10+ ways to get cheap and discount tickets to West End shows

With the cost of living crisis biting, here are ways to enjoy your favourite West End shows at a discount.

From taking advantage of last minute ticket deals to little known industry tricks, this is your guide to saving money on your next theatre trip.

Lotteries

You can try your luck with TodayTix lotteries for a number of shows with tickets available at significantly reduced prices. Free to enter, currently you can get Hamilton tickets for just £10 or see Cabaret for £25. See our full West End ticket lotteries guide.

Discount on the day tickets with TKTS

Get reduced tickets on the day of performances online via TKTS from Official London Theatre. You can find the latest deals online each morning here or get discounts in person from the TKTS booth at Leicester Square, currently open Monday-Saturday at 10:30AM – 6PM and Sunday 12 – 4:30PM.

£13 ATG Tickets

ATG Tickets makes available a limited number of £13 tickets to shows at its theatres in the West End and across the country. There’s a limited number of tickets available per performance and you’re limited to purchasing a maximum of four. Shows include the tours of Six, Les Miserables, Rock Of Ages, We Will Rock You, The Book of Mormon and Annie. Find out more here.

Watch at home

Following the pandemic there’s more theatre available online than ever providing a cheaper way to watch hit shows and without the bother of travel. Disney+ has filmed versions of Hamilton, Newsies and Trevor: The Musical; Netflix hosts Diana: The Musical; and BroadwayHD currently offers up titles including Fame, Falsettos, Into The Woods and Kinky Boots. See our full list of musicals to watch online here!

Meanwhile many UK theatres have their own online viewing initiatives including National Theatre at Home, Bristol Old Vic’s On Screen and Orange Tree Theatre’s OT on Screen.

Disney’s Magic Mondays

The Lion King and Frozen The Musical in the West End are both currently part of Disney’s Magic Mondays which offers last minute cheap tickets priced at £25. Tickets go on sale online via the Disney Tickets website here at 12PM each Monday for that week’s performances. Tickets are limited to two per person and are subject to availability and demand.

Rush Tickets and Day Seats

A number of West End shows offer reduced rush tickets or day seats, available either in person from the box office or online on the day of performances. Read our full West End Day Seats & Rush Tickets guide here for all the shows and how to get tickets.

Tesco Clubcard vouchers

You can use Tesco Clubcard vouchers to get reduced tickets to certain West End shows. At time of writing, every £0.50 in vouchers can be turned into £1 on Theatre Tickets. For more information, visit the Tesco website.

Pay What You Can performances

A number of venues offer select ‘Pay What You Can’ performances or productions, including Bristol Old Vic and Theatre Royal Winchester.

Wicked front Row

Front row Wicked seats cost just £29.50 with tickets released to buy online weekly. Each Wednesday at 10AM, the entire Front Row will be released for all performances in the following week (Tuesday-Sunday). To book online day seat tickets from Wednesdays at 10AM, visit the ATG Tickets website here. Each person can buy up to two tickets, subject to availability with tickets allocated on a best available basis.

English National Opera free tickets

The English National Opera (ENO) offers free tickets for those under 21. Those aged 5-15 years old can get two free tickets with each full paying adult. Those aged 16-20years old can join the Under 21s membership scheme for a free ticket. For more information, visit the ENO website here

Royal Court Monday Tickets

The Royal Court Theatre offers discount tickets for its Monday performances. Tickets are released 9AM on Mondays on the Royal Court website for that evening’s performance.

Young Vic’s Lucky Dip Tickets

The Young Vic offers a select number of £10 ‘Lucky Dip’ tickets. The discount tickets are offered without any seat assignment so you will only know where you’ll be sitting just before the performance begins.

National Theatre’s Friday rush

Every Friday at 1PM the National Theatre will release a select number of £10 tickets for the next week’s forthcoming performances as part of its Friday Rush. Some standard full price tickets may also be available.