Hello to subscribers old and new - many new ones from those who entered my giveaway for Slave Play tickets last week. Congrats to Elsa who won! If you werenāt lucky this time then you can try your luck with the Pay What You Can lottery each Wednesday. At 10am every week they release 30 tickets for every performance the next week and you can pay as little as Ā£1 per ticket! I hope to run more giveaways in the future so watch this spaceā¦
I visited Slave Play myself this week. Many have named it one of the most controversial plays ever, and thatās probably mostly true. Itās certainly one that will shock and split opinion. I mean, two people near us walked out following the first pretty explicit sex scene! Iām not sure theyād done their homeworkā¦ definitely read the trigger warnings first.
Iām still processing a lot of it. I do love having my thoughts challenged at the theatre, and it certainly does that. However I didnāt leave the play with one concrete takeaway. What was the core message? For a play pitched as being a discussion on race, it was just as much about sex, relationships and psychology, and sometimes I didnāt quite know what I was meant to be focusing on. It throws an awful lot at its audience, maybe a tad too much, although I did enjoy the debate on the journey home and realised my partner had taken completely different things from certain scenes and characters. It almost made me want to watch it again to see all the interpretations Iād missed, which is always good for ticket sales.
But aside from that, thereās great performances on display. Itās definitely unlike anything else you would have seen on a West End stage and itās probably worth seeing just for that reason. Go with an open mind, prepare to have your thoughts challenged, but also expect to go and do some reading on it all afterwards!
Happy ticket-buying!
Rochelle šš«
Carrying the banner
In the news this weekā¦
Denise Gough speaks out against audience members recording on phones
Enter Shikariās Rou Reynolds joins The War of the Worlds musical arena tour
Iām kind of a big deal
It may not feel like summer with the weather being a bit all over the place, however ATG are keeping the summer vibes alive with their latest offer. Their Summer Saver deal has just gone live and you can get reduced tickets from just Ā£15 to more than 70 shows in 22 of their UK venues! Thereās all sorts on offer, including plays, musicals, childrenās shows and tribute acts. Thereās even some pantos included! Some highlights include:
NOW That's What I Call A Musical
Here You Come Again
Hairspray
& Juliet
Madagascar The Musical
Ghost The Musical
Your Lie In April
Heathers The Musical
Peppa Pig's Fun Day Out
Offers and shows vary between venues, but the promotion runs throughout the summer until 31 August.
Hey big spender
Hereās your discounts, offers and cheap seats this week.
š New rush alert! Loads of new rush shows this week! You can now get Ā£20 tickets for Fangirls, Ā£25 tickets for Shrek, Ā£25.50 tickets for Fantastically Great Women Who Changed the World and Ā£29.50 tickets for The Bakerās Wife. - all on the TodayTix app at 10am each morning.
Itās another Kids Week reminder! You can get free kids tickets to London shows throughout the summer when you buy one full price adult ticket. Still loads of top West End shows available on this deal.
Thereās Ā£20 off tickets to The Real Thing, making the cheapest band just Ā£13. Use code EARLY20. Valid on performances between 22 Aug and 7 Sep, offer expires at noon on 30 Jul.
Thereās Ā£15 tickets for Iām Gonna Marry You Tobey Maguire at the Southwark Playhouse.
Get 2 for 1 tickets for Horrible Histories: Terrible Tudors in London this summer. This makes each tickets Ā£16 for off peak performances and Ā£18 for peak.
Thereās Ā£19.79 tickets for Margaret Thatcher - Queen of Soho in Manchester.
Get Ā£22.50 tickets for the Oklahoma concert (but thereās some really great ones at Ā£31.20!)
Itās your last chance to see Closer to Heaven as it closes this week - thereās discounted Ā£25 tickets for final performances.
Thereās Ā£25 tickets for the Something Rotten concert.
Get Ā£25 tickets for The Rocky Horror Show when it comes to London.
And get best seats for Ā£27.50 for Sweeney Todd: A Victorian Melodrama in Bath. Use code SWEENEY2750, Wed-Fri eves only.
Donāt throw away your shot
Competitions, on-sales and announcements.
Thereās going to be a musical adaptation of A Knightās Tale coming to Manchester next April. You can sign up for priority booking now, otherwise tickets will go on general sale at 10am on 1 Aug.
Mel Brooksā The Producers will be revived at the Menier Chocolate Factory in November. Tickets arenāt on sale yet, but you can sign up to their mailing list to be in the know.
Iām Gonna Marry You Tobey Maguire has extended at Southwark Playhouse Borough. It will now play until 24 August.
Additional dates have been added to the Mary Poppins UK tour. Check with individual venues for details.
Thereās an amazing free event with performances from Six the Musical on Friday at the National Portrait Gallery! Itās to coincide with their Six Lives: The Stories of Henry VIIIās Queens exhibition, which also has an excellent pay what you can scheme at certain times!
Donāt forget itās the Nick Hern Books pop-up bookshop at the Bush Theatre this Friday and Saturday. You can get theatrical books from just Ā£2.
And finally, win tickets to The Buddha Of Suburbia along with an overnight stay.
Thatās all for this week. If you enjoyed the newsletter, please tell your friends. Iām also open to suggestions and requests for certain discounts, so do drop into my DMs. Right, time for a trip to Bikini Bottom! š