How to get cheap and last-minute theatre tickets in Melbourne

Most venues offer discounts group bookings, many for groups as low as eight. That's, like, what? Four couples? Two families? One book club? Easy. 

This is especially useful for those big musicals at the top end of town. Ticketek and Ticketmaster have their own group bookings department where you can expect to save between $5 and $20 per ticket depending on the promoter. The advantage of a group discount is you won't get stuck in seat ZZ 99 for the sake of saving a few bucks. Just the opposite: you might end up with a few perks thrown in.

Duh. Of course, taking out a season or part-season subscription will save you money. And depending on the theatre you've subscribed to, you might get some other perks as well.

For instance, MTC subscribers get priority access to the best seats, plus bar discounts and flexible exchanges. You can even spread your subscription fee across the year (subscriptions also make a great Christmas gift FYI). 

Again, duh. You don't need us to tell you that most venues offer some kind of concession rate for "eligible cardholders". But wait – there's more! Many companies also have rush tickets – discounted concession tickets available on the morning of the performance. That is, they have discounts on the already discounted concession tickets. Double win!

For example, Red Stitch rush tickets are $20 for students, MEAA members, pensioners or health cardholders, and are available at the door one hour before the curtain. MTC also has seat savers at $26 for concession holders (full-time students, pensioners, MEAA), available every Tuesday between 11am and 4pm for performances over the next seven days.

Believe it or not, some companies think the performing arts appeal only to greyheads. In order to attract the yoof dollar, many offer discount tickets, including the Australian Ballet (which has an under 30 rate) and Opera Australia (which offers cheaper rates to school groups and $20 tickets for students in Year 11 and 12).

Previews can always be relied on to save you a couple of bucks at least, be it indie theatre or a mainstage production.

"Enter your promo code here." But where does one find said code? Usually Facebook, Twitter or the ol' email newsletter. Practically every company, as well as many artists, engage with their audience this way. Amongst the rampant spruiking, social media is also a veritable goldmine for giveaways and special offers. How else would you find out about the inevitable tight-arsed Tuesday specials?

There's a bunch of these online – like Lasttix – but it's curious how much a show's success depends on the image of success. If word gets around that a show is "selling out fast", people are more likely to front up for a ticket; but – as producers will tell you – if a show is advertised as two-for-one, audiences sometimes shy away, following the logic that a show must be pretty ordinary if they have to lure audiences in with discounts.

That's why it pays sometimes to stick your head in at Halftix at 208 Little Collins Street. Although for the sake of image, a producer might not want their show advertised at a discount online, they might still make tickets available to those who front up in person on the day (though some Halftix shows can be bought online – head to the website to see what the current deals are). Back in the day Halftix only accepted cash, but these days card payments can also be made.

Same-day ticket lotteries are common for blockbuster shows in Broadway and on the West End, and if you've ever queued up to score last-minute theatre tickets in New York or London, you'll know they're super popular. Australia is new to the game, but a bunch of major musicals have run lotteries in recent years. 

Opera Australia runs a regular $20 lottery through the Susan and Isaac Wakil Foundation Access Program – click here to enter the lottery, it's a great way to dip your toe into opera. 

TodayTix is quite a big deal in London and New York but launched recently in Melbourne. If you've got theatre-going friends in those cities, you've probably seen them posting links to TodayTix – because they encourage you to do so to enter lotteries and score super cheap tickets.

The group is currently selling tickets to some pretty big shows in Melbourne – including major musicals, mainstage shows, opera, ballet and comedy gigs. Shows change regularly so it's always worth checking the website before purchasing your tickets.