The best of London: bargain theatre nights

As I've explained before, half the drama of a theatre night in London is buying tickets that don't cost a bundle. Prime seats at a popular production on a weekend night are typically sold out weeks in advance, mainly because of the glorified ticket touts who operate the ticket agencies you'll see all around Leicester Square.

Most tickets start around £40 for an evening performance and you can easily end up spending twice as much for a decent seat.

So I was interested to see this promotion running which offers £25 seats to a range of West End productions for the next few weeks. I was surprised to see acclaimed shows like Sweet Charity, The 39 Steps and Legally Blonde on offer.

A couple of test bookings indicates there seems to be good availability. Meal and hotel packages are available as well. Before booking that theatre weekend, bear all this in mind:-

• Theatres are quiet this time of year because it's hot, school's out and most people would rather be on the beach. London theatres are antiquated (the newest one in the West End is over 70 years old), so air conditioning is not that common.
• Most shows have black-out periods when promotional tickets cannot be purchased (only a few shows are available Saturday nights). 
• A booking charge of £3 applies to each order, even if you want the tickets waiting for you at the theatre's will-call desk. 
• You are not able to choose your own seats for all the shows and you might not even be shown where they are on a seating plan. Before buying the tickets offered to you, go to the theatre's own website to view the seating plan and be wary of anything with an obscured view. 

Finally, there is always the option of waiting till you are in London and calling by the half-price tickets booth in Leicester Square.