How Far Ahead Do You Book?

I book far in advance if one or more of the following applies -

1. It's definitely going to sell out
2. I can get a cheap ticket by booking early (eg the stalls pillar seats at the Old Vic)
3. I know I can return or exchange the ticket if plans change

I think the furthest ahead I've booked is 13 months in advance for the Cumberbatch Hamlet.

I plan ahead way in advance, even for events which I won't actually book for until the last manute, and I also plan slots for events which may be announced with much shorter notice. There's nothing worse than booking a ticket in advance and then later finding that it's blocked something preferable!

Haha. Well, this is actually for the French tour of Priscilla - it will run in Paris next spring, then go on tour in the 2017/2018 season. I can't resist the idea of Priscilla being done by French performers, but I can't do Paris next spring as I already booked a Paris trip for Notre Dame de Paris (which ends before Priscilla opens), so we decided to combine it with a few days on the lovely Cote d'Azur and booked for the tour stop in Nice - in April 2018.

The problem in France is that they always use oversized idiotic venues better suited for rock concerts and such, in this case the Palais Nikaia. The "stalls" are completely flat, so the view gets sh*tty from row 12-15 onwards. So either you book very early to get a good seat in the front stalls or you'll be miles away from the stage.

We booked for the Brussels tour stop of "Les Trois Mousequetaires" (May 2017!) way in advance too and got Row 7. When I check now - still nine months ahead - the same price gets you Row 26.

So yes, it's insane, but it's just how things go there. I have no idea why they start selling so far ahead. I just need to keep it in mind when I make other travel plans...

The most I've booked ahead was 14 months for the first tour of Mousetrap, but that was regional and half price (thanks ATG) and failure to book within a few days at Bristol Hippodrome tends to mean opening night books up quick and I don't like sitting far back. Though being in Bristol I can pretty much guarantee I'll be available, especially during school term time.

Depending on prices I'll book for Hamilton as soon as it goes on sale, because even if it does dayseats I imagine they'll be BoM style lottery and I've not won that.

I have on occasion booked a year in advance. I figure if something major happens like a death or relocation, I won't care. Plus the kind of things that need to be booked that far in advance tend to sell out asap, so I would assume I'd be able to return tix for resale.

Very rarely now I'll book in advance - yes for a press night or a big actor which is almost guaranteed to sell out. More often now I'll either pop to TKTS or get something online last minute in hope of discount.
I've never booked in person at a box office on the day, really just because I'm not sure how to approach them with regard to getting a good price.

Pretty sure people could die tomorrow.

I booked for The Entertainer (27 August) in April 2015. I think I had a long wait for Photograph 51 too. I like to get cheap tickets and I am not that lucky with Today Tix lotteries and so forth. It is very unusual (unless I have comps) for me not to book at least a month or two in advance.

I tend to book far in advance as then it is sorted and done. We booked for Dreamgirls for February back in April (to be fair that was quite booked up for Saturday's). We booked Funny Girl back as soon as it went on priority sale (but we had to reschedule due to Sheridan).

Other than that we just book tickets when they go on sale if we know we want to see them. Sometimes far in advance but sometimes not. Never done day seating before but that might change later in the year

It depends where and what I'm booking, but if it's London, I need to have a good three months notice so that I can sort out trains and hotels, like MaggieM. For the RSC, I tend to book a bunch of stuff when the new seasons are announced, trying to coordinate with the unwrapped events they do. I'm a member at Sheffield Theatres and will book lots of things when the advance booking opens, so some of that's several months in advance. The most in advance I've booked was for Curious Incident in Sheffield which is next May, and which I booked about a month ago.

The longest I've booked ahead was for Cumberbatch's Hamlet, well over a year. I usually tell my nearest and dearest when I do that in can I get run over by a bus so they use the tix. Normally about two months for West End, longer for RSC cos I usually organise weekends and a two week stint well in advance. The NT has a very short lead in my opinion so I try to book when I get the booklet. I've found that the Old Vic can be booked at shorter notice because it is so big. The Globe tricky cos I'm fussy where I sit so if I don't book immediate booking opens for priority I find my seats have gone. In the old days you could phone on a Saturday morning for that evening for something half decent but I suppose we should be grateful that theatre is more popular these days.