cheap

LIKE theatre, gigs and festivals but hate the price tags that go with them?

There are plenty of little-known sites that offer heavily discounted or even FREE tickets to top-name events to fill empty seats. This even includes recordings for TV shows that have audiences.

With London West End shows easily setting two people back £100, heading to the theatre may seem possible only once in a blue moon.

But thanks to the following sites, you could save hundreds on tickets – we’ve tested all of them, and got incredible tickets to some huge shows for a fraction of what everyone else is paying.

TodayTix 

If you don’t already have the TodayTix app, you should download it now. 

It is an app for booking theatre and stage shows, including the London West End performances. 

It’s especially great for anyone looking for last-minute shows.

There is a feature called ‘Rush Tickets’, which offers a chance to get discounted tickets on the day of a performance. 

Shows this offer is applied to include MJ The Musical (£30), The Producers (£30), Titanique (£30), Stranger Things The First Shadow (£25), Back to the Future (£29.50), Six (£25), The Book of Mormon (£25) and Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap (£25). 

I recently watched The Mousetrap on a £25 Rush Ticket and managed to get the first row of the upper circle – a seat that usually costs considerably more than £25. 

The app also has a ‘lottery’ feature for some shows, where you can enter a lottery for tickets from as little as £10.  

Under this feature, you do have to be resilient, as the likelihood of getting lottery tickets is slim.

However, after a few months of entering the lottery every week, I managed to bag £40 tickets to both parts of Harry Potter and The Cursed Child – tickets which can usually set you back over £400 for the stalls or dress circle. 

Other shows that have lottery offers include Hamilton, which, if you won, you’d only pay £10 for. 

Some shows also have their own offers on the app, for example, Moulin Rouge offers Bohemian Seats, which are reduced tickets (£30) for same-day performances. 

Applause Store 

Applause Store claims to be the world’s best television audience company and gives out tickets to a range of shows. 

I have been using Applause Store for about four years now, and in that time, I have seen a couple of shows, including QI.

The one major downside, though, is that you get tickets and then queue for a long time and don’t necessarily get in. 

This has put me off using Applause Store as frequently, though it is great if there is a show you really want to see being filmed for TV. 

For example, at the time of writing, Applause Store is booking tickets for the BAFTA Awards fan areas, something that I would love to see, and so I have applied for two tickets. 

Other shows often available include Britain’s Got Talent, Love Island Aftersun, Michael McIntyre’s Big Show and Ant and Dec’s Limitless Win. 

Tickets are free, but just because you get tickets doesn’t mean that you are guaranteed entry, so if you are desperate to see the show, make sure you get there early. 

SRO Audiences 

SRO Audiences is similar to Applause Store.

For SRO Audiences, you don’t need to sign up – simply head onto the website, look at the shows available and request tickets. 

Current shows available include The Martin Lewis Money Show Live, Mock The Week and The Jonathan Ross Show. 

Similar to Applause Store, tickets do not guarantee entry, so it is best to get there early on the day.

Central Tickets 

Central Tickets is primarily for London theatre events – and by this I don’t necessarily mean London West End shows.

You have to sign up, but it is free of charge to do this, and then you get access to heavily discounted or even free tickets to shows.

Before Christmas, I nabbed two free tickets with a £6.50 admin fee (so £13 total) to see Burlesque: Unwrapped instead of a minimum of £45 per person. 

The festive-yet-saucy burlesque performance was, of course, adults only and featured performers twirling around and undressing to Christmas tunes – I’m talking Rudolph nipple tassels and lots of glitter. 

It was no London West End show, but for £6.50, my friend and I had a great laugh and a fun evening out.

A lot of the events and shows will most likely be things you haven’t heard of before, but all have a description, meaning you can learn what the show is about before booking. 

Sometimes there are some real gems, though; for example, at the time of writing, you could head to Phantom Peak’s immersive experience for £10 instead of £35, or you could head to Sabrage, “featuring international circus elites and theatrical misfits”, for £15 instead of a minimum of £30. 

Show Film First 

Similar to Central Tickets, Show Film First offers heavily discounted tickets to shows and events.

You do have to sign up for an account, which is free, and their newsletter to get the offers.

Some of the current offers include seeing the London Lions basketball team playing against the Niners Chemnitz team, and you would only pay the access fee. 

They have also had tickets to top London day festivals, featuring international popstars as headline acts – for an access fee of just £7.95 (but we won’t say who, to spare their blushes).

Other offers include travel conferences and comedy shows. 

Age-bracketed tickets

When living in London, it is often easy to forget that theatres, cinemas, and so on offer age-related discounts, and it isn’t necessarily always for youngsters.

For example, the National Theatre offers 16-25/18-25 tickets.

The Young Vic then offers £12 tickets for under 25s, and the Barbican and Almeida Theatre both offer £5 tickets for 25s and under.

A bit older than that? Well, if you are under 30, joining the mailing lists for the Royal Albert Hall and Donmar Warehouse allows you to grab £20 tickets.

At The Royal Albert Hall, past events have included Barbie: The Movie in Concert, Video Games in Concert and BBC Proms: The Traitors. 

There is also Kids Week, which usually takes place in the summer, and allows children under the age of 18 to visit many West End shows for free with a paying adult.

Restricted view

One way to get cheaper tickets at pretty much any show is by opting for the restricted-view seats. 

Sites like SeatPlan and A View From My Seat help to show what sort of view you would get, so you can always check a restricted seat’s view before actually booking it. 

If you do book this kind of ticket, you can expect to save between 30 and 50 per cent compared to a seat with a non-restricted view. 

Standing tickets 

It is unusual to find standing tickets but Shakespeare’s Globe in London does. 

Whilst this offer isn’t available at the moment, it will be in the summer again, every Friday at 11am when tickets are released for the following week. 

And each ticket only costs £5. 

Last summer I watched The Winter’s Tale on a standing ticket.

Half of the show was conducted inside, where I did stand but had a barrier to lean on, and then the other half was outside, and thanks to the show not being fully booked, I got a seat. 

It is worth checking the length of the show and thinking whether you can stand for that long, though, before committing. 

Disney discounts

If you head to the ‘Disney Tickets’ website, you can grab tickets to Disney’s West End shows for less than usual. 

For example, you can grab tickets to The Lion King and Disney‘s Hercules on Mondays at noon for that week’s performances for £29.50.

Known as Magical Mondays, it means you could see The Lion King for considerably less than the usual ticket price, which sits around the £70 to £110 range.

All you need to do is create a MyDisney account, which is free to do.

For more cheap days out, here are 10 days out in the UK that cost less than a pint, from free-to-visit lidos to cheap cinema mornings.

Plus, here are four savvy ways to enjoy cheap days out with the family in summer 2026.

FANCY a holiday? This island is the perfect place for winter sun with highs of 26C this week.

Found in Cape Verde, the main island of Sal has sandy beaches, bright blue seas – and what’s even better is there’s no jet lag for Brits either.

Despite its fairly long flight time of six hours, Cape Verde off the coast of west Africa doesn’t result in jet lag for Brits as it’s just one hour behind GMT.

Throughout February, there are average daily highs between 23-25C, minimal rainfall and as many as eight hours of daily sunshine.

Cape Verde is made up of 10 islands – its most popular is Sal which is known for its sunny, dry climate and pretty golden sand beaches.

One of the popular activities on the island is due to the strong winds, which make it a great destination for surfing and kitesurfing.

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Must-see attractions include the glowing, natural pool of the Blue Eye (called Buracona), the salt flats of Pedra de Lume, and even shark spotting.

Sal’s capital is Espargos, but most holidaymakers head to Santa Maria which is where most of the hotels are located along with lots of shops, restaurants and bars.

When it comes to choosing where to stay in Sal – there’s plenty of choice and some holidays come in at under £400.

A seven-night stay at the Agua Hotels Sal Vila Verde Resort from February 26, 2026 costs just £399pp with loveholidays.

It’s a four-star self-catering hotel with rooms across four floors and all come with a private bathroom that has both a shower and bath.

Each apartment also comes with a fully-equipped kitchen, TV and aircon.

The hotel has an outdoor pool with a dedicated children’s swimming area surrounded by sun loungers and parasols – there’s a kids’ club too.

There’s an on-site restaurant that serves buffet-style breakfast and a poolside bar.

Nearby are watersports facilities and bike hire, the beach is just a 20-minute walk away, or there’s a free shuttle bus

And the price includes direct flights from Manchester Airport with easyJet.

TUI also offers a stay at the Agua Hotels Sal Vila Verde on the same dates flying from Glasgow from £534pp (based on a room-only stay).

Or opt for an all-inclusive with TUI at the Sol Dunas resort across seven-nights from February 23, 2026 flying from London Gatwick from £781pp.

It’s not just the hotels that are cheap on Sal, your food and drink won’t cost a lot either.

A mid-range three course meal for two people costs around £39.28.

Coffee will set you back just £1.53 and a pint will set you back between £1.65 and £2.59.

It’s easy to island hop too if you want to head to the likes of Boa Vista – the journey between the two takes just 25-minutes and one-way flights in February start at £44.

Boa Vista is known for having beautiful beaches too, and it’s home to loggerhead turtles.

Find out what one Sun Travel Editor got up to during a visit to Cape Verde…

Here are Deputy Travel Editor Kara Godfrey’s highlights from her visit to Cape Verde…

“The islands in the Atlantic Ocean, just 350 miles off the west coast of Africa, celebrate 50 years of independence this year and I’m exploring Boa Vista, the lesser-developed island often overlooked in favour of its busier sister, Sal.

“Tour giant TUI has just added extra flights from the East Midlands to the island, starting next weekend, in addition to its flights from Gatwick.

“My guide Paolo gave me a brief insight into the history of the island, colonised by the Portuguese until 1975.

“We learn of morna music — created by the indigenous population when they were enslaved by both African nations and Portugal — slow, danceable rhythms with tales of love and longing for the homeland.

“And one can understand their longing to return when you discover Boa Vista’s blissfully quiet beaches. Santa Monica, on the southeast of the island, is the finest in Cape Verde and often named as one of the best in the world by Tripadvisor.

“Despite the abandoned apartment complex overlooking the beach (left half-finished for decades), the rest of the beach is almost as idyllic as any in the Maldives.

“I was the only person there, sinking my toes into the soft golden sand, so powdery it almost felt like flour.

“My other favourite beach was Praia Carlota, where you can lose the days in the hippy Morabeza beach hut, chilling out while enjoying fried fish and local Strela beer and admiring the soaring kite-surfers braving the winds that whip across the waters.”

Here’s more about how it will soon become even EASIER to island hop on Cape Verde.

And here are the ten best things to do in Cape Verde, from turtle-watching to desert-biking.

SPAIN has always been a top holiday destination for Brits – but is quickly being taken over by a number of other destinations.

According to Jet2 CEO Steve Heapy, Spain has lost its appeal to holidaymakers with other destinations coming for its crown thanks to rising costs.

In an interview with Hosteltur, Mr Heapy predicted that Brits are ditching Spain for other destinations, all in North Africa.

The reason being? Money.

Mr Heapy explained: “Price is critical; inflation has affected Spain more than other emerging markets, making the destination more expensive.

“Tourist taxes don’t help either; paying an additional five euros per person per night on top of the trip cost represents a significant expense.”

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In places like Barcelona, the surcharge for overnight stays is rising to €5 £4.34) per night.

In the Balearic Islands like Majorca and Ibiza, there’s an eco-tax added to accommodation which ranges between €1 (87p) to €4 (£3.47)pppn.

It will soon also be more expensive to fly to Spain, as previously reported, Aena, which operates the majority of airports in Spain, is increasing its airport charges by 6.44 per cent in 2026.

With the increase in cost, Mr Heapy said that Brits are heading to other locations instead – which are still just a few hours away from the UK.

He said: “North Africa is performing well, with Morocco, Tunisia, and Egypt standing out.”

Morocco is a great option for Brits, especially those seeking winter sun – and some destinations are less than an hour from the UK.

A flight from the UK to the vibrant city of Marrakesh takes just three hours and 40 minutes.

In February there are highs of 21C – much warmer than being in the UK at that time of year.

It’s cheap too, according to Skyscanner you can fly with Ryanair from London Stansted from just £15 on February 23, 2026.

On that same day, it’s more expensive to fly to Madrid which is £17 – and the journey is one hour less.

Head of Sun Travel Lisa Minot recently visited the Moroccan city where she discovered desert landscapes, colourful streets and new bars, restaurants and hotels.

Other popular destinations in Morocco include Agadir which has beautiful golden beaches, the country’s capital Rabat, Essaouira on the southern coast, Fez and Tangier.

Tunisia is also back in the game according to Jet2’s Mr Heapy.

The number of Brits heading on holiday there has risen significantly with around 350,000 British visiting in 2024 – 65 per cent more than the previous year.

And numbers are rising thanks to its great weather, short flights and beautiful beaches.

And according to TravelSupermarket, Tunisia offers some of the very cheapest 5-star holidays on the market, averaging at £614pp.

Egypt has plenty of beautiful beachside resorts that will appeal to Brits seeking a fly and flop holiday.

You’ve got beach resorts like Sharm El Sheikh and Hurghada, or if you want more of the city life, head to Cairo of Luxor & Aswan.

With loveholidays, breaks to Sharm El Sheikh including breakfast and flights start from as little as £219pp.

There were other Mediterranean destinations that Mr Heapy said are keeping a good level of tourism – like Greece.

There you get the best of both worlds from ancient cities to beautiful islands.

It’s also home to the world’s best island for 2025 – Paros, where travellers will find secret beach clubs and incredible restaurants where holidaymakers dance on tables.

Spain’s neighbour, Portugal, is also continuing to be popular especially in places like Lisbon, Porto and the Algarve region.

One writer who relocated from London to Lisbon still can’t believe how cheap it is.

You can pick up booze for less than £5 – from local beer to wine, she said “you can still purchase a top-quality house white or red for just a few euros.”

Coffee can be bought up for around 80p if you like an espresso – or coffee with milk – called a ‘galão’ – will usually come in at under two euros.

For more on Portugal, here’s the secret side of the country crowned one of the best places in Europe to visit.

And hear from one Greece expert who names four better value islands where locals go on holiday with Santorini-like houses and secluded beaches.