Plans 🗓️

Lots of bookings, plus London Theatre Week deals from £15

There’s been a lot happening since my last newsletter, but sadly quite little theatre. Though amidst work, life admin and the Winter Olympics I have been booking a lot of shows, even if I haven’t been seeing them. I’m avidly taking advantage of my last year or so of eligibility for the Donmar’s brilliant under 35s scheme, booking two shows in their new season. I’ve finally planned a trip to Paddington too, which was quite the task to do affordably considering how well it’s been selling. I also organised supporting friends in four local shows. My poor bank account… It’s sprees like this that make cheap deals and seat research all the more necessary!

With that in mind, I’ll leave you with some pointers for the latest London Theatre Week. But next week I’ll be back in audiences, bringing you my thoughts on both Mischief’s A Christmas Carol Goes Wrong and the return of the Almeida’s American Psycho.

Happy ticket-buying!

Rochelle 🎭🎫

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Carrying the banner

In the news this week…

• Bus crashes into Southwark Playhouse venue

• Barbican rules out replacing artistic leader following redundancy

• Pedicabs banned from playing music in win for West End theatres

• West End theatre submits plans for ‘self-service drinks area’ as part of remodelling

I’m kind of a big deal

It’s back! London Theatre Week appears every few months and offers widespread discounts across the West End and other London shows, with tickets priced from just £15. I’ve looked through everything on offer and picked out my best deals, as well as offering a few top tips.

• I cannot recommend a trip to Maimuna Memon’s Manic Street Preacher enough, especially at £15 on this offer. She has one of the most unique voices in theatre, and although the subject matter is tough, it is extremely well done.

• There’s some similar seats to where I sat for The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry on offer for just £18. They are marked ‘side-angled’ but not restricted. Check views on Seat Plan to be sure, but these are a bargain!

• There’s a lot of £25 tickets on offer, but for West End shows you’re likely looking at restricted view seats. This is the case for Titanique and High Noon. Perhaps try some off-West End shows instead? You can get amazing £25 seats really close to the stage for shows such as Unfortunate, Jaja’s African Hair Braiding and An Ideal Husband.

• There’s lots more available at slightly higher prices, £35 and up. These can still offer savings, even for West end shows, but not every deal is as good as it seems. Check versus the theatre’s price directly, but in most cases you could still at least save on some booking fees.

Lots of agents are getting involved as usual. The same deals appear across all websites, so pick your favourite and get booking!

Hey big spender

Here’s your discounts, offers and cheap seats this week.

• 🚨 Free theatre alert! The National Theatre will be screening The Importance of Being Earnest starring Ncuti Gatwa for free! You can watch it from 12-18 March on YouTube, and then it will become available on NT at Home to subscribers.

• 🎲 New lottery alert! A limited amount of £30 tickets will be available each week for Dracula starring Cynthia Erivo. You will be able to enter from 19 February, and then each following Thursday.

• 🏃 New rush alert! You can now get £20 tickets for Midnight - they will be available each day at 10am on the TodayTix app.

• Get £18.98 tickets for War of the Worlds in Salford.

• And you can save £20 when you book for four people on the family deal for Alice in Wonderland at the Riverside Studios.

Don’t throw away your shot

Competitions, on-sales and announcements.

• The RSC will stage a new world premiere play based on George R. R. Martin’s books. Game of Thrones: The Mad King is set a decade prior to the television series and the A Song of Ice and Fire novels. It will open in Stratford this summer - sign up to hear more about tickets which are due to go on sale in April.

• To Kill a Mockingbird will be returning to the West End after its UK tour. It will open at the Wyndham’s Theatre for a limited run from June. Tickets go on general sale on 20 February at 10am.

• The King’s Head Theatre has announced further shows for 2026, including a new satirical play from Rosie Holt, with additional material from comedian Stewart Lee. Tickets for new shows are on sale now, with £10 tickets available at every performance.

• Korean musical The Last Man will have its UK premiere at the Southwark Playhouse Elephant this May. Tickets are on sale now.

• The programme for this year’s Brighton Festival has been announced, including new work from the creators of Misty! Tickets go on sale on 26 February at 10am.

• Both Blood Brothers and Back to the Future have added further dates to their UK tour schedules.

• Operation Mincemeat has extended in the West End. The show will now run 20 February 2027 and tickets for the new booking period go on sale on 10 March.

• To celebrate its 10th anniversary, Funny Girl starring Sheridan Smith will be re-released in UK cinemas. Find your nearest screening here.

• The West End Flea Market will return for 2026! The annual event raises money for Acting for Others. Save the date (16 May) - ticket details will be released soon.

• Win tickets to Priscilla Queen of the Desert on tour!

• And finally, don’t forget to get involved with the Love Your Local Theatre campaign on social media as you could win tickets to the Olivier Awards plus £500 in Theatre Tokens!

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That’s all for this week. If you enjoyed the newsletter, please tell your friends. I’m also open to suggestions and requests for certain discounts, so do drop into my DMs. Right, time for yet another tense watch of a GB curling match! 🥌