With the recent announcement that 2012 was a record year for theatre ticket sales in London’s West End, all bodes well for the shows on in London in 2013 with the number of new productions and extensions to old favourites and current hit shows.
For an incredible ninth year running theatre ticket sales in the West End rose, will it happen again in 2013?
Historically despite a recession entertainment and in particular the theatre business has always thrived in times of austerity. Even in the big depression of the 1920’s theatre ticket sales boomed as people sort to put a bit of fun in to their lives.
In 2013 with the economy continuing in recession and inflation rising, many people chose to save on expensive holidays and instead look for outlets for their amusement closer to home. Often theatre is at the top of their list by way of a small respite and an escape from the day-to-day mundane in to the imaginary, exciting world of West End theatre and the entertainment that the shows provide.
Musicals are a always a popular favourite and tickets for many new musicals are now on sale, including Once at the Phoenix theatre, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane and The Book of Mormon at the Prince of Wales theatre.
The Book of Mormon the musical at the Prince of Wales theatre
The Book of Mormon is a musical from the creators of the irreverent animated comedy South Park, The Book of Mormon is a religious satire musical by Trey Parker, Robert Lopez, and Matt Stone. Lopez is best known for co-writing the successful long-running London musical Avenue Q.
The Book of Mormon lampoons organised religion and traditional musical theatre. The musical tells the story of two young Mormon missionaries sent to a remote village in northern Uganda, where a brutal warlord is threatening the local population. Naive and optimistic, the two missionaries try to share their scriptures, which only one of them knows very well, but have trouble connecting with the locals, who are worried about famine, poverty, and AIDS. The show premiered on Broadway in March 2011 and has enjoyed huge success, critical acclaim and numerous theatre awards, including nine Tony Awards, one of which was for Best Musical.
Tickets are now on sale for the Book of Mormon the musical which opens at the Prince of Wales theatre on the 26th February and is now booking through until the 27th July 2013. Groups can book beyond this date until 21st September. Tickets are already selling out fast as interest has been peaked through various social networks and on-line marketing campaigns.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is previewing at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane from the 18th May in London with a World Premiere gala opening night on the 25th June 2013. Tickets are now on sale, including recently released cheap balcony seats, these seats are on the forth level and whilst very high up do offer a fantastic view and the acoustics at this theatre are brilliant.
Once the musical at the Phoenix theatre
Once an evocative romantic love story is an adaptation of the film of the same name and tickets are now on sale for the show at the Phoenix theatre.
Stomp at the Ambassadors theatre
Stomp the exciting dance and percussion show has extended its booking period at the Ambassadors theatre until 22nd December 2013, prices have increased from April, but there are great deals to be had from showsinlondon.co.uk especially a fantastic Thursday matinee rate, check it out.
Wicked the musical at the Apollo Victoria theatre
Wicked the amazing hit show now in it’s 7th year at London’s Apollo Victoria theatre, and indeed in seventh heaven as audiences continue to flock to this spectacular show. Tickets for Wicked have now been made available up to 2nd November 2013 to cope with the ever increasing demand for this hugely popular show. And news just in of an additional matinee performance on Halloween on Thursday 21st October 2013 a 2.30 p.m. We suggest you bok early if you want to ensure tickets for Wicked on Halloween as this date is sure to sell out very quickly.
Mamma Mia! at the Novello theatre
Mamma Mia! ticket bookings at the Novello theatre in The Strand, London have now extended through to 26th October 2013, plus an additional release of some cheaper seats that can be booked through ShowsinLondon.co.uk. These cheaper seats are likely to be snapped up and are currently available until the end of April in the balcony and also in the Grand Circle. Please note that these cheaper seats in the Grand Circle are designated as having a slight restricted view, but if you are on a budget they are well worth the money, and after all ABBA is ABBA and we have to thank them for the music.
Plus we have a fantastic meal deal on offer with an inclusive rate starting from £18 which includes your ticket plus a free meal at Sophies steakhouse just across the road from the theatre. A tremendous deal whichever way you look at it.
Mamma Mia! is a wonderful tribute to ABBA with the backdrop of sun, fun and love on a Greek island. One bride, three fathers and an aging girl band come together on an idyllic Greek island in a worldwide hit that will warm your heart, share your feelings and have you dancing in the aisles. Supported by a wealth of ABBA classics, Mamma Mia! has been thrilling theatergoers around the world for eight years, and you will not fail to be dazzled by this energetic, funny and poignant production. How can you resist it?!
ABBA fan or not, this show will blow you away. Forget the movie, and Pierce Brosnan’s terrible singing: This show is the real deal. It is suitable for all, young and old. Children love to hear pop songs of ABBA which they heard growing up and adults love to roll back the years to when they first heard the Swedish four piece at a disco.
If you are not familiar with the musical, it’s not the story of ABBA, but follows in the footsteps of many recent “jukebox” musicals. It is the story of a girl who is to be married on a Greek island, whose mother finds the diary, dot, dot, dot… This raises the million dollar question of just who is her biological father. The ABBA songs include those written throughout their career, with airings given to beautiful love songs and bittersweet songs inspired by the band members’ break-ups with each other.
The songs are a perfect fit, even if they are a bit cheesy in places, and the energy is boundless. The hairs on the back of the neck cannot help but stand up with the introductions to most of the songs and certainly you will not be able to stop your feet from tapping. And for anyone who is a daughter growing up too fast, you won’t hold back the tears during the haunting “Slipping Through My Fingers”, a lesser-known ABBA song.
The hits are all here: Dancing Queen, The Winner Takes It All, Super Trouper, SOS, Money Money Money, Voulez Vous, Waterloo, and of course, Mamma Mia!
The Phantom of the Opera at Her Majesty’s theatre
Andrew Lloyd-Webber’s amazing hit musical, The Phantom of the Opera at Her Majesty’s theatre is now booking until the 26th October 2013.
At Shows in London we have some fantastic meal deals available, check them out. And to experience London’s greatest love story we highly recommend sitting in the stalls to really cherish that romantic thrill.
Phantom Of The Opera is Andrew Lloyd Webber’s magnificent hit musical. Amazingly, after 25 years, it still sells out. It has proved to be the most popular show of all time, so 52 million people cannot all be wrong.
The music is haunting and amongst Lloyd Webber’s best. The songs have become woven in the fabric of musical theatre with their superb melodies and lyrics. They include Masquerade and Music of the Night, while even the six-note organ riff has taken on a life of its own.
The show has a suitably operatic quality, and indeed even someone who is hard of heart can enjoy Phantom as a romantic love story, a beautiful girl falling for a misguided, disfigured, misunderstood man. The staging and lighting are superb and the story is enthralling. The set and costumes evoke a real sense of being in Paris in the nineteenth century. Some of the special effects are spectacular, too.
A perfect first-date show, Phantom could play for another 25 years and still lose none of its power to entertain.
Old Times at the Harold Pinter Theatre
Harold Pinter’s play Old Times is now playing at the Harold Pinter Theatre until the 6th April 2013. Tickets are now on sale at showsinlondon.co.uk
Since the theatre was renamed after the esteemed British playwright, the Harold Pinter Theatre has until now not hosted a play by Pinter himself, which is why 2013 is a notable year for the venue.
Originally staged in London in 1971, his Old Times is running for just shy of three months. With the classical model of three actors used for the play, the contemporary and ancient ideas of theatre merge in a play dealing with love and memory.
The stellar cast is directed by Ian Rickson, one of the world’s pre-eminent directors who has handled contemporary playwrights like Jez Butterworth and Caryl Churchill, as well as taking on Ibsen, Chekhov and Pinter himself. In 2011, he directed a production of Pinter’s Betrayal, whose cast included Kristin Scott Thomas. This pairing is reunited in Old Times, as both Scott Thomas and Lia Williams will take turns in playing the two female characters of the play, Kate and Anna. Rufus Sewell plays the third character Deeley, Kate’s husband.
During the play, Deeley and Kate discuss the friendship Kate has with Anna, her friend from London, and Pinter’s text highlights themes of love and sexual tension and love. It is set in a farmhouse far away from normal life, giving the setting an isolation which mirrors that of Psycho or a Spaghetti Western.
When the play was staged in 2004 with Jeremy Northam as Deeley, Matt Wolf wrote in the New York Times that the play was “elegant and enigmatic, sexy and seriously disturbing.” With uncertainties over whether Kate and Anna are even alive, and thus which temporal plane the farmhouse is situated in, Old Times seems the perfect overture into Pinter’s canon at the theatre that bears his name.
We Will Rock You
We Will Rock You the sensational Queen musical at the Dominion theatre has extended until the 26th October 2013. Tickets for We Will Rock You are now on sale with some fantastic discounts and deals available, so book now!
