As ever more shows join the ranks of productions presenting Sunday performances, the Leicester Square tkts booth has extended its Sunday opening hours, now selling on-the-day and advance tickets from 11:00 to 16:00.
The move is a direct response to the greater number of London shows currently playing to packed houses on a Sunday. Hit musical Hairspray joined their number last weekend, the National Theatre changed its policy to include Sundays earlier this year, and shows such as The Lion King, Stomp and Thriller Live have been entertaining Sunday audiences for some time.
Richard Pulford, Chief Executive of the Society of London Theatre (SOLT) commented: “People already flock to London’s shops and restaurants on a Sunday. Now more and more of them are enjoying a trip to the theatre and many of them make straight to tkts for their tickets.”
The move is the latest innovation from tkts which has also recently launched a new website – www.tkts.co.uk – and introduced advanced ticket sales for theatre, sports, concerts and other events to its traditional half price on-the day theatre tickets.
The tkts booths, found in Leicester Square and Brent Cross Shopping Centre, are run by industry body SOLT, and are the only ticket booths whose profits are funnelled back into the theatre industry, being used to fund schemes aimed at bringing children and new audiences to the theatre and helping young people pursue a career in theatre. Among these schemes are the hugely successful annual event Kids Week in the West End, Laurence Olivier Bursaries for young actors in their final year of drama college and Stage One, a charity which pours time and money into nurturing the theatre producers of the future through training, bursaries, apprenticeships and investment.
Originally opened in Leicester Square as the Half Price Ticket Booth in 1980, tkts was renamed in 2001 to set it apart from the many unofficial ticket sellers and touts in the area. The first booth was joined in 2008 by a new tkts booth at Brent Cross shopping centre.
MA