Yes, you read that right. You really can see theatre shows, gigs, concerts, spoken word, and other exciting events for less than £10, even in London. This week's Greater Things is dedicated to everyone who's finding it harder and harder to spend evenings out.
Now, before you read any further, we must warn you that some of the ways to get cheap tickets require you to join a membership scheme and employ the highest levels of discretion when you attend. There's also no guarantee that you will be let into the club, but as a Paperweight reader, we're pretty certain that you will make the cut.
What are we talking about? Well, there are two main ways to get hold of tickets for less than £10:
- Buy a last-minute ticket direct from the venue's box office - either online or in person - often called 'rush tickets' or 'on the day tickets'.
or
- Become a 'seat filler' for shows that haven't quite sold out and are in need of discreet theatregoers who won't give the game away to everyone who paid full price for a ticket.
So what is 'seat filling'?
It's never been tougher out there for venues and performers (and audiences have never been quite so cash-strapped), so in order to help everyone out, you can get your hands on free tickets when a theatre (or live music venue) needs to fill the auditorium. You'll be charged an administration fee of between £2 and £15 (occasionally more), but the tickets themselves are free.
There are three seat-filling members' clubs that are open to applications:
Central Tickets is free to join, and your membership stays active as long as you book at least once a year. There's an app to make it easy to book, and most admin fees are £4-7 per ticket. You can also get email alerts, which can be particularly useful if a West End show has a few seats going spare for that night's performance. You'll have to be quick though; some shows will sell out within a few minutes of the email being sent.
The Audience Club charges £5 per year for membership, but operates in a very similar way to Central Tickets. Sometimes a show might sell out on one seat-filling app, but still be available on another, so it's worth checking all of them.
ShowFilmFirst started out as a way to get audiences in for previews of films, but now offers just as wide a range of theatre, gigs, and days out as the other seat-filling services. It's also better for venues outside of London. There's no membership fee, but the usual rules of discretion apply.
Now, of course, you aren't going to find tickets to shows that have sold out months in advance, and you might find that some performances really aren't to your taste. But, if anything, that's actually the joy of seat-filling. You'll find yourself going to shows that you might never have booked before, which really is what the arts are all about. With prices rising, and everyone trying to save money, audiences are (understandably) narrowing their choice of evenings out to productions that they're sure they'll enjoy. And that's taken all of the fun out of going out. So embrace the possibility of seeing something unusual, and you'll rarely be disappointed.
Golden Rules for Seat-Filling
- Always read the small print for the seat-filling membership club, and for the tickets themselves. Each has slightly different rules, and remember that you're getting an absolute bargain.
- Never ever ever talk about how much you paid for the tickets while you're at the venue. And make sure your guests know this too.
- Check the ticket collection instructions carefully. Sometimes you'll just get the tickets emailed to you about an hour before the performance. Otherwise, you usually have to pick them up (discreetly!) at the box office. It's polite to collect them at the exact time stated on your confirmation email.
- You won't choose where you're sitting, and remember the ticket itself was free, so never grumble about the seats you're given. In our experience, seat-filling tickets are often some of the best in the house, but if they're not, don't let anyone know your feelings.
- This last point isn't so much a rule as advice: Don't let seat-filling replace your usual ticket-buying. It's so important to support performers and artists that you like. Think of seat-filling as a way to broaden your horizons. If you see availability on seat-filling for a show that you had planned to book anyway, consider paying the usual price and let someone else take the cheap tickets. They might end up loving them as much as you do, which is a good way to support the arts in the current climate.
So, now that you know all about it, you can get back to going out more often. After all, Soho wasn't gentrified for you to spend your evenings on the sofa.
Part of Paperweight's 'Greater Things' series; #1001 ways to live your life greater. Get it delivered to your inbox every week with Sunday Paperweight when you subscribe for free.
