Around Town

The problem
Alice and Jim, Bath ‘We’re coming up to London and we want to see a West End show. Trouble is, we haven’t booked. How do we get tickets to see something good without spending a fortune?’

The prescription
The short answer? Be prepared to get up early, scout around and queue. If you’re up to see a musical then yes, hit shows such as ‘Hairspray’ do get booked up weeks in advance. But many shows keep back a certain number of tickets to release on the door on the day: for ‘Hairspray’, you need to get down to the Shaftesbury Theatre box office for about 9.30am if you want to get hold of one of the 20 £25 tickets they release for that night’s show.

If a good, straight play is what you’re after then the National Theatre releases day tickets (subject to availability) at 9.30am on the morning of the performance, though they do sometimes limit them to two per person.

Trying to get hold of returned tickets might be a better tip if you prefer to turn up at the theatre 90 minutes or so before the performance rather than travelling to it twice, or spending the whole day nearby. Most theatres sell returns on the day before curtain-up, and they’re often considerably cheaper than the ones the touts outside will offer you. Release times vary, so ring the theatre box office to check what time to turn up, and what your chances are.

If you want to spread your options, there’s always the Half-Price Ticket Booth in Leicester Square, which sells tickets for the less popular (but not necessarily less good) shows daily, from about £22.50. A word of warning – don’t accidentally end up at one of the commercial ticket booths in the same area. And make sure you take along a copy of Time Out – the only publication to carry reviews of every currently playing West End show in each week’s edition – so you know what’s a good bet.

Do you agree? Post your suggestions for Alice and Jim's day out.

Email your cultural problem to cultureclinic@timeout.com.