Tuesday, March 19Royal Holloway's offical student publication, est. 1986

Cheap Theatre- a How-to!

Theatre in London is becoming more accessible for students on a budget and cheap tickets can even be purchased on the day of performances. The TKTS booth in Leicester Square sells tickets for many popular West End shows on the day with special deals and half price discounts. Another option is to go to the theatre’s box office when it opens to queue for day seats which are reserved tickets at a considerable discount, often selling at £10 to £20 a ticket. If you want to book tickets in advance before trekking to London, rehearsals and previews of West End shows before their main run are more likely to sell tickets at a discounted rate or even for free!
£15 Mondays at Trafalgar Transformed proved such a success for Jamie Lloyd’s productions in 2013 that the scheme has been reintroduced for his second season of plays at the Trafalgar Studios. All tickets on selected dates are priced at £15 each and are released on the 2nd of every month. A new production beginning in January 2015 not to be missed is The Ruling Class starring James McAvoy! A similar project is the Barclays £10 Front Row Tickets, which are additional tickets for plays at the Donmar Warehouse released every Monday for performances two weeks later. These discounted schemes provide excellent tickets at a fraction of the original price.
For students aged between 16 and 25 there are a variety of free memberships available to be eligible for discounted tickets and special workshops tailored to theatre lovers. The National Theatre Entry Pass includes the benefit of being able to purchase £5 tickets for any of their productions. The Young Barbican is an exciting membership as it covers a wide range of the arts. For members there are over 50,000 discounted tickets released across art, film, music, theatre and dance for just £5, £10 and £15. As an off West End theatre, The Barbican is an example of a theatre where productions may often be a lot cheaper than going to see a performance in Central London. It is a good idea to see what other London theatres off the West End have to offer, as many plays from these smaller, often more intimate theatres will be transferred to the West End at a later date, so audiences get to see previews at a lower price.
Check out www.theatrefix.co.uk/offers for even more offers and ways for students to go to the theatre for less!