England: London, A Family Vacation Deal - Free Theatre during Kids Week. 
For the 14th year consecutive year Society of London Theatre (SOLT) is conducting an interactive theatre week geared to families. The obvious benefit - free tickets to exciting theatre shows across London's West End for the younger than 16 age group.
For more than a decade SOLT has supported ways for parents and grandparents to introduce young children to the wonders of West End theatre and London theatre in general. Kids Week (actually two calendar weeks) is an annual event which appears to be getting better each year. Taking advantage of the family discounts our family created a West End family threatre blitz ten years ago during the second theatre week five shows in three days. I proved kids can attend two performances a day and still have time to run after ducks in the park, have chips and ice cream in Covent Garden, buy chocolates at Harrods, and attend puppet shows at the Victoria & Albert.
Here’s the deal. In August for the price of one full-paying adult, you get a free ticket for one child aged between 5 and 16 with the option of up to two additional children's tickets for half price.
Shows during Kids Week.
More expansive that the New York City version, West End theatres taking part in Kids Week will be offering more than 28 shows to suit all ages, including Billy Elliot, The Lion King, Peter Pan, Hairspray, Sister Act, Wicked, Carrie's War, The 39 Steps, War Horse.
Bonus points: In addition to enjoying great theatre, kids may also get involved in free workshops and activities linked to the shows including:
Behind the Barricades with Les Misérables at Queen’s Theatre.
Unleash Your Inner Dancing Queen with Mamma Mia! At the Prince of Wales Theatre.
Q&A session with the cast and crew of Wicked at the Apollo Victoria.
Backstage tour of the Lyric Hammersmith on King Street.
Stage and set design with the Tricycle Theatre, Cinema & Gallery on Kilburn High Road.
Ballet classes with English National Ballet at London Coliseum, St Martin's Lane.
High energy stage fighting classes and clever puppet workshops at various spots within the city.
Cheaper and easier. The Society of London Theatre has a number of initiatives that make it cheaper and easier to see a show in London. Annual events include “Kids Week” and “Get Into London Theatre”, plus there are tkts booths in Leicester Square and Canary Wharf to make discounted theatre tickets are available to all.
Need to know: If you decide to use tkts (in the middle of Leicester Square, across from the Hampshire Hotel) you will be standing in a line. Within eye sight are plenty of storefronts claiming to sell "discount" tickets, not true – not true. They are actually brokers selling tickets at a considerable mark up. The official tkts Booth is open Monday through Saturday from 10am to 7pm and Sunday from noon to about 3pm. Cash is accepted; American Express and Visa are welcome but Mastercard is not. The "booking fee" for tickets is about $5.
Bonus points: The society also runs special tours giving a fascinating insight into the workings of some of London's most famous theatres.
Another reliable source of tickets is Ticketmaster. The shows they sell are listed by age suitability but read the reviews and decide for yourself using their recommendations as a guideline. London Ticketmaster Theatre www.ticketmaster.co.uk/feature/kids_week/shows_list.html
Make it happen. Get the details on the program and ticket options from
Visit London.
About The Society of London Theatre. This organization is a professional trade association serving theatre producers and managers active in central London. The Society’s membership embraces almost all the major theatre interests in central London; most of its members represent commercial theatre. However, membership also includes representatives of subsidized dramatic and lyric theatre organizations operating in central London, including the four great ‘National Companies’. The Society also welcomes affiliate members drawn from subsidized companies based elsewhere in London. The Society offers a range of services including advice on legal, general and industrial relations matters; managing the process of collective bargaining with the entertainment trade unions; providing commercial services of benefit to the membership as a whole, including a range of ticketing services; promoting theatre-going to the widest possible audience; representing to the wider public and to public and other relevant authorities the interests of London’s theatre industry as a whole; research on behalf of the industry; management and promotion of the nationwide sale of theatre tokens.
SOLT membership. The following theatres are represented in SOLT membership: Almeida, Adelphi, Aldwych, Apollo, Apollo Victoria, Barbican, Bush Cambridge, Comedy, Criterion, Dominion, Donmar Warehouse, Drury Lane (Theatre Royal), Duchess, Duke of York’s, Fortune, Garrick, Gielgud, Greenwich Hackney Empire, Hammersmith Apollo, Hampstead, Haymarket (Theatre Royal), Her Majesty’s, London Coliseum, London Palladium, Lyceum, LyricNew Ambassadors, New London, New Wimbledon, Noel Coward, NovelloOpen Air Regents Park, Palace, Peacock, Piccadilly, Playhouse, Prince Edward, Prince of Wales, Queen’s, Royal Court, Royal National Theatre, Royal Opera House, St Martin’s, Sadler’s Wells, Savoy, Shakespeare’s Globe, Shaftesbury Soho, The Old Vic, Theatre Royal Stratford East, Trafalgar Studios, Tricycle UCL Bloombsury, Unicorn, Vaudeville, Victoria Palace, Wyndham’s, Young Vic.
Location on the planet: Society of London Theatre (SOLT) 32 Rose Street, London WC2E 9ET or
www.officiallondontheatre.co.uk
