tkts Ticket Booths

The Society of London Theatre operates two tkts booths in London. These discounted theatre ticket shops offer customers half price theatre tickets across a wide range of West End shows on the day of the performance and up to a week in advance. The tkts booth in Leicester Square is the original 'Half Price Ticket Booth' and remains highly popular with both tourists and UK residents alike. A second tkts booth opened in Brent Cross Shopping Centre in 2008.

The tkts ticket booths are the only truly official discounted theatre ticket booths in London (despite the garish claims by the many non-official ticket kiosks around London), and are committed to honest, high-quality customer service whilst bringing genuine bargains to customers. They are operated by the Society on behalf of the theatre industry, and any profits from their operation are spent in promoting theatre and developing new audiences.

Location

tkts Leicester Square is located at the South side of Leicester Square in the Clock Tower building. It is the only free-standing building in the Square. It was established as 'The Half Price Ticket Booth' in 1980, and was rechristened 'tkts' in 2001. tkts Brent Cross is located next to the customer information desk on Level One of the shopping centre, directly outside Marks and Spencer. For further information visit http://www.tkts.co.uk/

Tickets

The tkts booths offer discounted tickets for a wide range of shows every day. To see details of what's on sale, visit www.tkts.co.uk The majority of tickets are half price or discounted with tickets on sale for performances on the same day or up to a week in advance of the performance. Tickets can only be purchased in person (ie no telephone or web sales). The tkts booths also sell Theatre Tokens, which are national theatre gift vouchers and are accepted at over 240 theatres across the UK including all major London theatres. For further information, visit www.theatretokens.com

Booking Fees

The Society retains a small booking fee (£3.00) per ticket to cover overheads and administration. The ticket prices quoted to the public at the tkts ticket booth already include this booking/admin fee.

As the Society of London Theatre is a not-for-profit organisation representing the theatre industry, the service or booking fee levied at tkts enables the Society to operate the booths themselves, run a broad range of audience development initiatives and contribute to the Theatre Investment Fund which invests in new productions and supports new producers.

Opening Hours

tkts Leicester Square is open:
Monday – Saturday: From 10:00 until 19:00
Sundays: Between 12:00 and 15:00.

tkts Brent Cross is open:
Monday - Friday: 10.00 - 13.30 and 14.00 - 16.30
Saturday: 10.00 - 19.00
Sunday: 12 noon - 13.30 and 14.00 - 16.30

Payment

tkts Leicester Square accepts payment by cash (£ sterling only), credit or debit card (including Visa, Mastercard, Maestro and Solo) and Theatre Tokens. Cheques and Travellers Cheques are not accepted. tkts Brent Cross accepts payment by credit or debit card or Theatre Tokens (NB no payment by cash at tkts Brent Cross).

Booth Users

Around 50% of booth users are overseas visitors to London and 50% are UK residents either living in London or on holiday in London. The highest proportion of overseas visitors comes from the USA, followed by Australia and New Zealand, and Canada. Almost a third of booth users only go to the theatre because they can use the tkts discount ticket booth (i.e. they would not go to the theatre otherwise) which demonstrates the role the tkts booths play in generating incremental audiences for theatres. The ability to buy discounted tickets also increases the frequency with which booth users go to the theatre. In addition, booth users are more likely to “take risks” and see performances they would not necessarily see if they were paying full price.

(Source: MORI research conducted for the Society of London Theatre Summer/Autumn 2005)