheap tickets are sold or drawn online on the day or the week before. The show's own website explains whether it has one and how to enter. Use only the method it names, and be wary of any site that asks you to pay to "enter" a lottery on someone else's behalf.
Standing and cheap seats at subsidised theatres
London's charitable and publicly funded theatres usually have lower prices than the big commercial West End houses, and several run schemes that are open to visitors. They are some of the best-value evenings in the city.
Shakespeare's Globe
The open-air Globe Theatre on Bankside sells standing tickets in the Yard, in front of the stage, for £5 or £10 (September 2026). There is also a "£5 Rush": every Friday at 11am, a limited number of £5 standing tickets for the following week's Globe Theatre performances are released online. Standing through a play of two and a half hours is tiring, but the Yard is the liveliest place in the house. Our guide to Shakespeare's Globe explains what to bring.
The Royal Court
The Royal Court in Sloane Square, a new-writing theatre on the edge of Chelsea, has offered cheap Monday tickets since 1979. On Mondays all tickets in both its auditoriums cost £15 (September 2026). They go on sale from 9am on the day, with a maximum of two per booking. For brand-new plays the first three performances are also cheaper, and a small number of standing tickets are released 90 minutes before each performance in the main auditorium (the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs), sold in person at the box office.
The Almeida
The Almeida in Islington sells £5 tickets to anyone aged 25 or under for selected performances of every production. You book online with the promo code 25UNDER or by phone, with a maximum of two tickets per person, and you must show proof of age when you collect them. The Almeida says these tickets usually go on sale about three weeks before a production starts previews. There is also a discounted rate for people aged 30 and under, but not on Thursday, Friday or Saturday performances.
English National Opera
ENO performs at the London Coliseum, a short walk from Trafalgar Square. Its "Under 21s come free" scheme gives people aged 16 to 20 one free ticket per ENO opera production after signing up, and each full-paying adult can bring two children aged 5 to 15 free. Tickets are limited, and ENO says you may need to show proof of age. The scheme covers ENO operas only, not other events at the Coliseum.
The Barbican and the Old Vic
The Barbican runs Young Barbican, a free sign-up scheme for people aged 16 to 29 with discounts on theatre, music, film and art. The Old Vic, near Waterloo on the South Bank, offers under-16s 50% off selected price bands at off-peak performances, and a fixed price for senior citizens on certain performances. Details change by production, so check the ticket information page of each theatre before booking.
Being 25 opens a lot of doors. If anyone in your group is 25 or under, check the young people's scheme of every theatre you are interested in before paying full price. The difference can be the price of a meal, so bring your passport or another photo ID that shows your date of birth.
Kids Week and the New Year Sale
Official London Theatre runs two big annual promotions. Kids Week takes place during the school summer holidays: a child aged 17 or under can see a participating show free when accompanied by an adult paying full price, adults can buy up to two extra children's tickets at half price, and there are no booking fees.
For a family of two adults and two children, that means paying for just the two adult tickets at a participating show. A family with three children would pay two full adult prices plus one half-price child ticket. Check the Kids Week page for which shows take part and when booking opens. Our family travel guide has ideas for the rest of the day.
The New Year Sale is SOLT's other annual promotion, with tickets for top shows reduced to fixed prices of £10, £20, £30, £40, £50 and £60. If you are planning a trip in January, look out for it on the Official London Theatre website.
Timing tricks: previews, weekdays and matinees
When you go can matter as much as where you buy. A few general patterns hold across many theatres:
- Previews. These are the first performances of a new production, before the critics review it. They are often cheaper. The Royal Court, for example, prices the first three performances of new plays lower, and says to expect a work in progress.
- Off-peak days. Several theatres limit their discounts to quieter performances. The Old Vic's under-16 offer applies to off-peak performances, and the Almeida's 30-and-under rate excludes Thursday to Saturday.
- Higher and further back. The upper circles and balconies are the cheapest parts of most theatres. In a smaller theatre the view from there can still be close.
- Restricted-view seats. These are sold cheaper because a pillar or rail blocks part of the stage. Sellers should tell you before you buy. Some lose very little; check the seating plan.
| Method | Price level | Effort | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ticket Booth or Today's Tickets online | Up to 50% off | Low | Flexible visitors with no fixed show in mind |
| Day seats | Low | High: early queue in person | Early risers set on one show |
| Globe standing | £5 or £10 | Medium: you stand for the whole play | Budget travellers who like Shakespeare |
| Royal Court Mondays | £15 | Medium: book from 9am on the day | New plays on a Monday |
| Under-25 schemes | £5 at the Almeida | Low: book ahead with proof of age | Students and young travellers |
| Kids Week | Child free with a full-paying adult | Low | Families in the summer holidays |
Why resale sites rarely save you money
Search results for a popular show are full of resale sites and ticket shops, many of them with official-sounding names. The Society of Ticket Agents and Retailers (STAR) warns that some websites look professional but sell tickets at inflated prices, sell tickets that never arrive, or advertise seats before they have even gone on sale. A ticket bought this way can also be cancelled: the Old Vic says it voids tickets resold at inflated prices, and Shakespeare's Globe says tickets resold anywhere other than its own box office become void with no refund.
Before you pay, check who you are buying from. STAR suggests looking for a physical address and phone number, reading the terms, and checking the event or venue's own website to see which agents it has authorised. If a ticket is cheap, it should come from the theatre, the official booth or an authorised partner, not from a stranger. If you think you have been defrauded, report it to Report Fraud, the national fraud reporting service run by the City of London Police, online or on 0300 123 2040.
Compare the final price, not the first one. Some sellers show a low price that grows at checkout with fees. Put the same seat in the basket on the theatre's own site and on any other site you are considering, and compare the totals. In most cases the theatre is the same price or cheaper.
Other ways to see a show for less
London has a strong fringe theatre scene in pub back rooms, arts centres and small studios, where tickets often cost a fraction of the West End price. Comedy is another cheap evening: some clubs in our guide to London comedy nights are free or very low-cost. Free outdoor events, from summer festivals to concerts on the South Bank, are listed in our round-up of free things to do in London.
If theatre is the main expense of your trip, balance it with cheaper days elsewhere. Our guides to saving money in London and what a London trip costs show where the big savings are, and our page on paying by card and contactless helps you avoid foreign transaction surprises when you book.
Frequently asked questions
Is the TKTS booth in Leicester Square still open?
Yes, under a new name: The Official London Theatre Ticket Booth, run with tkts by the Society of London Theatre. It is in the Clocktower building on the south side of Leicester Square and opens Monday to Saturday 10:30am to 6pm and Sunday 11am to 4pm (September 2026).
What time are same-day theatre deals released online?
Official London Theatre releases new on-the-day tickets online at 12:01am each day. The booth may add more shows, tickets and price changes during the day, so it can be worth checking again in the afternoon.
What are day seats in London theatres?
Day seats are a small number of cheap tickets that some theatres hold back and sell only in person on the day of the performance, usually limited to two per person. They are not sold online or by phone, and not every show offers them.
Can tourists use young people's theatre discounts?
Many schemes are based only on age, not on where you live. The Almeida's £5 tickets are for anyone aged 25 or under with proof of age, for example. Some other offers are limited to local residents or UK schools, so read the conditions on each theatre's website.
What is the cheapest way to see Shakespeare in London?
Standing in the Yard at Shakespeare's Globe, where tickets cost £5 or £10 (September 2026). Extra £5 standing tickets for the following week are released online every Friday at 11am through the £5 Rush.
Sources
- Official London Theatre - The Official London Theatre Ticket Booth (checked September 2026)
- Official London Theatre - Frequently asked questions (Kids Week, New Year Sale, booking fee) (checked September 2026)
- Nimax Theatres - FAQs (day seats) (checked September 2026)
- Royal Court Theatre - Ways to save (checked September 2026)
- Almeida Theatre - 25s and under (checked September 2026)
- English National Opera - Under 21s come free (checked September 2026)
- Shakespeare's Globe - £5 Rush (checked September 2026)
- STAR - Ticket buying advice: buying online (checked September 2026)