Theatre tickets are expensive so we’ve drawn up a guide on how to get cheap theatre tickets in London. Whether you’re looking for discounted ticket outlets, schemes for young people, or just cheap tickets themselves, follow our guide to get the best and easy cheap theatre tickets. Be sure to check the A Younger Theatre opportunities list for discounted tickets and competitions.

Preview Tickets

Theatres offer cheaper tickets for preview performances ahead of a show opening. Preview lengths differ from West End to smaller fringe venues but as a general rule you can expect the first two to three days to be previews. Preview tickets can go pretty quick so it is best to book when new seasons or shows are first announced.

Make sure that you sign up to either the theatre’s mailing list, or follow them on social networks to know when tickets get released to be able to grab your cheap preview tickets.

Day Tickets

You don’t always have to book ahead. Turning up at the box office on the day can also buy you a ticket. Theatres in the West End often hold back on average 10-20 seats in prime locations such as the front of the stalls for day seat bookers. These are often sold at a reduced day rate. If a show is sold out day tickets are a great way for getting your hands on those must have tickets.

Hot Tip: The Royal Court Theatre has standing tickets available each day for 10p an hour before performances in the Jerwood Theatre downstairs.

Under 26 Schemes

There are lots of ticket schemes for under 26s to get reduced and free tickets. Take a look at these options:

Breeze - Regents Park  Open Air Theatre – £10 tickets
BUSH CONNECT – Bush Theatre – £10-12 tickets
Entry Pass – National Theatre – £5 tickets
FreeB – Barbican Centre – free tickets
Hampstead Theatre – Under 26s – £10-15 tickets
Mousetrap Theatre – 15-23 – £5-10 tickets
Ovalhouse Theatre – Under 26 – £10 tickets
Rumour - Watford Palace Theatre – £5 tickets
Theatre Fix – 16-26s – £5-12 tickets
Under 25′s Club – Old Vic Theatre – £12 tickets
Unicorn Theatre – Under 21 – £10 tickets
Young Vic Theatre – Under 25 – £1o tickets

Student Tickets

If you’re a student, be sure to have a look at some of the venues offering ticket deals for students:

Arcola Theatre – Discounted tickets for students
Battersea Arts Centre – £8 tickets
Gate Theatre - £15 tickets for all performances
Hampstead Theatre – £10-15 tickets
Pleasance Theatre – Discounted tickets for students
Sadler’s Wells Theatre – £8 tickets for all performances
Southbank Centre – 50% off tickets
Student Standby – Royal Opera House – £10 tickets
The Place – Discounted tickets
Young Vic Theatre – £10 tickets

Under 30 Schemes

If you’re slightly older then fear not, these schemes are for under 30s:

Access All Arias – English National Opera – £10-30 tickets
Almeida Theatre - £16 tickets each Monday
Finborough Theatre – £6 tickets during the first week
Masterclass – Free-£3 tickets and workshops

Pay What You Can

Some theatres offer tickets on a Pay What You Can basis. Generally these can’t be booked in advance and are only available in person at the box office.

Arcola Theatre – Available each Tuesday. Pay on the door.
Old Red Lion Theatre – Available each Tuesday. Pay on the door.
Theatre503 – Available each Sunday. You can pay in advance online or by phone, or on the door.

Other Cheap Tickets

Not all schemes require you be of a certain age, so here is the rest of them:

Blue Elephant Theatre – Southwark Residents can claim discounted tickets.
Free First Night – Lyric Hammersmith – Free tickets if you live or work in Hammersmith and Fulham
Friday Fives – Little Angel Theatre – £5 tickets for shows at 5pm on each Friday.
Get Into London Theatre – West End – 75,000 discounted tickets for shows in the West End. On sale in December each year.
Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre – £5 tickets in ‘the yard’
Islington Firsts – Almedia Theatre – £20 tickets for residents/business in Islington.
Kids Week – West End – If you have children be sure to check out Kids Week. FREE children tickets to West End.
Old Red Lion Theatre – £10 Sunday tickets
Opera Undressed – English National Opera – £25 tickets on special ‘undress’ evenings.
Royal Court Theatre – All Monday tickets £10.
Southwark Playhouse – Pay-As-You-Go tickets, £10 tickets.
TKTS Booth – Discounted tickets in the heart of the West End
Theatre503 – 2-for-1 tickets for residents of SW11
Theatre in the Pound – £1 tickets for Cockpit Theatre’s monthly scratch night

Theatre Clubs

Subscription theatre clubs are given free tickets to give to their members. Some services are free but most you have to pay for. There are certain restrictions to using these services, such as not being able to talk about it. It’s secret, shh…

Audience Club – Offering complimentary tickets (with a small admin fee) for shows in the West End and on the Fringe.
PlayByPlay – £75 registration fee and then £1-3 administration fee per tickes for shows in the West End and on the Fringe.
My BoxOffice – Free to join for tickets in the West End and on the Fringe. Defined by artform. Small admin fee per ticket booked.
WhatsOnStage – Membership with WhatsOnStage Theatre Club, for free and discounted tickets. Membership fees apply.

Equity / BECTU

If you work in the theatre industry and are a member of Equity or BECTU then you may be able to claim a discount on theatre tickets. Check with individual box offices to find out if you are eligible  and don’t forget, if you’re self employed, you can also claim the tickets back as an expense for your work.

Edinburgh Young Critics Scheme

Are you an aspiring arts journalist or critic? Would you like the chance to go to one of the biggest arts festivals in the world, to be mentored by an experienced journalist and to be paid for your time? Enter the Edinburgh Young Critics Brief!

A Younger Theatre have teamed up with IdeasTap to offer four young people the chance to attend this year’s Edinburgh Festival. Winners will receive free accommodation, travel to and from the festival, professional mentoring and a small writing fee. Continuing from the 2012 Edinburgh Critics Scheme, A Younger Theatre are proud to present this year’s scheme with IdeasTap who currently support AYT in the provision of office space through their Creative Space scheme.

Winners of the scheme will be part of AYT’s reviewing team for two weeks and will work closely with the editorial team to review shows across the Edinburgh Fringe and International Festival. With mentoring from professional journalists (see below for the mentors), the  winners will develop their writing and critiquing skills, publish reviews and features on A Younger Theatre, and receive a fee for further reporting from IdeasTap for submission to IdeasMag.

The mentors for the Edinburgh Young Critics Scheme will be:
Lyn Gardner, The Guardian
Thom Dibdin, The Stage
Jake Orr and Eleanor Turney, A Younger Theatre

This is a great opportunity for aspiring arts journalists and critics to build up their portfolio whilst writing for an established publication and receiving professional mentoring. There will be opportunities to write features and conduct interviews, as well as reviewing.

APPLY TO THE EDINBURGH YOUNG CRITICS SCHEME

To apply for the Edinburgh Young Critics Scheme head over to the IdeasTap Brief on the IdeasTap website.

You need to sign up with IdeasTap and apply with a 500 word review of a recent arts event you’ve attended. The Edinburgh Young Critics Scheme is open to young people aged 18-26 who live in the UK. Deadline for applications is May 31st, with winners will be announced the following week.

Image by Laura Saurez.

Want to play at the Monkey House?

Award winning Fourth Monkey are back in London, following another critically acclaimed sell-out run at the Edinburgh festival and would like to work with you!

As a unique production company, offering not only award winning theatre but also rep training programmes for actors aged 18-35 Fourth Monkey are delighted to be able to partner with AYT to offer a FREE WORKSHOP to all AYT readers and subscribers. The session will take place on 5th December in a central London space from 7-10pm and will focus on the company’s ethos of play as an ensemble. Through a variety of Lecoq inspired exercises, ensemble games and exploration the participants will be introduced to Fourth Monkey’s bold and physical way of working.

All of Fourth Monkey’s work places the emphasis on the ensemble and physicality, evident in their work and the manner in which they develop actors for the stage. The company also focuses on the ‘process of doing’ in their training programmes; believing in the developmental benefit of practice by offering amongst their training a number of repertory production seasons in both London and Edinburgh, not to mention a month long residential commedia dell’arte course in Italy.

This session is an ideal opportunity for AYT readers to find out more about the company, their work and principles via a fun introductory workshop to the company with the Artistic Director, Steven Green.

If you would like more information on the company and their work, please visit www.fourthmonkey.co.uk

Apply for the FREE Workshop:

To apply for a place on the workshop visit the Contact Us page on the Fourth Monkey website, fill in the form stating AYT in the Enquiry details box and someone will be in touch.

Fourth Monkey Workshop
5th December, 7-10pm 

Please note places are limited so a speedy response is recommended. Deadline for expressing of interest for the workshop is Monday 3rd December at 5pm.

For this year’s TheatreCraft event at the Royal Opera House, A Younger Theatre will be live blogging and tweeting from the event and workshops. We’re on the hunt for a team of live bloggers to join us. Know your blogger from your social media, and want to support AYT? Find out how to apply below.

A Younger Theatre seeks bloggers to document TheatreCraft 2012
30th November, Royal Opera House

AYT is looking for a team of young people to document this year’s TheatreCraft event at the Royal Opera House on 30th November. As a media partner for the 2012 TheatreCraft event AYT will be live blogging and tweeting from the Royal Opera House, talking to participants and offering snapshots from the workshops on offer.

This is an excellent opportunity for anyone interested in digital marketing and journalism. Please note: This opportunity is open to 26 year olds and under and is undertaken on a voluntary basis.

Working with AYT Scotland Editor and National Theatre of Scotland Digital Associate Eve Nicol, the AYT bloggers will get first hand experience of digital documentation of an event, publishing content to the AYT website and interacting with AYT readers through social networks.

We’re looking for digitally minded people who have a passion for theatre and journalism, who have excellent writing skills and know their social media and blogs. Is that you?

Download the application form
This opportunity is open to 26 year olds and under. You must be available on the 30th November throughout the day. This opportunity is on a voluntary basis. Deadline for applications 27th November at 5pm.