A West End show is worth booking before you arrive. What you pay for the same seat varies a lot depending on where you buy it; the best view in the house is often cheaper than the middle of the stalls, and shows close and change theatres more often than most visitors expect.
This guide covers how to book, where to sit, and what is on.
If you are visiting between November and early January, skip ahead to the Christmas shows. That section has its own dates, and several are very short runs.
How to book West End tickets
You can buy a West End ticket in a couple of ways, and each suits different travellers.
Booking in advance
For anyone travelling a long way, this is the sensible option. You lock in the date, choose your seats, and avoid spending part of your holiday queueing.
Book either through the theatre’s own box office or through an official agency. The booking links in this guide go to London Theatre Direct, which is an authorised agent rather than a resale site, so the tickets come from the venue’s own allocation. Resale sites list the same seats at several times face value, and you have no protection if the show cancels or the cast changes.
Avoid anything advertising “guaranteed best seats” at a premium, and avoid buying from anyone approaching you outside a theatre.
TKTS in Leicester Square
TKTS is the official ticket booth, run by the Society of London Theatre, the trade body the theatres themselves belong to. It is the clock tower building on the south side of Leicester Square, opposite the Radisson Blu Edwardian Hampshire hotel. Opening hours are 10.30 am to 6 pm Monday to Saturday and 11 am to 4 pm on Sundays.
It is mainly an on-the-day booth, though you can also buy in advance there. SOLT is a not-for-profit and says its booking fees cover the cost of running the booth, with anything left over going back into theatre.
What it cannot do is guarantee a particular show. You take what hasn’t sold, which on a Tuesday in February is a good deal, and in the week before Christmas is very little.
Where to sit
Most London theatres were built between 1880 and 1910, so they have steep upper levels, narrow seats and supporting pillars. A seating chart will not show you any of that.
- The front of the dress circle is usually the best view in the house and often costs less than the middle of the stalls.
- The first few rows of the stalls are close, but you look up at the stage, and for big-spectacle shows you lose the overall picture.
- Upper circle and balcony seats are cheap for a reason. Some are very steep, and some are far back. They are fine for a play, less good for dance.
- Restricted view covers everything from a slightly awkward angle to a pillar in front of your face. Check what the restriction actually is before booking.
Most theatre websites now publish seat-by-seat notes and photographs on their own booking pages, so check the venue’s page for the seat you are considering before you pay for it.
How far ahead to book
For a long-running musical on a weekday, a few weeks is plenty. For a weekend, a school holiday, or anything in December, book as far ahead as you can. Christmas shows in particular sell their best dates by October.
Matinees are cheaper and easier to get than evenings, and they leave your evening free. If you are fitting a lot into a short trip, a Wednesday or Thursday matinee is the easiest thing to slot in. Our guide to how far ahead to book for London covers the rest of the trip.
The long-running shows
These are booking well into 2027 and beyond, so they are the safe choice if your dates aren’t fixed yet. Venues confirmed September 2026.
| Show | Theatre | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| The Lion King | Lyceum Theatre | Families, first-time visitors |
| Wicked | Apollo Victoria Theatre | Teenagers and up |
| The Phantom of the Opera | His Majesty’s Theatre | Classic West End |
| Les Miserables | Sondheim Theatre | Classic West End |
| Hamilton | Victoria Palace Theatre | Anyone who missed it at home |
| Mamma Mia! | Novello Theatre | An easy, cheerful night |
| Matilda the Musical | Cambridge Theatre | Families with children 7+ |
| Six | Vaudeville Theatre | Short on time, 80 minutes straight through |
| Moulin Rouge! The Musical | Piccadilly Theatre | Spectacle |
| The Book of Mormon | Prince of Wales Theatre | Adults, and not easily offended |
| Oliver! | Gielgud Theatre | Families, British classic |
| The Devil Wears Prada | Dominion Theatre | Adults, comedy |
| Sinatra The Musical | Aldwych Theatre | Older audiences |
| Paddington The Musical | Savoy Theatre | Families with children 6+ |
| Harry Potter and the Cursed Child | Palace Theatre | Harry Potter fans |
| Stranger Things: The First Shadow | Phoenix Theatre | Fans of the series, older teens up |
One thing to know about Harry Potter. It ran for years as a two-part show, seen across two sittings. From October 2026, it is a single-part production at the same theatre. If you have read older advice about booking both parts on the same day, that no longer applies.
Limited runs closing soon
These three have announced end dates. If any of them is the reason you are going, book before you book anything else.
| Show | Theatre | Runs until |
|---|---|---|
| Beetlejuice | Prince Edward Theatre | 2 January 2027 |
| Into the Woods | Noel Coward Theatre | 9 January 2027 |
| Jesus Christ Superstar | Theatre Royal Drury Lane | 9 January 2027 |
Jesus Christ Superstar is worth a note. It played at the London Palladium until early September 2026 and transfers to Theatre Royal Drury Lane from 16 October. Many listings still show the old venue, so check the address on your ticket.
Christmas shows in London
London’s festive theatre season is separate from the West End’s year-round programme and works to its own calendar. Most productions open in late November or early December and close on 3 January, and several of the best ones are not in the West End at all.
Dates below are for the 2026 to 2027 season and were confirmed with each venue in September 2026.
| Show | Venue | Dates | Ages |
|---|---|---|---|
| A Christmas Carol | The Old Vic | 10 Nov to 9 Jan | 8+ |
| Cinderella (pantomime) | Lyric Hammersmith | 14 Nov to 3 Jan | All ages |
| The Snowman | Peacock Theatre | 21 Nov to 3 Jan | All ages |
| Matthew Bourne’s Cinderella | Sadler’s Wells | 1 Dec to 17 Jan | 8+ |
| Stick Man | Bloomsbury Theatre | 3 Dec to 3 Jan | All ages |
| Peppa Pig’s Big Family Show | Theatre Royal Haymarket | 4 Dec to 3 Jan | All ages |
| Potted Panto | Apollo Theatre | 6 Dec to 3 Jan | 6+ |
| Cirque Alice | Royal Festival Hall | 12 Dec to 3 Jan | 5+ |
| Nutcracker | London Coliseum | 17 Dec to 10 Jan | 5+ |
| Christmas Carol Goes Wrong | Wyndham’s Theatre | 18 Dec to 23 Jan | 8+ |
| Scrooge: A Cirque Extravaganza | ExCeL London | 23, 24, 27, 28 Dec only | All ages |
Which one to pick
- The proper British pantomime. Cinderella at the Lyric Hammersmith. Tickets start at ten pounds and there is a family package at eighty pounds for two adults and two children. It is in zone 2 rather than the West End, which is why it is half the price of everything else on this list.
- The grown-up Christmas booking. A Christmas Carol at the Old Vic. It runs from early November, making it the easiest festive show to fit into a trip that isn’t in the last fortnight of December.
- Very young children. Stick Man is an hour with no interval, and under-twos go free on a lap. Peppa Pig admits babes in arms. Both are far easier with small children than a full-length show.
- A short one. Potted Panto is seventy minutes straight through, which is the least you can commit to and still have seen a panto.
- Ballet. Nutcracker at the Coliseum is the traditional choice, though it does not open until 17 December. Matthew Bourne’s Cinderella runs from 1 December and is a thirtieth anniversary staging.
The Snowman is a new production this year, staged by Sadler’s Wells to replace the version that ran for twenty-eight seasons.
For everything else happening that month, see our guides to events in London in November and events in London in December.
Theatre tickets as a Christmas present
Aย gift voucherย is the perfect present for theatre lovers everywhere, and London Theatre Direct offers various amounts from 10 to 500 UKP.
Not everything is in the West End
Several of the shows above are some distance from Shaftesbury Avenue.
- Lyric Hammersmith is in Zone 2 West London, about twenty minutes from Piccadilly Circus on the Piccadilly line.
- Sadler’s Wells is in Clerkenwell, nearest station Angel.
- Peacock Theatre is Sadler’s Wells’ West End venue near Holborn. Two different buildings share one name, which can catch people out.
- Bloomsbury Theatre is by UCL, walkable from Euston or King’s Cross.
- ExCeL London is in Docklands, E16. Prince Regent on the DLR is two minutes away, or Custom House on the Elizabeth line is about fifteen minutes on foot.
- ABBA Arena at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park is not a theatre. ABBA Voyage is a digital concert in a purpose-built venue at Pudding Mill Lane, and it is booking through 2027.
Access and mobility
London’s theatres were built long before lifts, and access varies widely. Check these before you book, not after.
- Upper levels usually mean stairs and no lift. The Theatre Royal Haymarket, for example, has sixty-five steps up to the Upper Circle.
- Stalls are generally the most accessible part of an older theatre, and wheelchair spaces are almost always at stalls level.
- Book accessible seating through the venue’s own access line, not an agency. Availability is held separately, and agencies cannot see it.
- Relaxed, captioned, audio-described and BSL-interpreted performances are widely available, though usually on one or two dates per run. The Snowman, the Lyric Cinderella, Nutcracker, A Christmas Carol, Peppa Pig and Matthew Bourne’s Cinderella all offer some of these this season.
- Newer and larger venues, including the ExCeL auditorium and ABBA Arena, are step-free and a much easier proposition than a Victorian playhouse.
Making an evening of it
Most West End performances start at 7.30 pm and run to around 10 pm, with matinees usually at 2.30 pm on two or three days a week.
Restaurants around Covent Garden and Soho offer pre-theatre menus in the early evening, priced below the same kitchen’s main evening menu, with the cut-off usually somewhere between 6.30 pm and 7 pm. Times and prices vary by restaurant, so check when you book and say you are going to the theatre.
Theatres in London do not have a dress code. People turn up in everything from jeans to black tie.
If you are staying in the theatre district itself, our guide to hotels in Covent Garden covers where to base yourself, and the best areas to stay in London guide compares the alternatives. For other evening options, see things to do in London at night.
Our pick for every kind of trip
- First visit to London. The Lion King, which works across a wide age range and plays at the Lyceum, two minutes from Covent Garden.
- Travelling with grandchildren. Matilda for seven and over, Paddington for six and over, Stick Man for the very small.
- Short on time. Six, at eighty minutes with no interval.
- Something properly British. Oliver! at the Gielgud, or the Lyric Hammersmith pantomime if you are here in December.
- In London for Christmas. A Christmas Carol at the Old Vic, booked early.
- Second or third visit, seen the big ones. A limited run. Into the Woods and Jesus Christ Superstar are both gone by mid January.
- Book the show first and fit the rest of the day around it.