Theatre Breaks Magazine is all about doing the research for you. I recently did a series of posts on the  most frequently asked questions about theatre breaks. Here’s a quick summary of the Top 10 most frequently asked questions and the answers. You’ll find more details in the individual FAQ posts.

Theatre Breaks Frequently Asked Questions

1. Is it safe to book online?

Yes, the big online theatre breaks agencies are very reputable and are all set up to provide you with a safe, secure way of getting the theatre break you want.

2. How do I get my tickets?

Theatre breaks agency vary, some send your tickets by post, others leave them at the Box Office for you to collect.

If they are left at the box office it usually opens about 1 hour before the show. You need to collect your tickets at least 30 mins before the performance starts.

3. What time should we arrive at the theatre?

You need to be sure to arrive at the theatre at least half an hour (30 mins) before the performance starts. There is a bar in most theatres and some even let you take drinks in to the theatre these days.

Once you are in take a trip to the loo, queues during the interval can be long, especially for the Ladies!

4. Do we need to dress up?

Not unless you want to! There is no strict dress code for any of the theatres in London. Smart/Casual is usually fine, some people may even be wearing jeans. Lots of people find they like to dress up, makes it more of an occasion. Do wear something comfortable and not too hot. The theatres are warm places even in winter.

5. What if I can’t use my theatre break or I need to change the date?

Theatre breaks and tickets are usually sold on a no refund, no exchange basis. You can often arrange to transfer them to someone else or, very occasionally, the agency might buy them back from you. They are very unlikely to let you change the dates. If you are really stuck try phoning the agency.

Remember if you have general travel insurance you might be at least partially covered, so check.

6. What if I’m late arriving at the theatre? Or the hotel?

Unless you are very lucky if you’re late you will be asked to wait, possibly even until the interval! Don’t be late! Be there 30 mins before the performance.

If you are delayed arriving at the hotel, your room is booked but it’s best to let them know to expect you to check in later.

Make sure you have the hotel phone number with you and give them a ring.

7. How many nights in the hotel can I book?

You specify the number of nights and the day you would like to see the show when you book. Often there’s a good deal on an extra night or two. You can’t usually book more than 4 or 5 nights.

8. Will I get good seats?

This rather depends on the agency you choose. Most theatre break agencies tell you in advance what level of seats you can expect. Some will be very specific and give seat numbers, others just specify ‘top price tickets’ (stalls or dress circle). Watch out for very cheap theatre break deals that don’t specify your seats. You could end up with a restricted view!

9 What about parking?

If the hotel offers parking it is always mentioned in the description. Often it will mean an extra charge, usually between £15 and £20.

Don’t forget about Congestion Charging. This applies between 7.00am and 6.30pm, Monday to Friday and is £8 per day.

Worth mentioning that many of the theatre breaks agencies offer discounted rail tickets to include in your package and these are often a better idea than taking the car into central London.

10. Can I take the family?

Short answer

Yes, but children must be at least 5 and you might struggle to find family friendly packages suitable for under 10s.

Longer Answer

They need to be able to sit in their own seat and pay attention. There’s usually a disclaimer at the theatre which says something like:

Admittance to the auditorium shall always be at the discretion of the management.

This translates as – if they misbehave and/or disturb people, you’re out and you’ve no chance of a refund.
Some theatre break packages do not cater for family groups at all and many only book either double or twin rooms. You’ll need to shop around but it can be done!

Your Questions About Theatre Breaks

Do you have any questions about theatre breaks? Just leave them in the comments here and I’ll do my best to find the answers so that you can book your theatre break with confidence.

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)

In this post for the new Theatre Breaks magazine I declare that I inherited an interest in theatre breaks from my own parents, no less. My mother and father used to travel up to London together, all the way from Truro about once or twice a year, and sometimes it would be to celebrate a special occasion. The one which involved me was a golden wedding anniversary trip, and I was invited to lunch in the Drury Lane Hotel with them whilst they showed me the smart facilities at the hotel and told me how much they had enjoyed seeing “Les Miserables” for the third time the night before.

I believe the theatre trip had been planned almost a whole year in advance, because you only ever get one golden wedding if at all, and they clearly wanted everything to be just as they like it. Seeing a show you are absolutely certain you are going to enjoy is one way of going about things. Others might prefer to see something for the first time, but highly recommended by trusted friends or sources.

Other Theatre Breaks Occasions

Now there is absolutely no need whatsoever to have an excuse for booking a theatre break, it can simply be considered to be one amongst several short breaks dotted around the year, but if you do like to have a special occasion to celebrate then here are a few other suggestions for deliberately timed theatre breaks.

• Birthday Treat – An obvious one, whether it’s your own birthday or that of a partner, spouse, friend or other relative, you’ll have a great time together in London if you both love the theatre and all the trappings.
• Empty Nest – No more fledgelings living under your roof? Enjoy the peace and quiet for a few weeks then go away on a London Theatre Break without worrying the house has been wecked by a Facebook party!
• Retirement – What’s the point in working all your life if you can’t enjoy a good night out midweek now you have the time at last.
• New job / promotion – Celebrate every step along the way of life
• End of busy season at work – Once the holidaymakers or other visitors have all gone home, make the most of the slack season by taking a break in your own preferred style
• Hen Night / stag night – Theatre breaks are not just for couples, you can go with your own gang and have a riot of a time in London.
• New Year Theatre Break – There’s the one in January of course, but also a new tax year in April, new school year in September, Chinese New Year in February
• New Grandchild – Once you’ve visited the new grandchild to do your bit then left them to get on with it, recuperate on the way back through the capital by staying on for a London theatre break
• Graduation – It could be your own or somebody you are very proud of – treat both of you to a theatre break to mark the occasion.

I hope these ideas inspire you to find the rationale for planning your next theatre break, so you’ll have something wonderful to look forward to from the moment it’s booked.

When it comes to choosing your dates for booking London breaks, I appreciate some can be more flexible than others. It all depends on what your visit is mainly for. Perhaps to mark a special occasion such as a birthday or anniversary, in which case seeing a show on the big day may be important. Others will be happy to organise around the nearest weekend if a midweek break is out of the question because of weekday commitments.

Or seeing a special show may be the whole purpose, booking a london break to get those sought after tickets. If a midweek London break is at all a possibility then it does have a lot going for it. Not only are the best show tickets more likely to be available than on a Saturday night, and the chances of picking up a better value hotel deal increased, but also I think the London life is just a tad more authentic when the city is doing it’s business day thing, with places such as the City of London almost deserted at weekends. Not only that but if you plan to do a little shopping thne places like Oxford Street are much easier to negotiate when the Saturday crowds are absent.

Midweek London Breaks on offer

Several times a year there are special offers for Midweek London breaks with top musicals and these include a Monday to Thursday show and for some a Friday is a possibility as well. This reflects the fact that London hotels are in demand not just for business clients during the week but largely for tourists and visitors at weekends who outnumber the corporate residents, thus creating some spare capacity on weekdays. Of course Saturday night show tickets always sell out first as well, so midweek is the way to go if you can get away with it at all.

London Breaks by Rail

Travel to London from the UK is often best by intercity fast train network. Even if you are the sort of person who goes everywhere by car, for a London break, this is really not a good place to bring one because of the traffic, the parking problems, the unforgiveness of London drivers and taxis for those who are unfamiliar with where they are going and worries over breaking the congestion charge regulations. Rail travel on the other hand should bring you to central London in a relatively relaxed and stress free frame of mind to enjoy the theatre. There are just a couple of tips I’d point out to help you plan London breaks by rail.

* Rush hour – don’t arrive in London before 9.30am or depart for your return journey between 4.00pm and 7.00pm. This shouldn’t be a problem if you are coming a few hundred miles but could be an issue for those in the South East of England who try to spend the whole day in London as well as travelling.

* Quiet Carriages – If you should be unfortunate enough to be seated next to a loud mobile phone user or families with DVD players on some routes then seeking out the designated Quiet Carriage will solve it, and they can also be less crowded.

* First Class upgrades can be well worth the small premium, ( lookout for “Weekend First” deals) and you might get some sort of meal and and a newspaper thrown in.

For best value rail tickets, booking in advance is the key and if you book rail tickets as part of a London break with show, hotel stay and any attractions as well you can save up to 40% on the rail component.

Most Popular Shows for Theatre Breaks 2008/9

This pie chart shows the most popular theatre breaks booked by people we’ve helped over the last year. As you can see:

• We Will Rock You – a classic rock opera based on Queen’s hits
• Dirty Dancing – the 80s film brought to the stage with great songs and, of course, stunning dancing
• Jersey Boys – A multi-award winning jukebox musical, full of classic 60s hits.
• Mamma Mia – In it’s 10th year the Abba musical is still going strong. If you loved the film you will be blown away by this!

Although it’s quite a new show Jersey Boys has gone straight into being one of the most popular choices for theatre breaks.

The main shows were closely followed by

• Hairspray – more 60s fun with lots of laughs
• Les Miserables – the ultimate classy musical. Still great after over 20 years in the West End
• Phantom of the Opera – As fresh and thrilling as ever Phantom is a classic choice for theatre breaks.

I was a bit surprised because Hairspray has been a huge hit in terms of ticket sales. Maybe people are a little more cautious when they are choosing a theatre break.

Other Shows for Theatre Breaks

Of course these are not the only shows on offer and lots of people went for other shows, as we can see from this chart.

Some shows, like Billy Elliot, Blood Brothers and Chicago are consistent choices for theatre breaks.They may not be the most popular but they are a good choice for many people.

It’s obvious that Oliver! is moving rapidly up the choices for theatre breaks and is set to be one of the big theatre breaks hits for 2009/10.

Of course it’s fun to try something totally new and exciting. I’m sure Priscilla Queen of the Dessert will quickly establish itself and keep an eye out for Sister Act too (Nuns, dancing, comedy and great ’60s style songs,and Shelia Hancock. What’s not to love about it?)

Theatre Breaks are a way to get into ‘sold out’ shows

Even if you are already pretty sure what show you want to base your theatre break on it is worth knowing what other people are doing. If you are committed to certain dates and you haven’t got a show in mind it might be wise to look at some of the shows that are slightly less in demand. Having said that it’s always worth trying for your first choice as the theatre breaks agencies often have tickets for shows that are otherwise sold out.

Favourite Hotels for Theatre Breaks

Most people choose hotels in or close to the West End for their theatre break. These 5 were the most popular with people we helped in 2008/9.

Most of these hotels are within easy reach of the theatres, or, if they are a bit further out, they are near the big shops and other attractions that make a theatre break such fun.

Theatre Breaks in the heart of the West End

Personally I like to be in the heart of things in the centre of London’s West End. You can’t beat the atmosphere of the city as the theatres empty and people throng the streets. That’s a great time to stroll back to your hotel for a night cap and talk about the best bits of the show you’ve just seen. It’s much nicer to do that than have to grapple with the tube or (horrors!) try to drive through the thronged streets!

What Theatre Break Will You Choose?

If you need more help deciding what show to choose for your theatre break have a look at this post Theatre Breaks – 5 Things You Need to consider
and print out our handy Theatre Breaks Magazine cheat sheet.

If you’ve made your decision you can book your theatre break right now.

Dinner and hotel deals can be well worth looking into. One of the decisions that need to be made when planning a theatre beak is when to dine on the evening of the show. Most West End musicals and plays apart from matinees start at around seven thirty and it is recommended to arrive at the theatre at least thirty minutes before the show, even if you have already collected your tickets. So this is slightly different to the normal pattern for dining out in the evening, hence the concept of the special pre-theatre or post-theatre menu. Now if you decide to choose your own restaurant it may involve two extra journeys around busy London. One way to simplify the arrangements is to dine at your hotel. That way the itinery for the first day could look something like this

• Arrive at your central London Rail Terminal eg Kings Cross or Euston
• Travel to your Hotel
• Check in and make yourself comfortable in your luxury hotel room
• at 5.30, go downstairs and enjoy fine dining in the Hotel Restaurant
• At 6.45 make your way to towards the theatre
• 7.30 – 10.00 pm Enjoy a fantastic night out at a West End Musical you’ll never forget.
• Back to the hotel bar for late evening drinks then upstairs for a comfortable nights sleep

instead of:

• arrive in London
• Travel to the Hotel
• Check in, drop off your bags then dash out again
• Wander around looking for somewhere appropriate to eat or travel half way across London
• Worry about getting to the theatre on time
• take a short but expensive cab ride just to make sure
• Enjoy the show immensely, but still feeling a bit flustered for the first five minutes.

Restaurants within Hotels

Hotel restaurants are amongst the best dining experiences even for non residents. The Savoy restaurant is famous, for example and there are many other restaurants famous in their own right which are attached to top hotels. You’ve heard of the Dorchester and Claridges? Both hotels. But that doesn’t mean ‘Dining In” is always the most expensive option, far from it. When booking a theatre breaks package, some of the hotel choices offered will include dinner on the first night as part of the deal. When there is a special offer running, that can sometimes work out equivalent to a free dinner in a fine restaurant!

Larger Hotels will have a choice of restaurants all within the same building complex. The ever popular St Giles Hotel, right on the corner of Oxford Street and Tottenham Court Road, has three restaurants plus bars and coffee shops, adding Italian, Chinese and Japanese cuisines to the usual fare. The Strand Palace Hotel, right in the West End near Covent Garden has both the Strand Carvery and Johnston’s Brasserie – one of the most popular restaurants for pre-theatre dinners.

During the spring season, Show and Stay have an offer for Friday night theatre breaks with up to 49% off the full price and dinner included. This is for selected four star Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza hotels.