Tkts Booth Leicester Square

They entered a redundancy process with their staff last year, with the suggestion it might not reopen, possibly for several years.
www.thestage.co.uk/news/news/coronavirus-discount-ticketing-booth-tkts-to-close-leaving-20-plus-out-of-work- (June 25, 2020)

Bollocks. With vaccine passports to get tourists in we'll have theatres full by the end of the year, most likely earlier. 

I think if the attendance at beaches, theme parks, zoos and the like has taught me anything, it's that people are desperate to get back out doing stuff they like. I wonder if West End theatre, with the prohibitive expense and travel, will fare as just well?

I'm currently down in Cornwall. Very busy here with families. Should get quieter as the weekend goes on as the kids return to school

Not wishing to be a cynic but is there ANY reason why they would ever go back offline to a physical booth? Why would anyone want to queue? Same goes for Times Square. It all seems a bit redundant now.

(Don’t come for me with the “people work in those booths” thing. I know. I’m just speculating)

I think you are right.

I've got happy memories of queueing with anticipation and gossiping with tourists... Oh back in my day!

Surely day tickets would have to be online? No need to get a queue of people unnecessarily if they can do the same online. Maybe make it into a random allocation. You get a cheap day ticket but could be sat anywhere. That would be fair.

I think the appeal of the booth is for tourists and trippers looking for on the day inspiration. People who aren't regular theatre goers, not in the know, whilst visiting London decide on the day what to see that evening based on whats available on offer/available/recommended at the desk. They're not necessarily going to know there's a website/app to download. That's why Todaytix hasnt wiped out the ticket booths across the WE.

If I had a free Wednesday or Thursday, I would make a short list of shows I liked the sound of, then make my way to the Tkts booth to see what they had available for the matinee. I never left empty handed and managed a couple of spectacularly good deals.

Day tickets kind of replaced TKT’s and in turn TodayTix replaced both those.

I am sorry the staff have been made redundant, which is horrible and hope they get re-employed somewhere else with decent jobs.

Seldom you had real half price shows on in the end, there and a lot of shows were full price with their booking fee, you could buy the ticket cheaper at the box office, without the booking fee. Their customer service was horrific and always a long line to buy a ticket with closed windows, even if there was a queue, they would open another window, to then promptly close another and as I say I paid a booking fee to use their service, or poor customer service.

Where I paid £30 odd for a poor half price show, from the booth, which are the regular ‘desperate’ ones that aren’t shifting like Thriller, where I can see a decent show like Come From Away on TodayTix for £15, in several clicks without queueing, nor get a earlier train to find the show I wanted is now sold out.

I do have great sympathy for the staff, but theatre has moved on and this time it is for the better.

TKT’s was great in the day, when it was the sole option.

Absolutely not. The main attraction of dayseats (great price aside) is the fact that it's usually front row. If I run the risk of being stuck somewhere far away in the back of the stalls or on the circle I wouldn't bother at all. I once turned up late for Kinky Boots dayseats because I couldn't be bothered to queue for hours in the cold and by the time I got to the box office window, they could only offer me Row T in the stalls. Horrible experience, so far away from the stage and underneath the circle overhang, I never felt like I was part of the experience. 

As for the TKTS Booth, used it quite a bit in the 90s when they still sold properly discounted tickets, but it long ceased to be what it was. Different in New York, where the three booths still sell tickets at 40-50% off, so you can snag actual bargains.

Don't forget these booths are mentioned in every tourist guide and are frequented by tourists for who "seeing a show in the West End / on Broadway" is part of the tourist experience, but who aren't savvy on ticket buying. They wouldn't know things like dayseats at the theatre or apps like TodayTix exist (and if they do, they may not install them for the single time in their lives they may want a ticket). So personally I hope the one in Leicester Square will eventually be back and maybe even offer proper discounts again. 

I guess dayseats are another discussion but whilst the convenience of todaytix is undeniable, it's also something that is difficult to plan for because you don't know if you will be one of the lucky ones that presses the button for popular shows at 10am and 0 seconds. With dayseats, I at least had the option that I knew, provided I got up early enough, I would definitely have a ticket.

I don't mind too much here, because I am more flexible in everyday life, but when I go to New York for a week on hols and rely on being able to get cheapies to be able to see all the ten shows I want to see that week, online rush and lotteries make it impossible to plan as you could end up with 2 wins for the same time slot or no tickets at all. Whereas with in person dayseats, I have lots of early mornings, but I know I will get to see all the shows I want to see.