Feature
Many big shows have standing places on their seat maps and never mention them. We spent some time watching to find out which ones actually go on sale.
Standing places are some of the cheapest tickets in London, often £20 or less for a show whose seats start several times that. A few theatres sell them openly. Most of the big musicals don’t: the places are on the seat map, but they only go on sale when the theatre decides to release them, usually on the day and usually when a performance is close to selling out. Nobody tells you when.
So we spent some time watching their seat maps. This is what we found, as of 9 November 2026: a record of what has happened, not a promise of what will. A show that released places last week may not this week.
First, the ones most people know about. These theatres sell standing as a matter of course, on published terms, whatever is playing, so you can book it like any other ticket.
£5 or £10 standing for every performance: in the Yard at the Globe, in the Upper Galleries at the Playhouse. Bookable like any other ticket, with no booking fee.
£15 standing in the Daily Release: online at 10am, Monday to Saturday, for performances seven days later. Not for every performance.
Standing for 10p in cash or £1 by card, in person at the box office from 90 minutes before each performance downstairs. Two per person.
Every show with a standing deal on the site carries the STAND pill: browse them all. The rest of this page is about the big shows that don’t advertise theirs.
The two shows where standing places turn up for a good share of performances.
The most dependable of the shows we watched: about half the performances had some. If there are none in the morning, look again later in the day.
The one you can plan: book when the next week’s batch appears rather than on the day. The Balcony is 59 steps up with no lift.
Places released for a handful of performances, usually on the day.
The cheapest seat in the house when it happens, but it happens rarely and late. Worth a look on a Saturday or Monday afternoon if you are nearby.
When they come, most of the 14 go on sale at once, and on 7 November 11 were still unsold that evening. Check late morning.
Playhouse Theatre (Kit Kat Club)
Only four places, and rarely on sale. A long shot.
Standing places we have seen on sale for just one performance so far.
All 12 went on sale together. Too few sightings to say more.
The dearest standing we have seen, and only once. The £45 day seats from the box office may be the better bet.
All 12 at once, late in the afternoon, and not since.
These theatres have standing places on their seat maps, but we have never seen one sold online.
Don’t count on them.
If they are ever sold, it isn’t online.
We watched these too and never saw a standing place on sale: Beetlejuice the Musical, The Book of Mormon, Mamma Mia!, Hay Fever and Into The Woods.
For three of the shows, very clearly. The booking sites label each performance by how many seats are left, and at Les Misérables, Hamilton and Cabaret, standing places nearly always appeared on performances that were down to their last few seats.
It isn’t a rule everywhere. Rent released its places for only 2 of 17 nearly full performances, The Lion King never did in 54, and The Cherry Orchard sells its weekly batches however the run is selling. But for Les Misérables, Hamilton and Cabaret, a nearly sold-out night is when to look.
Standing is one of several last-minute routes. For the others, see cheap theatre tickets, rush and day seats and the cheapest ways into the big musicals.
