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It’s a cliche to say it at this stage, but the last 18 months have been really rough for theatres: if it wasn’t being forced to shut because of lockdown, it was being forced to shut because of the pingdemic, and even during the times they could open, theatres had mostly had to deal with the income drop from being forced to have small, socially distanced audiences.
At the risk of tempting fate, things are finally looking up. The West End’s playhouses are back to full capacity and heaving with shows old and new; the pingdemic is blessedly over; and while it would be the height of hubris to assume we couldn't lockdown again, it’s worth noting that most theatres are now requesting either double vaccination or a negative lateral flow test as a condition of entry – things are about as safe as they can be.
That only leaves the substantial obstacle of actually being able to afford to go to the theatre. Well, good news, because for the next couple of weeks you probably can. London Theatre Week is a fortnight-long initiative to get bums back on Theatreland seat, and it sees 45 West End shows – many of them seriously big names – discounting their tickets to between £15 and £35. It’s a great deal for you, and a serious morale booster for the West End. You don’t actually have to see the shows during this period, but it has literally never been a better time to book for them.
The shows participating are (deep breath): ‘& Juliet’, ‘Amelie’, ‘Anything Goes’, ‘Bach & Sons’, ‘Back To The Future’, ‘Be More Chill’, ‘Blithe Spirit’, ‘Bring It On’, ‘Circus 1903’, ‘Cirque Beserk’, ‘Come From Away’, ‘Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time’, ‘Dear Evan Hansen’, ‘Everybody’s Talking About Jamie’, ‘Get Up Stand Up’, ‘Hairspray’, ‘Harry Potter and the Cursed Child’, ‘Heathers’, ‘Indecent Proposal’, ‘Jersey Boys’, ‘Leopoldstadt’, ‘Les Miserables’, ‘Life of Pi’, ‘Magic Mike Live!’, ‘Mamma Mia!’, ‘Mary Poppins’, ‘Matilda’, ‘Oleanna’, ‘Only Fools and Horses’, ‘Showstopper’, ‘The Book of Mormon’, ‘The Comedy of Errors’, ‘The Great Gatsby’, ‘The Last Five Years’, ‘The Lion King’, ‘The Mirror and the Light’, ‘The Phantom of the Opera’, ‘The Play that Goes Wrong’, ‘The Prince of Egypt’, ‘The Shark is Broken’, ‘The Windsors: Endgame’, ‘The Woman in Black’, ‘Tina - The Tina Turner Musical’, ‘Wicked’ and ‘Witness for the Prosecution’.
Book theatre tickets here.