One of the best reasons to visit London is the theatre. There are hundreds of theatres in London, playing everything from Shakespeare to Tom Stoppard to the ubiquitous Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals.

If you are making plans to travel to London, you generally do not have to buy your theatre tickets in advance, with one exception. You should probably try and reserve your tickets before you leave home if a big name movie star is performing in the play you want to see, regardless of his or her actual acting talent. This is particularly true if you have a limited window of opportunity to see a show. For the most part though, you can just book tickets when you get into town.

To get theatre tickets, I recommend stopping at the Leicester Square half-price ticket booth to check their board and see if they have tickets for anything you want to see. If they don't, then pick up a copy of Time Out magazine at any newstand and start going through the listings to see what strikes your fancy. Then, if you are already in the neighborhood, walk over to the theatre and buy tickets. You can also buy tickets over the phone by calling the theatre directly from your hotel and they'll be waiting for you when you arrive.

The only actor who in my experience you must book tickets for as soon as they go on sale is Ralph Fiennes. When Ralph Fiennes decides to do a play in London, it will nearly always be in a very small venue so if you get even a whiff about him just thinking about agreeing to appear in something and you think you want to see him, set up your Google alerts, find out what theater it might be, bookmark that site and buy tickets as soon as they go on sale otherwise you will NOT GET TO SEE HIM! He always sells out. Always. It is actually easier to see him in New York because the venues are usually larger.

The Leicester Square tkts Ticket Booth is the only official half-price theatre tickets operation in London. You can get same-day tickets at this location for many of the big West End shows, and you can only buy them in person. Most tickets are exactly half-price and there's a service charge of £2.50 per ticket.

Payment is by cash (Sterling or Euros), credit card or debit card (Mastercard, Visa, Switch/Maestro or Solo), or by Theatre Tokens. Travelers Checks are not accepted.

Hours of Operaton for the TKTS Ticket Booth are usually:

Monday-Saturday 10:00am -7:00pm

Sunday 12 noon - 2.30pm

Closet Tube Stops: Leicester Square, Piccadilly Circus