bargain

DO you love the theatre, gigs and stand-up but the prices make you wince?

You don’t need to spend a fortune though – as there are bags of secret loopholes and clever hacks to experience all sorts of culture, from Shakespearean plays to comedy gigs and arena concerts for virtually nothing.

Before you know it, you could be gushing to your mates about the “must-see” West End musical or cool band you saw – and you don’t even have to bankrupt yourself. Here’s how to get the best deals…

TodayTix

This app lets people book highly discounted last-minute tickets to West End and off-West End shows.

It operates worldwide, so if you are on holiday in New York you could pick up a Broadway bargain, too.

Our reporter saw the hit play The Book of Mormon for a knockdown price in the Big Apple, booking in the morning, and it was problem-free. But we’ve also taken advantage of their “rush tickets” and “digital lotteries”.

Rush tickets go on sale inside the app on the day, usually at 10am, and get you seats for a fraction of the price – typically £25 to £30.

Shows including The Devil Wears Prada and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child are included among the options.

Lottery tickets are picked from a pool – the most famous example is Hamilton, which usually sells out months in advance. People can “win” them for as little as £10.

Our reporter won £10 lottery tickets to see Orlando Bloom get his kit off in Killer Joe in the West End in 2018 via TodayTix – so it really works!

SeatFillers UK

This connects slow-filling productions and gigs with eager audience members… it’s win-win.

Called ‘papering’, it’s a technique theatre producers use to fill empty seats and create buzz.

However, while the app is free and used nationwide – you submit your county and where else you might like to watch things – we can’t actually tell you what could come up for grabs.

Because some audience members will have paid full price for tickets, you’re strictly forbidden from shouting out: “I’ve got a freebie!” so discretion is a must.

Central Tickets

If you can be discreet, then Central Tickets will be perfect for you. Like SeatFillers UK, it’s free to join and it works on the same principle.

You get tickets to gigs, the opera, dance, shows and comedy shows for between £4 and £15. It’s got a 4.9 out of 5 Trustpilot rating with more than 3,000 reviews.

The cash goes towards an admin fee – but they also raise money for NHS Charities Together.

The Audience Club

This costs £5 a year – or is free if you’re a Blue Light Card or Defence Privilege Card holder.

It’s largely London-based, but is perfect if you live in or near the capital or regularly visit and love the arts.

You can browse hundreds of shows, including West End ones. But it also offers quirky, niche plays – great if you love branching out a bit!

ShowFilmFirst

Founded in 2001, don’t let the name fool you – this isn’t just a movie seat-filler platform; they also offer theatre, comedy, music and days out.

Happily, it’s free to join and it’s not just London. You can find offers as far afield as Manchester, Birmingham, Bath, Cardiff, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Liverpool, Leeds, Bristol, Belfast, Nottingham, Brighton, Southampton and even more.

There’s only one catch – afterwards you have to fill out a quick survey… but that’s nothing for a free experience!

My Box Office

You can either choose a lifetime membership for £12.99 or an annual membership for £5. Once signed up, you’re offered seats through papering – usually paying an admin fee of around £1 to £5 per show.

They deliver access to more than 42,000 events, from burlesque to cabaret and even sports.

Tickets For Good

This initiative requires a small booking fee but gives free tickets to major events for NHS staff, contractors, students, teachers, education staff and charity staff.

It also gives tickets to volunteers and people associated with The Ticket Bank – those who might face barriers that make it trickier to access live events, for example, unpaid carers.

It operates across the UK, so people might see anything from West End musicals to stand-up comedy, and UK music festivals to live sporting events.

National Theatre Concessions

London’s National Theatre offers £10 tickets to 16–25-year-olds – and you don’t have to live in the capital. You can book online.

Additionally, every Friday the theatre issues a limited number of “friday rush” tickets for the subsequent week – even for sold-out shows!

With actors like Jodie Comer, Andrew Garfield, Benedict Cumberbatch, Jonny Lee Miller, Judi Dench, Ian McKellen, Andrew Scott and Hugh Jackman having trod the boards there, bargain tickets are a win.

Royal Shakespeare Company

If you’re Midlands-based, then a trip to Shakespeare’s birthplace, Stratford-upon-Avon, might be in order.

The RSC offers £10 tickets for 14–25-year-olds for shows performed there.

The discount is available on its website here. Not Bard going!

Festival ballots and free tickets

Live near a major UK festival? Then check if they run residents’ lotteries for free shows or heavily discounted tickets.

Our reporter snagged free tickets to see Skepta and The Streets thanks to a lotto win in Crystal Palace, London, and bagged cheap tickets to see Blondie, Iggy Pop and Noel Gallagher for the same reason.

But similar schemes exist if you live close in other parts of London, Sheffield, Winchester, Oxon, Dorset and Bucks.

You can similarly volunteer at many festivals and receive free tickets.

Occasionally this offer is emailed directly to local residents, as with above, but bigger charities also offer it for events like Glastonbury.

Writer Becky Pemberton told how her friend watched Glastonbury in 2022 for free, having volunteered.

Meanwhile, she enjoyed the event too as she helped out at a toasted cheese sandwich stand which she found out about through “word of mouth”.

She said: “I worked on a cheese toasty stand and got a free ticket for Glastonbury in 2022 (plus fed during shifts!).

“I did it by Pyramid Stage and saw Billie Eilish and Diana Ross. My friend also volunteered for the charity WaterAid and got in for free too. We’d meet up after our shifts and danced the night away into the early hours without having paid a penny!”

Visit WaterAid here and Oxfam here.

Sit in the audience at massive BBC shows like Strictly

This is all done by a random draw – but you might get lucky!

From Strictly to Bookclub, there are loads on offer and they come up all the time. Crucially, they take place all over the UK, with shows being filmed in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Cardiff, Leeds, London and Margate.

If you fancy your luck visit the Beeb’s site here.

CONSIDERING an all-inclusive break with drinks on tap or looking for a cheap midweek staycations that include theme park tickets?

Well, we’ve found some of the best package deals in the UK that you might not have even known existed – with breaks that start from an unbelievably low £2.43 per person, per night.

Short Break Deals

Many holiday parks will drop the prices of midweek breaks and offer deals on outstanding dates they want to fill which make it perfect for a break if you have leftover annual leave.

Hoseasons has its own specific tab for breaks under £150 with holidays still on offer from now through December.

In Exmouth at Devon Cliffs, a family of four can stay in a Saver 2 Caravan between November 9 -16 for £89 – or £3.17pp per night.

The holiday park has direct access to an award-winning beach as well as a heated indoor swimming pool, arcade, climbing wall, as well as a bar, restaurant and Wetherspoons pub.

For those who want some added thrills, it’s very near Crealy Theme Park which has over 60 rides and attractions.

Away Resorts has a ‘Midweek Breaks 2026’ tab where you can select three or four night holidays – some of which are also under £150.

The cheapest is a four-night break to Whitecliff Bay on the Isle of Wight between October 12-16.

A family of four can stay in a Value Chalet from £80 – or £5pp a night. The accommodation has everything you need including a kitchen with all the essentials, a TV and comfy beds.

From the holiday park, it’s a short walk to the beach, there’s an indoor swimming pool with a flume, and plenty of activities like crazy golf and adventure playground.

There’s entertainment aplenty with shows for kids as well as karaoke, late DJs, quizzes and outdoor cinemas.

Butlin’s

Butlin’s is renowned for cracking deals for less and those taking advantage of its ‘showtime term-time midweek’ will be even more enthralled by the price.

Midweek holidays start from just £39 – we found a family of four can stay at the Bognor Regis Resort for four-nights between November 2-6 in a Comfort Room for this price, which works out as £2.43pp per night.

That price doesn’t just cover accommodation either – included in the price are the live shows, daytime activities, fairground rides and waterparks.

There are restaurants and bars on-site too – but if families want to stay in control of their food and drink, Butlin’s also offers dining packages.

The cheapest is the food court dining plan which includes buffet breakfast and dinner from £25.95 per adult per day.

Prices for those age 6-14 start from £25.95 and children 2-5 can eat from £7.25, those under two years old can go free.

Check out the all-inclusive drinks package too which start from £25.95 per adult per day and £10.50 per child per day.

This includes use of the new self-serve bars which have than 20 drinks options including popular brands, including Madri, Guinness, Smirnoff and Butlin’s own cocktails.

UK Breakaways

UKBreakaways.com offers ‘Sensational Value Superbreaks’ which start from £59.95 per person.

These can be across the UK ranging from seaside resorts to rural breaks.

Currently there’s an offer for a two-night break at Adamton Country House Hotel in Ayrshire from £79.95 per person.

This includes a three-course evening meal at the hotel restaurant each evening and full English breakfast in the morning.

The hotel itself is an 11th- century manor and sits just outside of Prestwick and is a 15-minute drive from Ayr.

The resort town has a stretching sandy beach and a mile-long promenade where on a sunny day visitors can see across to the Isle of Arran.

It’s also possible to add on an excursion to the Christmas market in Glasgow with a two-night stay available from December 11.

With the Christmas market addition, the break would start from £129pp.

Great Little Breaks

For anyone who wants a staycation with extras that make the break all-inclusive, Great Little Breaks has over 100 options.

For anyone who fancies a short stay in Harrogate, one break offers a bed and breakfast stay with dinner at The Old Swan Hotel.

On arrival there will be a chilled bottle of sparkling wine waiting for you, and enjoy dinner at the hotel (with a £30pp allowance).

This can be booked from £76.50pp with breaks available from now until December 17.

Other popular breaks include a two-night bed and breakfast holiday at Netherwood Hotel and Spa in the Lake District.

This includes dinner on the first night (£35pp allowance), access to the thermal suite for 90-minutes, a 25-minute treatment each, and late check out from £169pp.

The hotel is set in Grange-over-Sands and Morecambe Bay is steps away too.

Myhotelbreak

Myhotelbreak specialises in packages across the country – it has some where breakfast is included every morning, as is dinner on at least one evening of the stay.

One of the best deals is a two-night dinner, bed and breakfast stay from £129.50pp at the Peebles Hydro Hotel & Spa in Scotland.

This includes a two-night stay in a double room, £30pp allowance towards dinner on the second night, a full Scottish breakfast each morning and full access to the pool and sauna.

The hotel is set in 30 acres of grounds, it also has a swimming pool, spa bath, sauna and steam room, along with games like table tennis and pool.

The Scottish hotel is set in amongst plenty of countryside so it’s the perfect spot for hikes and even mountain biking, or stay in the hotel and relax at the spa.

Another offer is at the Formby Hall Golf Resort & Spa where you can enjoy a two-night stay bed and breakfast with dinner on the first night from £130pp.

Included in this is a £25pp allowance towards dinner, two-nights’ accommodation, full breakfast each morning and complimentary use of the facilities.

These leisure facilities include a fitness suite, Himalayan salt sauna, steam room, relaxation area, indoor swimming pool, ice fountain, experience showers and heated loungers.

Virgin Experience Days

Sometimes a Virgin Experience day means skydiving, hot air ballooning or spa breaks – but did you know it can also include hotel stays?

We’ve found a couple that could really tickle your fancy – for those who want to combine the joys of the seaside with theme parks -there’s an offer for a one -night stay for £162 for two – or £81pp.

It includes an overnight stay at The Big Blue Hotel in Blackpool with breakfast in the morning, a three-course dinner at Blues Brasserie and access to Pleasure Beach Park.

For rail enthusiasts, check out the one-night break with a Heritage Railway trip for two for £194 – or £97 each.

The experience includes an overnight stay at the Mercure Tunbridge Wells Hotel, along with a £50 dinner allowance, a full English breakfast and a day out on the Spa Valley Railway.

Along the way, it stops at Eridge, Groombridge, High Rocks or Royal Tunbridge Wells.

If you fancy more of an experience along with an overnight stay rolled into one, Virgin offers a Sunday Night Manchester Dining Break and The Coronation Street Experience for £225 – or £112pp.

It includes a stay at Trafford Hall, a two-course dinner at the restaurant, and the following morning, a full breakfast.

During the day, head to Coronation Street for a 90-minute tour of the sets and see the likes of Roy’s Rolls and The Rovers Return for yourself.

Britannia Hotels

As part of its packages, Britannia Hotels offers Relax & Refresh Breaks from £45pp.

It includes a one or two-night stay, full English breakfast each morning, three-course buffet meal for one evening.

There’s also a bottle of sparkling wine in the room and guests taking advantage of the offer will also have access to its leisure facilities.

The offer is available across 21 of its hotels with the cheapest being Europa Gatwick Hotel and Norbreck Castle Hotel Blackpool which start from £45pp.

This is available until December 22, 2026.

Potters Resorts

Potters Resorts prides itself on having ‘UK’s only Fully Inclusive Family Breaks’ where everything is included from food and drinks to activities and entertainment.

The five-star retreat has two UK resorts, Hopton-on-Sea is in Norfolk and Five Lakes is in Essex.

For a four-night midweek stay at Hopton-on-Sea from October 19, adults can book from £649pp – and this includes absolutely everything.

It’s full board dining involving four meals a day, accommodation and West End entertainment with musicals, and live music.

There’s a full schedule of activities including archery or laser clays, golf, go-karting, use of the heated indoor pool, sauna, climbing wall, table tennis, badminton, snooker, darts and bowls.

Drinks are fully included too like coffees, soft drinks after an activity, a glass of wine with lunch or a gin and tonic.

After a family break? It has all-inclusive over half-term too and at the moment there are October savings.

Rather than £719 per adult, half-term breaks can be booked for £649. Breaks for children between 10-17 will cost £489 and three to nine year olds start from £389 – those under three cost £30.

Just like with the adults midweek breaks, everything is included and kids can enjoy activities like the VR experiences, Cliffhanger Climbing Wall, assault course, quizzes and games.

The Cumberland, Bournemouth

Heading down the seaside? The Cumberland in Bournemouth has deals to take advantage of including dinner, bed and breakfast from £98.

It includes a buffet-style breakfast with both full English and continental available as well as a three-course dinner and an overnight stay.

The hotel has a spa too for those wanting a little extra with treatments and massages available to book.

The Cumberland is minutes away from the seafront, so it’s the perfect spot to take an autumn walk along the beach or head into the town.

For more to do in Bournemouth, one local has all the best bars, restaurants and attractions to visit.

The offers with The Cumberland are valid until April 2027.

There are lots of other deals too like the sea view winter escape two- night deal from £134.50 per night – this includes accommodation for two, a two-course dinner, breakfast and hot chocolate on arrival.

Best Westerns

Best Western has around 200 hotels in the UK – and many of them offer overnight stay packages too whether you’re after a weekend getaway or midweek break.

One stay Sun Travel found is for two adults and one child at the Best Western Plus Centurion Hotel from October 1-2 from £137 per night.

It not only includes an overnight stay with breakfast – but also included in the price is Planet Volt Soft Play Tickets.

This is the hotel’s own soft play and inflatable centre with lots of slides, tunnels, and interactive fun for all ages.

For an adult weekend, head to the Kings Court Hotel which includes a guided gin tasting at Shakespeare Distillery from £85.35 per night.

The deal includes an English breakfast buffet, guided gin tasting tour, a welcome gin and tonic – and of course, the overnight stay.