The last time I saw Hadestown was before this newsletter even existed! So I’m thrilled that I can tell you all about this wonderful show this time around as it returns to London after a long five years, following great Broadway success. I was lucky enough to go to press night on Wednesday, and I can tell you it was worth waiting for.
Hadestown takes the classic Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice and retells it against a folk/jazz background of one of the most beautiful musical scores. Its music is certainly the highlight - the story can lack pace and the plot wears thin at times, but when you’re listening to such a gorgeous sound it’s hard to begrudge it. Alongside that, the staging is simple yet stunning. Revolves, mist and a deep pit into the underworld is all they need to tell the story, and it works. By the story’s emotional finale, you can hear a pin drop in the Lyric Theatre. It’s romantic and mysterious - it won’t appeal to everyone but it has captured the hearts of many.
Tickets for the first few weeks of performances have been hard to come by - with the show extending before it had even opened it’s a popular ticket. But as always, I’m here to find you a way in for as cheap as possible. You can buy tickets directly from just £20 - these views can be sketchy, personally I’d recommend spending just a little bit more for a better seat, but don’t write off the balcony entirely. I sat in seat C23 and had a surprisingly good view, with a ticket value of just under £40. I’d say only about 5% of the show was missed, mainly when people stood on the little central balcony which happens rarely. Availability on the cheaper seats improves from late April/early May.
If the Fates are on your side, then there’s also a daily £30 lottery on TodayTix. It’ll be a popular one, but you might also realise that it’s worth the wait. I just hope for your sake you’re not entering the lottery for five years…
Happy ticket-buying!
Rochelle 🎭🎫
Carrying the banner
In the news this week…
I’m kind of a big deal
London Theatre Week is back! This regular promotion offers tickets for some top London shows for as little as £15. Here's some of the best discounts I could find…
£10 tickets for An Officer and a Gentleman - on tour in Wimbledon. Back of the top level but an absolute bargain!
£15 tickets for Bronco Billy - including front row!
£15 for Minority Report - some amazing front stalls seats on offer at this price.
£25 for The Mousetrap - they may be upper circle but after sitting here the other day, I can confirm the view's good!
£27.50 tickets for Guys & Dolls - save over £10 on the immersive standing tickets.
You can book through any number of agents - I’ve listed a few below. But remember, if you book through Seat Plan you can use your rewards too and get multiple discounts. So if a ticket is already discounted to £15, and you have a £10 Seat Plan voucher… that’s a fiver for a West End show!
Hey big spender
Here’s your discounts, offers and cheap seats this week.
🏃 New rush alert! You will be able to get £25 rush tickets to For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When the Hue Gets Too Heavy which returns to the West End on 29 Feb.
It’s the final week of the New Year Sale, so your last chance to grab tickets for West End shows for as little as £10! You have until 29 Feb.
Tickets for the pioneers’ preview of Sappho at Southwark Playhouse have just gone on sale - this offers £10 tickets for the very first preview on 3 May.
An Enemy of the People has just extended to 13 April, which means there are cheap seats available again! They have also released £20 standing tickets for earlier dates.
Get £29.50 tickets for Twelve Angry Men in Manchester.
I’ve seen some really good seats for Everybody’s Talking About Jamie come up on TKTS for £29.50, including front stalls. Worth keeping an eye on for last-minute trips if you miss the rush!
And The War of the Worlds immersive experience is offering £15 off per standard ticket when you buy two or more, but only on Thursdays in May or Sep! Specific but it makes the cheapest ones just £30 each. Use code FLYTOMARS, ends 28 Feb.
Don’t throw away your shot
Competitions, on-sales and announcements.
Edinburgh Festival has announced its first set of shows for this year’s fringe, including a Jaffa Cake musical by Gigglemug (who really tickled me with their Timpson: the Musical a few years back!) Tickets are on sale, with more shows being announced in the coming months.
There’s been a ton of new tours announced this week! First up, Fosse favourite Chicago is back, touring the country from October.
Agatha Christie’s A Murder on the Orient Express, adapted by Ken Ludwig, will tour from September.
And Mischief favourites Henry Lewis and Jonathan Sayer will tour with Mind Mangler following its West End run. For all these new tours, as always, check your local theatre for on-sale dates.
Frozen has announced a special performance to mark Pride Weekend. Tickets for the show on 28 Jun are on sale now, and there are some pretty decent ones up for grabs at reasonable prices.
The Play That Goes Wrong has just extended to 4 May 2025, with tickets on sale now.
Win tickets to the West End transfer of A Mirror, plus a copy of the playscript thanks to Nick Hern Books.
And finally, you could win a Vanya playtext signed by Andrew Scott himself.
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 an evening with one of my favourite comedians, Kiell Smith-Bynoe! 😄