Written by Becky Lima-Matthews
Going to the theatre in London can be a pricey business. The West End is filled with A-list celebrities to get bums-on-seats, and eye-wateringly-high ticket prices make it harder for your average theatre lover. But, the good news is that you don’t have to watch film stars treading the boards for £100.00 pound a pop – there are plenty of alternative options, with countless great plays and shows to enjoy outside of central London. With a mix of famous plays, experimental theatre, new writing, and tickets that usually cap at around £50.00 (but are mostly much cheaper than that) here’s our drama-free guide to theatre outside of the West End.
Bush Theatre, Shepherd’s Bush
A short trip from the West End to west London will take you to the Bush Theatre. It’s a small theatre, known for championing new playwrights and under-represented voices.
Cheaper tickets aren’t the only reason to venture out of central London. The Bush is known for experimental and contemporary theatre. Its shows often get rave reviews, including The Real Ones, by actor-writer Waleed Aktar, The Cord by Bijan Sheibani, and Statues written by and starring Azan Ahmed.
The Bush also has an emphasis on accessibility (something that is more of a challenge in older theatre buildings) with level access to all floors and performance as well as relaxed, captioned and audio described performances. Ticket prices range from £10.00–£45.00, and there are limited £15 band C tickets available for most performances.
Southwark Playhouse (Borough and Southwark)
Southwark Playhouse has two venues, one in Elephant & Castle and the other in Borough, so double check which one it is before you go! Both are small but ambitious fringe venues staging shows including musical Cable Street by Alex Kanefsky and Tim Gilvin.
Like the Bush, Southwark Playhouse venues are great for seeing shows by new and emerging talent. Shows at smaller theatres often get West End transfers and national tours. Southwark Playhouse shows that went on to transfer to bigger theatres include In The Heights, The Last Five Years, and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. It’s a great, and cheaper way of catching shows before they become hits. Tickets for shows start from £10.00 and typically cap at around £25.00.
Soho Theatre (Soho and Walthamstow)
A stone’s throw from Theatreland, Soho Theatre is known for fringe theatre, comedy and cabaret. The bustling bar is always full of comedy fans, comedians and writers mixing between performances. It’s quite a nice place to hang out during the day too, when it’s less crowded and you can grab a booth.
Comedians that have performed there include Kate Berlant, Nish Kumar, Shapark Khorsandi and Chloe Petts, and often return to the venue even when they’re touring in bigger venues. Previous shows at Soho Theatre include It’s the Economy Stupid, House of Life and Sh!t Theatre: Or what’s Left of Us – and with ticket prices starting from £11, you could pretty much take a punt on something interesting any night of the week. Soho Theatre has also branched out, with a second venue in Walthamstow.
Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith
Another west London venue, The Lyric is one of London’s most highly regarded off-west End theatres. In fact, it’s been running for over 100 years and got a major refurbishment in 2015. Now it’s a multi-purpose arts venue with recording studios and a film & TV studio.
The Lyric puts on a mix of new work and modern revivals of historic dramas, West End and Broadway plays including Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun, Timberlake Wertenbaker’s Our Country’s Good, and Shakespeare’s Othello.
There’s also a lot of shows on for kids, as well as comedy nights
People who live or work in Hammersmith can pick up free tickets for the first night of all main performances. Tickets for shows start from £15.00 and go up to about £45.00.
Kiln Theatre, Kilburn
Another fringe venue that’s had a major upgrade is the Kiln Theatre in Kilburn. It used to be known as The Tricycle, but rebranded in honour of its north west London home.
Past shows include Arthur Miller’s Broken Glass (which transferred to the West End), The Absence of Women by Owen McCafferty and a stage adaptation of Zadie Smith’s north west London-set novel White Teeth.
It’s very much a community hub, and also serves as a local cinema. But, with shows new and international playwrights on and tickets from £0.00, we’d say it’s worth a trip to NW6.
Park Theatre, Finsbury Park
A relative newcomer to the London theatre scene, having opened in 2013, The Park Theatre packs ambitious productions into two main spaces. The theatre puts on around 20 new shows a year, ranging from issues-based contemporary plays to modern stage adaptations of works including A Clockwork Orange and Neil LaBute’s How to Fight Loneliness.
The Park also stages musicals, comedies and kids shows. Tickets generally range from £15.00–£50.00.
Theatre on the cheap
Love the theatre and want to save money, too? Check out our guide to the best value theatre and cinema memberships in London.
