Theatre Breaks
Theatre Breaks not for cutbacks
Having avoided traditional summer holidays the past two years, preferring to go abroad in the off seasons, I certainly won’t be cutting back on theatre breaks and other little weekends away or short breaks in the UK. Neither will hoards of other people up and down the country regardless of what the doom and gloom mongers would have us believe.
Some might be thinking twice about booking long haul trips to Oceana and Asia, granted, and the shopping trip to New York is looking decidedly passe but there’s never been a better time for squeezing in a little treat of a weekend, just the two of you, with a bit of style in London’s West End.
Hotel and Theatre Breaks in London
With the shrinking of the finance sector and slightly less demand for business trips to London, the big hotels have a few rooms going spare and these are being bought up by tour operators who can then offer even better value hotel and theatre breaks in London. The advantage of booking a hotel at the same time as your advance theatre tickets should be obvious really. To get the best out of a good night out at a top West End show you don’t want your shared elation to be instantly let down by a long and tiresome journey back with the night crowds. Instead, an after show drink in the hotel bar and a comfortable night allows the magic to continue though to the next day, with who knows what London has in store. Sightseeing, culture, chilling out on the river, fine dining – central London has it all with always more surprises, even if you only live in the Greater London area or home counties.
Theatre Breaks by Rail
Cars are practically useless in central London so it’s usually best to arrive by train. The extra fast east-coast line is proves increasingly tempting, with discerning citizens from Doncaster, York, Newcastle, Darlington, Leeds, Wakefield, Sheffield, Stoke able to arrive at Kings Cross London in just a couple of hours or less. It’s a great way to travel from Norwich, Exeter, Cardiff, Coventry, Manchester. Bung it all on the same booking transaction and you can save up to 40% on the advance rail fares
Favourite London Theatre Shows
One or two musicals have closed recently and there are some interesting new ones coming up, but here is a selection which have become standard West End Favourites:
Les Miserables
Phantom of the Opera
Billy Elliot
We Will Rock You
Mamma Mia
Blood Brothers
Dirty Dancing
Hairspray
( for other shows try London Theatre Breaks )
New shows you can book theatre breaks for now:
Oliver
Priscilla Queen of the Desert
Sister Act
Theatre breaks Booking tips
* Try to be flexible with your preferred dates, but if you fancy a Saturday night or even New Year’s Eve these are still worth checking.
* If you have two or three possible shows in mind then you get more hotel choice and overall cost possibilities.
* Weigh up hotel prices against location eg The Strand Palace is very convenient for most of Theatreland but Billy Elliot and Wicked are on at Victoria. Some of the best value hotels are near Kings Cross or South Kensington / Gloucester Road so you might need a London black cab after the show.
* Extra nights can be good value so see if you can possibly make time for a three night stay in London and make the most of your theatre breaks booking
