Yesterday we were very kindly invited to a social media call over at the Phoenix Theatre where Once a new musical is being played. Now what’s that you say? Well yesterday we had the pleasure in finding out!

Being the first in the West End to put on such an event the social media call was basically a great opportunity to get up close and personal to the cast of Once. In doing so we had the delight of hearing a few of there songs performed in the show as well as holding a Q and A with the cast.

Having the chance to get up close to the cast and hear what they enjoyed about the show they were performing was a great opportunity. All showed great passion about what they were performing and put up a strong argument as to how they stand out from other West End shows.

When asked about a cast recording all seemed very keen on the idea. It was mentioned by some of the cast that they would like to record some of the songs very first played before the shows actually starts, played while the audience take there seats. It was also confirmed that in no point of the show is anything pre recorded and all is as you see it, live!

For those that are unaware, Once is based on the 2006 film which tells the story of an Irish guy and an Eastern European girl who meet in Dublin. Both musicians, their love affair is told through songs they write for one another in a traditional Irish pub. Just as the film grew a cult following, the musical has drawn audiences to its simple story and charming melodies.

The Broadway production also won a Tony for its set, designed by Bob Crowley. Minimalist in style, it consists of a bar onstage which can be accessed by the audience during the interval. The bar is surrounded by chairs and the actors never leave the stage, instead playing musical instruments when they are not in a scene.

It’s safe to say this new event was a great idea and we for one look forward to more like this!!

As most of you might have noticed we have recently been organising more and more competitions where the winner either wins a pair of tickets to a West End show or a VIP pair of tickets to see a performance at the London O2.

Quite recently we have given away a pair of tickets to see Beyonce at the O2 as well as tickets to see Billy Elliot, Wicked and Merrily We Roll Along. We all love going to the theatre or the chance to see our favorite artist and making it free means we love it that little bit more!

All our competitions are arranged on our social network sites like Twitter and Facebook and entering these competitions could not be easier! But for anyone that does not know here is our simple guide -

One – Follow us on Twitter @Theatrebiz or like our Facebook page London Theatre Bookings

Two – Re-tweet or share our competition link for all your followers / friends to see

And it’s that simple! However you MUST do both steps 1 and 2, simply following or sharing the link is not enough.

Soon enough we will have a whole new page on our website detailing all the competitions we have going on but until then you will just have to keep an eye on us to be in the know.  As the saying goes, you’ve got to be init to win it!!

Our latest competition is being run on Twitter and is for a chance to win a pair of VIP tickets to see Alicia Keys at the end May 2013. Once we have reached 2250 followers a winner will be picked at random so get following and re-tweeting guys!!

Good Luck!!

Almost a week into the seven year hyped “London 2012″ and pictures have stormed the press of venues with empty seats. Like many of those empty Olympic venues, theatres in the West End are facing a similiar situation.

The streets of London are quieter. Tourists seem to be staying in the East (or did the millions of tourists expected actually ever come?) and families with children on school holidays have done what they were told and stayed away from London. What is normally a time of bustling streets packed with day trippers and tourists spending cash in the capital you can navigate your way through the streets with ease.

Our advice – come back to London! Transport systems are fine. Train station are nearly as busy as predicted and the West End isn’t suffering from over crowding.

Take London back, see a show, you’ll probably get a discount on tickets that’s better than normal!

Ever since the announcement of the Olympics hitting London in 2012, everyone has been discussing the effects of this for tourist market and in our industry, if London shows will face gloom or glee.

At the start of the year, Andrew Lloyd Webber stuck it to the papers claiming all his theatres were going to close and the West End would face a blood bath with him predicting all shows would close for the month of August.

As it turns out, all shows are playing, with the exception of Sweeney Todd taking a fortnight break for the first few weeks of August. All theatres have shows in and the age-old theatre stiff upper lipper “the show must go it” seems to be in force.

Defiant as the shows appear to stand, they are concerned. Advances are little over the Summer, leaving the trade to very much be “on the day” Here at London Theatre Bookings, we have thrived on this trade with our some 13 outlets centrally located in London’s West End. Our shops have been serving the London public and tourists for over 40 years, so will be ready to fill those theatres!