Understanding Theatre Deals and Promotions

Run by the Society of London Theatre (SOLT), a not-for-profit organisation, Official London Theatre or TKTS have both a website, and a ticket booth right in the heart of the West End.

TKTS should be your first choice when seeking out cheaper, last-minute tickets on the day of a performance. You can usually save around 20-65% on shows that are looking to sell their remaining matinee or evening seats that day.

They have cheap tickets for both West End and Off-West End shows, although the more popular shows such as The Lion King will rarely be listed here, and tickets during peak periods will be harder to come by.

Early Bird deals are designed to incentivise people to buy tickets as early as possible, helping theatres to reduce the number of unsold seats as the performance date approaches.

The types of early bird tickets will vary between production, with some offering cheaper tickets as close to a month away, while others preferring a 3 month window. Some early bird schemes will also offer a simple 3 price structure for some off-peak dates, allowing you to get premium seats for a 50%+ discount - the earlier you book, the better the seat.

Rush tickets are a way to get heavily discounted, same-day theatre tickets. These are released at 10 am on the day of the performance through the TodayTix app, usually at £25 or £30, and strictly limited to 1 or 2 per person.

However, getting your hands on a rush ticket is far from guaranteed - you'll need to beat everyone else vying for them and click the link as soon as it appears. You won't be able to choose your seat either, although some shows keep the front row seats specifically for the rush.

Day tickets are exactly the same as Rush tickets except they are run by the show rather than the TodayTix app. Most shows have a dedicated page on their website to purchase these, although there are a couple of shows that require visiting their physical box office instead.

Also, some shows run these as a weekly rather than a daily event. From experience, you are more likely to 'win' these than the rush tickets, as they are usually less well known.

Lotteries offer a chance to win tickets to some of the most popular shows for a fraction of the normal price. You enter your details into a draw, and if you're selected, you can buy tickets at a fixed low price, usually £25 to £40 for the big musicals and sometimes less, typically up to 2 per winner.

Most lotteries are run on a daily or weekly basis, although there are a couple that run fortnightly or monthly. Similar to Rush or Day tickets, you will have no choice of seats, but they are often decent mid-range seats.

Winning a lottery does not guarantee you getting seats. You still need to be vigilantly checking your emails after the winners are due to be announced, although these don't sell out nearly as quickly as the rush tickets.

These can be sub-divided into 16-25, 18-25, or Under 30s schemes. While only a few West End shows offer these, they are more common in Off-West End theatres like the National Theatre and Barbican. Shows often limit the number of tickets available and may restrict them to off-peak performances only.

West End productions will sometimes offer student discounts through agency websites, while Off-West End or Fringe shows will often have their own student discounts. You can find some great savings for mainly off-peak times, although student discounts will often only be available for limited periods, especially for West End shows.

Discounted tickets for shows that are mainly for off-peak days but can sometimes include Fridays and Saturdays.

These are usually via agency websites but can also come direct from the official show website. Different agencies will often have different discounts for the same show, so it's worth checking each deal to secure the best price.

Almost all shows in London have some sort of group ticket promotions, offering great savings of up to 30% off ticket prices if you can find a large group of people to attend a performance.

For groups of 10 or more, you will need to contact a show via their group booking form, so you should allow plenty of time to book this before your intended date. There are a few shows that also have group savings of 6+ people. Although the discounts for these are not as favourable, they still are worth your while and you can normally book these direct from the official website.

Group bookings are sometimes limited to off-peak performances, and there is a limited number of group tickets available per show. Very popular shows will often sell out of group tickets months in advance.

Rather than offering Child seats, West End shows in particular tend to prefer offering family tickets, usually limited to a family of 4 (2 adults and 2 children) although some do allow more.

Some of these shows do need some sort of proof that you live at the same address, although most seem to be fairly relaxed about being an actual family, and simply require proof that the children are under 16.

Usually for under-16s with a full-paying adult, often half price, and sometimes as little as £5 or £10. The National Theatre takes £20 off tickets of £40 or more for under-18s on weekday evenings and at matinees.

If you do have children, the annual Kids Week promotion, which runs from late July through August, is the best time to get cheap tickets for the whole family (see Kids Week below).

Many shows set a lower rate for school groups than for other groups, and most add one free teacher place for every ten students who pay. The rates are usually for midweek evenings and matinees, and some shows limit them to older students.

School bookings go through the show's group sales team or Group Line rather than the ordinary booking page, so allow plenty of time. London theatre for groups picks out shows for school trips as well as hen and stag dos and office parties.

A few theatres sell cheap standing places instead of, or alongside, their usual seats. Some are on sale for every performance, while others are released at a set time, or only once a show has sold out.

Shakespeare's Globe sells Yard standing for £5 or £10 at every performance. The Donmar Warehouse releases £15 standing online at 10am, Monday to Saturday, for performances a week later. The Royal Court sells 10p standing in person from 90 minutes before curtain up, and Les Misérables releases £20 standing on the Delfont Mackintosh website when a performance is close to selling out.

Rates for people aged 60 or over (65 at some theatres), mostly for matinees. The National Theatre and the Bridge take £20 off the top two prices at midweek matinees, the Old Vic sells £34.50 seats, and Hampstead Theatre's matinees start at £18. A few commercial shows join in too, such as Mamma Mia!'s £37.50 Thursday matinee seats.

Most are limited to two tickets per person, and you may be asked for ID at the theatre.

One rate for several groups at once: usually over-65s, people who are unwaged or on benefits, and sometimes students or members of Equity and other unions. They are mostly at subsidised and Off-West End theatres, often £5 off, and often only on certain days. The Royal Court's, for example, are for Thursday and Saturday performances.

Bring proof that you qualify, as the box office may ask for it.

Most London theatres offer reduced prices for disabled audience members, and many give a free or reduced ticket to a companion or carer. You usually join the theatre's access scheme once and then book by phone or through an access booking line.

We list these where a show or theatre publishes them. The rules differ from venue to venue, so check with the theatre's access team when you book.

You decide the price. Park Theatre keeps a few Pay What You Can tickets for people on low incomes at its Wednesday evening and Thursday matinee performances, and the Arcola runs Pay What You Can Tuesdays. Numbers are small and they go quickly, so book as soon as they are released.

Deals that don't fall into any of the above categories include:

Tickets that are being resold due to the original buyers no longer being able to attend. You can get some great discounts here. I would especially recommend checking the Twickets website as you'll normally find some great deals there too.

Central Tickets is free to join and has some great deals for shows struggling to fill seats. You can find some real bargains for Off-West End shows from £10. We'll only add shows with the best deals to our site.

Enjoy a surprise seat assigned at the start of the performance. These may have a restricted view or you may be moved at the interval.

These are not specifically deals, but some shows do offer special seating that gives you a truly immersive experience - usually right in the thick of the action!

Run by TodayTix to help ticket sales in quieter periods, London Theatre Week brings big reductions on tickets for many West End, Off-West End and some Fringe shows.

London Theatre Week runs twice a year, usually around mid-February and the end of August, and actually lasts for 2-4 weeks each time. During these times, you can snap up some fantastic deals for many shows up to 3 or 4 months in advance, although these are usually limited to Sunday - Thursday performances.

Similar to the London Theatre Week, except that it's run by the Official London Theatre website over the New Year period. The promotion actually begins towards the end of November, and runs until the end of January the following year.

You can only purchase tickets for shows after the New Year, and some shows will have deals right through to springtime.

Coinciding with the annual Black Friday event, which occurs on the final Friday of November, this is another promotional event to help with ticket sales.

While this promotion does include tickets for shows over the Christmas period, it will mainly focus on shows before or after this busy period.

The Black Friday Sale normally begins on the Monday prior to Black Friday, and will conclude the following weekend.

Kids Week typically runs from the start of the summer holidays (which is around the third week of July) until the end of August, offering families the opportunity to experience West End performances at a reduced cost.

A child aged 17 or under can attend any participating show for free when accompanied by an adult paying full price. Furthermore, up to two additional children can attend at half price, all with no booking fees.

Kids Week includes a wide variety of productions, ranging from major musicals and plays to comedies and specific children's theatre.

West End theatre owners such as ATG, Delfont Mackintosh, Nimax and LW Theatres will sometimes have their own annual promotions.

These promotions will vary every year, but as with all promotions, are designed to increase ticket sales during less busy periods.

Any such promotions will be added to this site as soon as we hear about them. Delfont Mackintosh, for example, has run a 'Spring into Theatre' sale on some of its West End shows.

ATG, who own many West End theatres, will also have their annual January Sale promotion at the start of each year.