Happy New Year for 2010 from the Theatre Breaks LTB blog team.

It’s been a great year in London’s West End with some surprise hits and some unfortunate flops as well, and we look forward to 2010 especially with the opening of the Phantom of The Opera sequel Love Never Dies and the new Wizard of Oz. ]]> http://theatrebreaksltb.co.uk/227/happy-new-year-from-theatre-breaks/feed/ 0 http://theatrebreaksltb.co.uk/216/booking-theatre-breaks/ http://theatrebreaksltb.co.uk/216/booking-theatre-breaks/#comments Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:04:06 +0000 http://theatrebreaksltb.co.uk/?p=216 Here are a few tips to bear in mind when booking theatre breaks.

1) Try to be flexible about your dates.

This is really going to help you get to see the show that you want at the the price you can afford so even if there is a special anniversary coming up or something like that it’s well worth investigating several days either side of the exact date. It’s also worth think carefully about whether your London theatre break really needs to be on a weekend or a weekday because the difference can be surprising and it’s not always in the direction that you might think.

2) How important are the seats?

Not all seats are created equal by far, and for some people the experience sitting in the middle of the stalls is much superior to that at the back of the circle. I think it comes down to personal preference and experience though, so think carefuly about your previous theatre experiences and then check out which kind of seats are being offered as part of your theatre break. Some offer “Best seats available” which sounds like it could mean anything but actually that’s one of the better offers. Others offer “Top Tickets”  or “2nd price and 3rd price” but if there is a seating plan then with a little bit of imagination you can get a pretty god idea of what your seats are going to be like. Don’t forget also that there’s a huge difference in the size of some of these London theatres, with quite small intimate vintage theatres in listed building in the heart of theatreland, and then some quite huge auditoriums for the really big shows like Wicked and We Will Rock You.

3) Transport to London.

I know how much people value their own personal space in their car but London really is the exception in our car-dependent world. Getting around cantral London can seem like a jungle to the unaccustomed driver and there’s nearly always nowhere to park. So you’ll end up in some undergound car park that costs nearly as much as a theatre ticket and you’re still miles away from the theatre. So the best bet is usually to arrive by train and the get about on foot, by taxi or even on the tube.

4) Musicals or Plays.

You might have a show in mind when you start looking online but don’t be put off if you can’t get the most famous musical on the dates you planned, there are always new shows coming into the West End and sometimes it’s more fulfilling to go and discover something new that hasn’t been reproduced on tour or elsewhere yet. One of the best things about the London scene is that you can often get to see some very famous actors and actressese performing in classic plays by the great authors, so that’s something to consider as a change from the latest blockbuster music revival with the original Broadway cast.

For more tips and advice to get the most out of London Theatre breaks you might visit the Theatre Breaks Magazine

A lot of people have been posting this video recently and the reason why is clear – Alexia Khadime giving it up for The Wizard And I in a theatre breaks video that was captured at London’s West End Live theatre festival in Leicester Square last Saturday. What’s not to like?

Chicago is one of the most popular shows for theatre breaks in London and manages to keep viable over the years through a mixture of clever promotion, good word of mouth reputation and a succession of stars and cameos to bring fresh interest in each of the cities where Chicago is playing.

**Guaranteed best prices on Hairspray theatre breaks in London**

I wasn’t really thinking about theatre breaks in London when I watched Jonathan Ross on Friday night until Michael Ball came on. I thought he was surprisingly interesting and funny. I suppose I hadn’t thought of him as a character actor before and I was struggling to imagine him in the Divine role but I really warmed to him and by the end of the programme I was starting to think I’d quite like to see him in Hairspray.

The original 1988 John Walters film starred Divine and Ricki Lake. Hairspray is set in Baltimore in 1962. It’s the story of Tracy Turnblad, a fat but beautiful girl with really big hair . She wins a spot on a local TV dance programme becomes a teen icon. But will she be able to change the world and win the boy she loves? What do you think?

It became a cult classic film, the musical version has been running on Broadway since 2002 and now it’s available for theatre breaks in London. It’s been a huge hit, won lots of awards and was made into another film recently (with John Travolta as Edna, the Mom – ooh I’ve got to see that!). Now it’s showing in the West End.

Michael Ball is playing Edna and on Friday night with Jonathon Ross he said the secret would be to not play it as drag but to play Edna as a real woman. I like the sound of that so I went and had a look at the official web site. The music sounds great on the website and you can even sneak a peak of the rehearsals ! The production starts on October 11th and it looks like it should be a massive hit.

If you missed Michael he covers much of the same ground in a video on the production blog. Isn’t it great that so many shows are doing this now? I love reading the ups and downs and watching cast behind the scenes footage. It’s like the extras you get with DVDS

I think this one would be great for a ‘girls’ (who are we kidding?!) weekend, a relaxing train ride down, hit the London shops, and a great, girly night out, hopefully with less of a hangover than the last one! I really prefer to book a whole package when I’m organising London theatre breaks like this because it just makes life so much easier and it’s often cheaper too!

**Click here for guaranteed best prices on Hairspray and other Theatre Breaks in London**

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Summer theatre breaks can be the best kind of summer holiday in the UK for theatre lovers. You don’t have to battle with the weather and discomfort in some dismal seaside resort nor stress about lost baggage, cancelled flights and foreign prices.

London theatreland has the great advantage of being familiar but exciting. Everything you could possibly need is within one or two square miles. And that includes a fantastic riverside and some beautiful green parks. But it’s the unbelievable variety of great shows on offer all in one city that really does it. So you can book a theatre break to one show that you’ve always wanted to see but couldn’t get decent tickets for any other way, and then stay on at the same hotel for a couple of extra nights and get day tickets for one or two other less usual shows all in the same break. Then there are all the other London attractions as well – the museums, art galleries, fabulous world cuisine restaurants, night clubs, sights and experiences all over the huge rambling hive of humanity that is London.

3* Euston Square Hotel, London, 2 nights & 1 dinner, for £99.00pp! Available: until 28th February Great location amid the bustle of the vibrant West End! Close to London’s famous attractions including; Oxford Street, Trafalgar Square, and Theatreland!

4* Edinburgh Marriott Hotel, 2 nights & 1 dinner, save 33%, from £89.00pp Available: until 31st March A perfect base for exploring Edinburgh’s many attractions including; Edinburgh Castle, The Royal Mile and Holyrood Palace are within easy reach.

3* Thistle Manchester, 2 nights & 1 dinner, save 20%, from £42.50pp Available: until 30th April A prime location in Manchester’s city centre, overlooking Piccadilly Gardens, with only a five minute walk from the central shopping and financial districts.

4* York Marriott Hotel, 2 nights & 1 dinner, save 38%, from £100.00pp Available: until 14th February Situated on the south side of York, set in beautiful landscaped gardens, overlooking the racecourse. Ideally situated for exploring the delights of this quintessential British town.

2* Hotel Prince Albert Monceau, Paris, save 17%, from £28.75pp Available: until 28th February A brand new hotel located between the Champs Elysee with its host of shops and cafes and the Opera which makes the hotel an ideal base to explore the city of romance!

3* Quality Hotel Prague, save 15%, from £12.50pp Available: until 31st March Close by are the city’s museums, galleries, the National Theatre, Black Theatre and Laterna Magika.

3* HEM Hotel Amsterdam, 44% off, from £20.00pp Available: Sunday to Thursday until 31st January Based in the west of Amsterdam’s city centre, close to many of the city’s major attractions.

The Lion King, ticket & 3* hotel from £91.50pp Show Available: 20th January until 19th July Fantastic choreography and an award-winning score continue to ensure that The Lion King is one of London’s top shows.

Dirty Dancing, ticket & 3* hotel from £129.50pp Show Available: 3rd February until 17th October The Classic Story On Stage is an unprecedented live experience, exploding with heart-pounding music, breathtaking emotion and sensationally sexy dancing.

Mamma Mia, ticket & 3* hotel from £90.00pp Show Available: 9th April until 31st October The story-telling magic of ABBA’s timeless songs propels this enchanting tale of love, laughter and friendship.

Pussycat Dolls live at the O2 3* hotel & ticket from only £126.50pp available on 27th or 28th January

For more great theatre breaks offers see London Theatre Breaks

Theatre breaks in London are going to feature strongly in 2009, what with the pound falling against the Euro and everybody needing a bit of cheering up. The choice of West End musicals and plays is as good as ever and there are always a few new ones I’d love to go and see. Carousel has started already, now there’s a revival from way back! But a good one for theatre breaks because you know you’re going to have a great time with all those fabulous songs. I usually find the tunes still buzzing around my head when I get back to the hotel and especially the morning after over breakfast. Don;t tell anyone, but that’s one of my favourite parts of a theatre break really, especially after staying up at the hotel bar for a few short ones late into the night.

London Theatre breaks by train

After breakfast I might spend the day in London and maybe even book up for another show making it a two night theatre break, but eventually it’s time to check out and take the train home. I always travel by train to London, there’s just no other way that’s convenient for the theatre trips I enjoy, but I admit it takes a bit of an effort for me to get booked up all in advance because I’m a bit of a spontaneous person really. That doesn’t work out so well financially so I just have to get my self organised and plan the dates well ahead to take advantage of the bargain theatre breaks packages. A car is really no use in central London what with the total lack of parking, congestion charge and crazy driving.

Top tips for 2009 Theatre breaks

These are the shows I’ll be choosing from for 2009 theatre breaks, either because I’ll need to be able to talk about them or else they are just my favourites.

Billy Elliot – Just opened in Broadway so worth seeing again in London if you folow my logic…

Sister Act – Whoopi Goldberg brings her stage adaptation of the Sister Act film to London first. Bound to be popular for London theatre breaks from May 2009 onwards

Priscilla – Queen of the Desert. A mature show fresh from Melbourne – can’t fail to win over London theatre audiences.

Les Miserables – An old favourite but I have a special occasion coming up and nothing can beat Les Miz for a sense of occasion.

Theatre Breaks as gifts

I can’t really afford to do this but if I could, I would definitely send a copy of the confirmation email to a few selected loved ones so that they can have the fantastic surprise of going on a pre-booked theatre break to London with everything all paid and organised (with me). Happy New Year!