How To Get Cheap Theatre Tickets In Bristol
Theatre tickets can be a huge expense but there are deals to be had if you look
Bristol is lucky enough to have a variety of theatres. This is often down to the extremely hard work of creatives working to keep venues open through financially testing times and with tiny budgets.
Even so, venues in the city are still mindful of their audiences. Most, if not all, offer a way for Bristolians to get their hands on reduced priced tickets for shows.
Some of the generic ways of getting cheap theatre tickets is to sign up to a venue’s mailing list. There can be sweet offers in emails landing right in your inbox.
Previews are also an excellent way of picking up cheap tickets ahead of a show’s official opening night. You won’t get a lesser performance. It can be a way of the production gauging audience reaction, making changes ahead of its official opening or simply bedding the production in so it runs smoothly on press night.
Many theatres are offering schemes to people on low incomes, specific ages or to people from a particular demographic. This is so they get the chance to see theatre when they might not ordinarily be able to do.
Theatres can be very trusting with these schemes so it’s important to save these tickets for the people who really need them.
Reductions on group bookings and family bookings can also be found. These are mostly around in-house productions and Christmas season when theatres host or produce their annual Christmas show.
Here’s some quick and dirty tips at picking up cheap tickets to theatre shows in Bristol:
Cheap tickets to the… Alma Tavern Theatre
The Alma Tavern Theatre in Clifton is one of the best places in the city to see some truly excellent fringe theatre. This is where you find gems in early development. Seasoned companies also put on professional work which highly impresses. It’s a black box theatre upstairs at the popular Bristol pub. The intimate auditorium really brings the audience in close to action on stage.
Ticket prices here are already hugely reasonable and if something appeals, it’s worth taking a punt on.
The theatre occasionally sends out special offers and discounts on tickets so sign up here to get them dropped in your inbox: https://www.almatavernandtheatre.co.uk/mailing-list
Cheap tickets to the… The Wardrobe Theatre
The Old Market theatre is another venue to see some fabulous fringe shows.
The theatre has a membership scheme which currently includes priority booking.
There are occasional deals and special offers to be had on shows. Again, it’s worth signing up to their mailing list for up-to-date news and any offers: https://thewardrobetheatre.com/ways-you-can-support-us/
Cheap tickets to the… Tobacco Factory Theatres
The south Bristol theatre has made huge efforts to keep access to its shows available to as many people as possible.
For many shows, it offers a standard ticket price as well as a concession.
The eligibility for these needs to be carefully checked. Early booking is also recommended for this.
Recent ticketing schemes the theatre has been running is a concession for audience members aged 18 and under.
There is also a financial difficulty concession. This means people who would be unable to attend at the standard price can choose this option.
The theatre usually has family tickets and early bird offers for its big productions – such as its Christmas show.
Look out for reduced price Preview tickets on long-running shows.
Sign up to the theatre’s mailing list here for more information about shows and tickets: https://tobaccofactorytheatres.com/sign-up/
Cheap tickets to the… Bristol Old Vic
It’s Bristol Old Vic’s 260th birthday year this year. To celebrate, it’s brought in several paths to make sure children and young people can access theatre and the theatre industry.
The theatre has a big variety of membership schemes which comes with benefits: https://bristololdvic.org.uk/support-us/members
Again, look out for reduced price Preview tickets on long-running shows.
The large auditorium has different pricing options depending on where you sit or how high up you are sitting.
There are currently early bird offers and up to 50 per cent discounts on tickets for audience members aged 18 and under for some shows.
Right now it’s running a special offer for newcomers to theatre. This is something many theatres across the country run to increase the diversity of its audiences. Particularly audience members who have not had the change to see live theatre due to growing up in families experiencing financial difficulty: https://bristololdvic.org.uk/whats-on/cinderella-a-fairytale
Cheap tickets to the… Bristol Hippodrome
The Bristol Hippodrome has a huge range of prices per show due to the nature of its auditorium. The further back and/or the higher up you sit, the cheaper the seats tend to be. The very front row of the Stalls can also be quite cheap due to what is usually a ‘restricted view’. In reality, these seats can be excellent depending on what show you are seeing.
Previews or first nights for major touring shows and the annual pantomime tend to be quite reduced.
The dynamic pricing structure sees the price of shows rise and fall for each production. Early booking for Monday or Tuesday or midweek matinee performances means you can often buy tickets at a much cheaper price than the Friday or Saturday nights.
Bristol Hippodrome is also part of ATG which has a membership programme offering various discounts, early booking and benefits.
For more information about the ATG scheme: https://www.atgtickets.com/membership
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