2012 is a special year for the United Kingdom and theatre breaks, not just because of the London 2012 Olympic Games, but also because it’s the The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee year as well. That means a lot of extra activity and tourism in central London which will have an effect on the West End venues and on Theatre Breaks bookings.  Over twenty shows  have responded by extending booking dates early so that you can book early, right now, for all the popular musicals and plays right through into the 2012 celebration year, which may help a lot of people to combine tourism trips and spectating with theatre breaks in London. First the two main events of the year:

The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee

The Department for Culture, Media and Sports is responsible for coordinating the Government’s role for Her Majesty’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations.

Buckingham Palace will be coordinating the Queen’s programme for the Diamond Jubilee, including the arrangements for the central Jubilee weekend in the first week of June 2012.

For further information about the Diamond Jubilee and the events taking place during 2012, please visit direct.gov.uk/diamondjubilee

The London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games

Olympic Games 27 July-12 Aug 2012

The London 2012 Olympic Games will feature 26 sports, which break down into 39 disciplines.

Paralympic Games 29 Aug-9 Sept 2012

There are 20 sports in the Paralympic programme for the London 2012 Games. Paralympic Cycling breaks down into two disciplines: Road and Track.

Cultural Olympiad

The London 2012 Cultural Olympiad is the largest cultural celebration in the history of the modern Olympic and Paralympic Movements.

London 2012 Festival

The London 2012 Festival is the finale of the four-year Cultural Olympiad, taking place from 21 June to 9 September 2012.

Complementing the sport events at the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the Festival will be the biggest party the UK has ever seen, with a huge range of events from leading artists from all over the world.

Theatre Breaks

To be honest, nobody really knows exactly what effect all of this is going to have on London theatre breaks during the 2012 celebration year. Obviously there is going to be a high demand for hotel accommodation and London is going to be prominent in the world’s attention.  People who are in London anyway may well wish to visit the West End theatres as part of the whole London experience, and there are certainly plenty of great shows on offer this year. Meanwhile the traditional theatre going public may decide to avoid certain dates in order not to get caught up in the crowds and busier traffic. In order to make the most of the 2012 opportunity presented though, the London theatres as a whole have announced extensions to the booking dates for more than 20 popular shows well in advance, so that those with Olympics tickets or other intentions can book theatre breaks as part of their overall London trip  of a lifetime. The shows which have extended so far are as follows:

Some of the shows announcing 2012 booking dates extensions are the following West End musicals and plays:

We Will Rock You

Wicked

The Wizard of Oz

Billy Elliot the Musical

Blood Brothers

Dreamboats and Petticoats

Jersey Boys

The Phantom of the Opera

Mamma Mia!

Legally Blonde the Musical

Ghost The Musical 

Les Misérables

Shrek The Musical

Disney’s The Lion King

Million Dollar Quartet 

The Mousetrap

The 39 Steps

Stomp

Thriller Live

War Horse

The Woman in Black

Rock of Ages 

Matilda The Musical

Today we are looking at the issue of how you get your hands on the actual physical printed cardboard tickets so you know after all the anticipation that you will be let into the theatre and are definitely going to see the show!

How do I get my theatre break tickets?

Theatre breaks agencies do vary a little, some send your tickets out by post, but most will have them left at the theatre box office for you to collect on the day. It may depend how far in advance you book your theatre break, but there’s really nothing to worry about. Once you’ve confirmed your booking and authorised payment there will be a seat with your name on it. Well, it’s easy for me to say that I know, because part of the excitement of going to see a big show is the tingling anxiety that builds up in the hours before the big day. One way to help with this is to turn up as soon as the box office opens, which is usually about an hour before the show, when the queue should be fairly short still, present your booking voucher or just tell them your name and booking reference and collect your tickets. Phew! You’ve now got an hour to enjoy a pre-theatre drink or a stroll around theatreland and you can keep getting your tickets out to look at them as often as you like. You might want to memorise your seat numbers as this will aid negotiating your way around the various entrances once inside the theatre and after your tickets have been torn in half by the usherette. In any case you should really collect your tickets at least 30 mins before the performance starts.

What about the Hotel?

Hotels don’t issue tickets but you may receive something called a “Hotel Voucher” as part of the email confirmation you get back stright away when you book theatre breaks online. There’s no need to print this out if you don’t want to though, you can just quote the booking reference and your name when you arrive at the hotel. Earliest check in time is usually about 2pm so if you arrive early in London on the day of the start of your theatre break it’s best to take advantage of the opportunity to settle in, dump your luggage and then go out again for the afternoon or early evening.

Rail tickets booked with theatre breaks

Show and Stay is one theatre breaks agency that offers discount rail tickets when booked in advance with a theatre break. It’s a good deal because you can save up to 40% on the travel costs and arriving in central London by rail is really the best way to do it in most circumstances. These rail tickets will be sent out separately by first class post in plenty of time before you travel.

London Eye Tickets

The London Eye is the most popular add-on attraction booked with theatre breaks packages so how do you get your ‘flight’ tickets? This can get a bit complicated so please read your email confirmation carefully. If you book the London Eye River Cruise option, which is a lovely thing to do, then there’s a telephone number you need to ring to tell them when you want to go and arrange the booking. Do so as soon as you have decided upon your itinerary in order to be sure of getting your ideal flight times, and at least 72 hours in advance. You’ll also get a “London Eye Flight Only” voucher and in both cases you are asked to retain this section of confirmation to give to the London Eye people as proof of pre-booking, so in this case you probably will need to print it all out. For the Fast Track and Champagne flights, you still need to book in advance but you can turn up only 15 minutes before your flight at the fast track check-in desk and exchange your voucher for tickets there and then.

This is the second of Theatre Breaks Magazine’s FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) which each deal with a topic that might get in the way of planning, booking and enjoying theatre breaks.

Mr Notsure’s Dilemma

Mr Notsure and his partner were off to London for a romantic weekend to see Phantom of the Opera. He’d found a web site that promised good value. He booked right away, dismissing the idea of going by train without a thought. Later that night he started to worry. “What if the taking the car means I get stressed out driving there? What about parking in London? Oh dear, and what about that congestion charge too?

Let’s see if I can help  Mr Notsure’s  sort out those ‘what ifs?’ about theatre breaks by car.

What if the taking the car means I get stressed out driving in London?

To avoid getting stressed out on the journey:

• Allow yourself lots of extra time. Use the AA online route planner if you don’t have Sat Nav.
• Try to avoid arriving anywhere near London at peak times. These last longer than you might assume as people try to spread their travel times. Aim to arrive and leave after 10am, before 3pm or after 7pm.
• Check for any known road works on your route before you set off.

Theatre Breaks by Car

Congestion Charging

The congestion charge applies in Central London between 7.00am and 6.30pm, Monday to Friday

• Basic fee- £8 per day if you pay the charge on the day of travel.

• Pay on the first charging day after travel you pay £10.

• If you do not pay the charge by the end of the first charging day after your journey you will be subject to a  penalty charge which is a whopping £120 !

Ideally you should pay in advance, either online or by post.

You can download a free map of the Congestion Charge Zone from Transport for London

What if I get lost in London?

It can happen to anyone, including Londoners! Even if you have sat.nav and a current A-Z you will inevitably take a wrong turn, encounter unexpected road works or meet some other problem that takes you off your planned route. If you decide you are hopelessly lost, and London signage isn’t always terribly helpful if you are, then according to a new web service, The Knowledge , there is an answer. You can ask a cabbie!

The Knowledge is a  24 hour helpline  manned by licensed London taxi  drivers and provided by Knowledge Capital Limited. By calling 0906 265 6565 you will be connected directly to a licensed London taxi driver.

The promise you the assistance of an off duty cab driver. The calls cost £1 per minute from a BT landline and are likely to be much more from your mobile. I cannot imagine you’ll be ringing from your landline so expect it to be expensive!  I’ve never used the service but it might just be worth it if you are driving round lost and in a panic.

DON’T CALL WHILE YOU ARE DRIVING!

Pull over somewhere safe and make the call.

What about parking in London?

If the hotel offers parking it is always mentioned in the description. Often it will mean an extra charge, usually between £15 and £20 per day. You need to arrange this with the hotel. Give them a ring and they’ll usually be quite happy to sort it out for you.

Parking in Central London, especially near theatreland is very difficult. To be quite honest I simply would not recommend you even attempt it!

Choosing Your Hotel for Theatre Breaks by Car

Traffic near theatreland can be heavy. Park your car at the hotel

One good solution can be to drive to your hotel, park the car and use black cabs or the tube to travel around the city.

For this to work best you should choose a hotel outside the congestion charge and use the tube or black cabs to get into and out of the centre. That way you can avoid the worst of the central London traffic and still have the comfort of your own car for the journey home. This gives you  much more flexibility and means that you don’t have the stress of driving in the worst of the city traffic.

Theatre Break Magazine FAQ

This was the second post of Theatre Breaks Magazine’s FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) each of which  deals with a specific topic that might come up when you are planning, booking and enjoying theatre breaks.

(Photo Credit – Archangeli cc image via flickr)

Flaming June comes around just after Spring has well and truly sprung, but before the main Summer holidays, which is in some ways ideal for theatre breaks with outdoor things to do in London. The river trips and topless bus tours come into their own at this time of year, as do the green spaces and parks.

West End Live

For the West End, there’s one special event which comes around each year usually around the third week and that’s West End Live. It’s a free entertainment festival put on in central London’s Leicester Square, right in the heart of theatreland, which serves to promote individual shows which take part and the West End as a whole. Participation varies, for example with Hairspray sending a full cast in costume to perform one number to kick of the show in 2009, and others such as Oliver and Wicked sending along one star to do a big number solo.

West End Live takes place over one weekend towards the end of June and I’m not suggesting anybody hangs around for the whole thing from start to finish, especially if your time in London is limited. Standing up for that length of time is exhausting enough and there’s a certain amount of waiting about between acts. It’s not really worth arriving early and queuing up to get inside the square for the start either, as the queues do build up to quite a length with people wanting to bag a place near the front but it definitely is worth dropping in for an hour or as proceedings get going and the crowds stabilise , and catching any shows you particularly want to see by keeping an eye on the programme of events. This will be found each year on the London Theatre Breaks blog in the West End Live section and they do stick very closely to the times stated because the singers and dancers need to know exactly when they will be on so they can schedule it in amongst rehearsals and even matinee performances on the Saturday.

To give a sample of the happy atmosphere and the kind of performances to expect live in the square here are a few crowd videos from theatre breaks youTube.

Wicked

Alexia Khadime from Wicked sings The Wizard and I.

Priscilla Queen of The Desert

All singing All dancing All camp Priscilla

We Will Rock You

Every year the cast from We Will Rock You put on a big show with a full cast in costume doing several numbers

Oliver!

Jodie Prenger from Oliver sings As Long as He Needs Me

Chicago

In 2009 the cast of Chicago included none other than Jerry Springer

Other Things to do in June

Long light evenings are conducive to wandering about outdoors and pavement cafe meals in interesting side streets. Hyde Park and Regents Park are best known but the smaller St James Park is close by Victoria and Westminster and features a bandstand with live music sometimes, an airy Inn The Park with beautiful roof terrace, and a lake with exotic ducks geese and pelicans.