Readers Write:
"Thanks for a great site - a true asset to the Internet".
"I just wanted to say thank you so much for all you to do to provide such a fantastic website – I’ve been using it for many years and never ever purchase a theatre ticket (which I do pretty regularly, sometimes a couple of times a week) without checking for your opinions and tips first. It’s totally invaluable and I always recommend you to all my friends and family. I just thought it would be nice to take a moment to say thanks so thank you, keep up the fab work!"
"Just a random thank you note for making my life so much easier once again while searching for decent seats I can afford. x"
"Makes selecting performances, seats and tickets achievable for the theatre novice!"
"Thank you for keeping Theatremonkey going all these years as I never book a show without checking the seating reviews. Totally invaluable. :)"
"My wife and I are travelling to London for ten days from the States and have found your website very helpful. We wish we had something like this here that offers very explicit directions to theatres as well as the most comprehensive seating advice I've ever seen. I hope there are lots of people helping you because I can't imagine one person being able to do all of what this site offers.
Again, thank you!!
Jennifer Perry and Elliot Lanes"
"Thank you for one of my most visited sites on the web. I’ve told everyone I know not to book anywhere until they’ve consulted ‘The Monkey’!!"
"Thank you so much for your website!!! saved me so much £££ over the years :))"
"Just to say I used your code TOP42 to purchase tickets and got 2 x £35 for £30 thank you"
"what would we do without you and your amazing website"
"I wanted to thank you for maintaining your website. I check it all the time. Without you I would not be able to see all these amazing plays for a fracture of a price. I am truly grateful for that."
"A chance for me to say what I've had in mind for a long time - which is, what a brilliant idea Theatre Monkey is, how incredibly helpful it is (I consult every time I book, which is often), how unbelievably meticulous over every detail and aspect on which one could want information, and how very readable it all is (it reads like a labour of love). It is quite extraordinary that so much minute detail should be available over things like seating, in particular - and kept up to date for particular shows! I don't know how you do it - but keep up the good work!"
"I just wanted to say a massive thank you for all the hard work you must put into maintaining your website. My wife and I are based in Cornwall and only manage to get to London 2 or 3 times a year, usually trying to see a show whenever we visit. Every time we have seen a show over the last few years (often on a pretty tight budget) we have you used your website and it has been invaluable in helping us make our theatre experiences fantastic and good value for money!"
"Your site is my first stop when booking for plays, as I've had too many evenings ruined by bad seats. I tell all my friends to check Theatremonkey before booking."
"I love your site! Very useful if you're going to a theatre with which you're unfamiliar. (Or any theatre, for that matter.)...Thanks and keep up the good work!"
"Best theatre info site... especially the quality rating seating plans. #thanks"
"I have been using your site for years and years, initially when I lived outside London and came occasionally for specific shows, and during the last 18 months much more frequently as I've been living in town and going to the theatre most weeks. In all this time I've taken your and your readers' advice, and never once given back. However last week I saw The Jungle at the Playhouse, chose my seat on your recommendation, and had such an excellent experience that I have finally been spurred to share my thoughts. Thanks again for all your work on TheatreMonkey.com, you really have enhanced my theatre going experiences."
"Thank you for your site, which we find very useful - top banana!"
"Thank you for all you do! It's just thanks to you that I manage to see all this amazing shows here in London!"
"I just wanted to tell you that your site made an already great week in London positively awesome! I was there with my missus, celebrating her 50th birthday, and travelling from northern Sweden and staying in a fairly expensive hotel, as much as I wanted to, I really couldn't afford the £140 two tickets for The Phantom of the Opera would cost... And I really wanted to take her to that.
But then I found your website, and spent over an hour reading anything and everything Phantom-related, and so it were that yesterday we stood for all of 45 minutes outside Her Majestys Theatre, and got ourselves two tickets for the matinén, in the 4th row (stalls!) for a total of only £50!
We are currently on our way back home to tiny Umeå, but thanks to TheatreMonkey we left England on a high note!
So, THANK YOU!
Micke & Marita, Umeå, Sweden."
"I really appreciate the effort you put into running this website - it’s become one of my most visited sites since moving to London and has helped me out many times when queuing for day seats and choosing which seats to book."
"What a wonderful website! Thank you. I absolutely always consult the guru theatremonkey before I buy a ticket. Stalls seats V22-24 were spot on. No pillars, nice rake, top and bottom of stage visible. £30 tickets worryingly cheap (for this show) but actually fantastic."
"Thanks again for all the seat and day seat info, I've seen four fantastic shows in the last month, all at discounted rates and from great seats thanks to the info on the site."
"Never has one primate done so much, for so many. Love @Theatremonkey1 obsessive knowledge of cheap theatre tickets and seat plans."
"Thank YOU for maintaining such a wonderful site. I visit London once or twice a year from New York. I usually take in anywhere from 6 to 8 shows depending on the length of stay and your site has been incredibly helpful to me in finding good value seats."
"I always use theatremonkey to check seats for view, comfort and general issues before I book for a show. I have found it invaluable when making decisions, so thanks very much for the great info."
"I only began flying over to the West End on a regular basis ten years ago. I've seen hundred of shows/plays since and would not have had a clue about any of the theatres without your incredible site. On behalf of my little group of theatregoers, THANKS.
Pat."
"A big thank you as I use your website religiously and have since I arrived from Australia 6 years ago. It's The Best!"
"I love your website not least because it always gives great, sometimes amusing advice, but it also makes me appear very knowledgeable to my friends!"
"I want to tell you I just love Theatre Monkey - it has helped me so much and I always recommend the site. The most helpful for theatre-goers on the Internet."
"Congrats on a fabulous website, a resource I rely on heavily when choosing where to sit at the many London productions I go to each year, and for information on available ticket deals. Wouldn't know what to do without it!"
"Theatre bookings will never be the same again since I've found you. I cannot praise your website or your company enough. Congratulations from a grateful theatre fan."
"Thank you for such an EXCELLENT website - my partner and I visit London 2-3 times a year for theatre breaks and we ALWAYS consult your site before booking tickets, what would we do without you!"
"Thank you for being there when I needed some real advice."
"Your site is utterly brilliant and I've recommended it to everyone I know who books tickets. I never book anything without having your site in front of me."
"I discovered your website about 5 years ago. It has been a huge help to me! You have helped me discover day seats and cheaper stall seats at a discount with restricted views, etc. I really can’t express how invaluable your website is to me!!!"
"Many thanks for a helpful site. Thanks to your information I avoided buying bad tickets from a Norwegian ticket-agency. Instead I ordered in the UK, and got lovely seats at a lower price!
"Would just like to say how brilliant a site this is!! Off to the Albert Hall and I really do not know what I would have done without your simple, honest and truthful opinion.
Really wished you did this for everything - restaurants, shops, products even my choice in men. You are brilliant and I thought that you should know how much what you have done is appreciated. Maddy, London."
I'm from Australia and when I pop to London for 10 days every couple of years your website is my theatre bible ;)
Will be coming back to London, and will surely go to the theatre again. And this time Theatremonkey.com is a must. Keep up the good work!"
"I don’t think I could live without Theatre Monkey (or, certainly, live nearly as well). I go back and forth from LA and layover in London every chance I get and always take in a show. I immensely rely on Theatre Monkey, scour it for counsel, and I’ve linked to purchasing lots of tickets using discounts featured there."
"Being a first-time London Theatre virgin - your site and seating info was invaluable. Thanks for the effort!"
"Recently become addicted to your brilliantly informative website which makes the lottery of shelling out a lot of money of entertainment much less risky!"
"We don't get to go to the theatre in Town as much as we would like, living out in the darkest Home Counties, but when we do, it helps to have friendly and accurate advice about the best seats to try for. You have guided us to excellent seats each time. And you once saved us £60 on tickets to 'We will Rock You' by steering us to an offer."
"We do find Theatremonkey helpful and your website is first class. Thanks for this service. Bringing the family up to a good show is the best way of providing Christmas or birthday presents and always refer to Theatremonkey."
"Many many thanks; will pass the word around on your very helpful and informative website."
"love the site, hugely informative, I know where I'm going now"
"Thank you for putting together such a completely brilliant website. It is soooooo useful and gives information impossible to find elsewhere...a happy monkeyess who is off to the theatre"
"I wish I had found your site a long time ago...Your information is superb"
"What a FABULOUS website, I chanced upon it and found it to be a treasure of information....allowing me to make up my mind about what seats I wanted to get."
"Intrigued and impressed by your thorough website"
"your site was the first one that seemed to be genuinely concerned about the theatre-goer"
"Hats off, this is a fantastic site. The content is everything I would want to know, quickly, easily and in one place."
"Just wanted to tell you how brilliant your site is - in particular the seat recommendations. It's so hard, when visiting a new theatre, to know which seats to book.... I just wanted to let you know it's not just tourists who use theatremonkey. You're fab. I recommend you to everyone!"
"fabulous site, having never been to the theatre before this year, it is wonderful to have some independent advice on the shows themselves and the details of how to get the best value for money. You are to be congratulated on how well this site works"
"one of the UK's best theatre web sites"
"Thanks to your best seat info and all-encompassing details about
the shows and theatres in the West End, I've not only gotten to see every show I've ever fancied, but also saw them with a great view for cheap prices! Theatremonkey.com is always the first thing I check when I want to go to the West End, because I know I'll be armed with only the best information possible."
"Three Cheers for Theatre Monkey. Hip Hip, Hurrah; Hip Hip,
Hurrah; Hip Hip Hurrah. SUPERB site... I declare you a National Treasure."
"I found Theatremonkey last year, just in time, Madonna had agreed to do a play "Up For Grabs" and I wanted to know what tickets to go for. Well, just before this, I'd found this fantastic website and it helped me to look at seating plans.
I'd been to the theatre a number of times before and just had to take 'pot luck' with seats. Now I have the use of what i would vote the Best web site of the year (every year)
With the seating plans, the details about each seat (the good, the bad and the ugly), and all the other information that this website has, it's a 'must view' every time I want to see a show. And if I fancy a few shows and am going to try TKTS office for half price tickets, I print out the seating plans take them with me. That way, when they offer a seat, I can see if it's a true bargain or if I should look at another show that time round. TheatreMonkey Rules!"
Alun Moss, Essex
"The information on your site is first class. Your site is SIMPLE and VERY effective. Your reviews I have found to be the most accurate. The seating information on your site is worth the visit alone".
"Thanks to theatremonkey's wonderful directions from the tube, I was able to actually find the theatre in plenty of time to collect my tickets. I am an American who visits London to see theatre and I never leave home without printing out my instructions on how to get there from the monkey".
"I still think this is the best site for theatre goers. I wish you every success".
"This is just to say what an excellent site you are running for all of us theatre goers. It's in-depth analysis of most of the London theatres is an excellent resource for getting the right tickets".
"I just wanted to say a big thank you for your website. I've been in London for just under two years and have used it countless times to find out about specials and seating in various theatres... Your site is fantastic and I recommend it to all of my friends".
"Your web site was such a big help in selecting, and buying, theater tickets. It was so nice to be able to look at the seating chart and choose the seat I wanted while speaking with the box office."
"I stumbled across it by accident, and it is simply brilliant, especially in terms of highlighting ‘good’ and ‘bad’ seats."
"have just had a great two week holiday in London an have spent a lot of it in and around the West End.
Your web site gave me so many hints and savings on tickets to the many shows in the West End that I saw many more shows than originally budgeted for."
"I cannot possibly tell you what a help your site was to me when I needed to make bookings for two shows for our upcoming visit to London. I had the 'scoop' on the best view, best prices, even tidbits such as which row had a bit more legroom!... I'd printed out seating charts of both venues, and marked up the pages as to where the prime seats were located. I felt like a pro when talking to the staff at the box office and I got exactly what I wanted. Thank you so much!!"
"A huge thank you for keeping theatremonkey up and running!!! every show I go to (which is quite a few) I check the seating layout, how to get there... everything...your site is never wrong!!!"
"It really is the bible of theatre."
"As very regular theatre goers we NEVER book seats without consulting the monkey first for offers, seating plans etc. It is a wonderful resource which I tell everyone about who is interested in theatre."
"I'm planning my second trip to London with the express intent of overdosing on theatre, and I just wanted to drop a quick note to say THANK YOU very much for your wonderful website. I used it last March and was very pleased with the seats I got for every performance, and I'm sure I'll be similarly happy with the results this time."
"It really helped me with everything associated with getting tickets, seating plans AND advice/recommendations regarding whether they were restricted-view/leg-room etc, reputable places to purchase my tickets at, dress code, when not to take my own refreshments, and tons of other stuff about the ‘west end’ and theatres etc, etc. It’s a great site and you should be proud."
"I just wanted to let you know Theatremonkey may well be the greatest site on the web ever. As a first time visitor to London, I'm sure the guidance I got from your site will make the 15 shows I'm seeing over 12 days even more enjoyable than they would have been otherwise."
"We love Theatremonkey! Every time we're booking tickets (and my wife and daughter can't get enough of the West End), we're on Theatremonkey looking for advice on seats - it's great to read people's opinions about where to sit and we rely on the opinions in choosing our seats. Following on from that we decided to start sending in our own opinions to help other people like us - so now, when I get to a seat the first thing that I do is think about the seat review and what I'm going to put in!"
Thanks to your site, on my 2012 visit, I got I got an excellent 32 quid seat for Noises Off and good day seats for South Downs/ The Browning Version, Sunshine Boys and Posh.
I would like to say THANK YOU for your most informative website! I’ve just been on it to find out about some seats at the Royal Albert Hall and as usual found the information I required – not the best seats but probably the best of what was left for sale. I then thought “Wow, this website has helped me a number of times in the past and I’m truly grateful for that”!
Press and Website Reviewers write:
"A leading West End theatre ticket expert has shared some of his secrets on how to bag a bargain – or at least not pay massively over the odds."
Rupert Jones, The Guardian Newspaper, 13th June 2015.
"So, if The Spyinthestalls did awards, which we don’t... the 2015 ones would go to: Best West End Theatre Information Source – Theatre Monkey"
thespyinthestalls.com, 27th January 2016.
"Get the only independent advice on theatre tickets, where to sit, discount seats and real reviews."
9 ways to travel smart in London, India Today, 15th December 2015.
"GHI TIP: Check how good the seats are before you buy at theatremonkey.com"
Good Housekeeping Magazine, April 2014
"A really useful website for London Theatregoers. It provides amazing detail on seats in all the major venues"
Fred Mawer, Daily Mail Newspaper, 18th April 2013
"Once you know the box office prices, you can search for better offers at websites such as... Theatremonkey." "You can often save a lot by going for cheaper category seats. The Theatremonkey site has frank reviews of seating."
Mark Bridge, Times Newspaper, 8th December 2012
“The king of bargainous London theatre tickets is undoubtedly Theatremonkey. There's always a vast number of plays on offer, and usually some cracking discounts on musicals too… All hail the monkey!”
Anna Powell - www.lovemoney.com, September 2009
"Use a website such as Theatre Monkey to assess just how restricted the view from a particular seat is in advance."
Guoman Hotels: "Theatre hacks: how to find the best deals on London theatre tickets" (May 2014).
"Make sure you check www.theatremonkey.com for the latest inside information and deals."
www.webuser.co.uk, January 2008
"it is a very good idea"
www.tmaw.co.uk
"the best London theatre...seating site is...theatremonkey"
the late goodshow.com (site now closed).
"it certainly tells you a lot about the theatres which doesn't appear on any publicity!"
www.britishtheatreguide.info
"You have a good concept for your site"
www.travel-library.com
"Straight-talking Theatre Monkey"
Myfanwy Harvey - www.lycos.co.uk
"Take some tips from London internet stage guide theatremonkey.com"
Susannah Stapleton - Sunday Express
"Quirky guide run by a smart-alecky London Theater buff"
Desktop Traveler - Wall Street Journal
"Don't forget to check out the brilliant theatremonkey site if you're planning a trip to a London Theatre"
Alison Hunt - "The Motley Fool" www.fool.co.uk, May 2005
"For an offbeat look at London Theater...consult theatremonkey.com"
Maria Smith - "Dallas Morning News" / "Dallas News.com"
"Decent and independent theatre websites are few and far between. Theatremonkey.com is one of those rare exceptions"
The Arts Online Column - The Times, February 2006
"Indispensable"
Jennifer Reischel - "So you want to tread the boards" (JR Books, 2007)
"Lists dozens of special offers as well as tips to get cheap tickets"
Emma Lunn - The Telegraph, March 2008
"Love, love, love your website. As a lifestyle editor and frequent West End visitor I´ve even recommended your page to our readers :) . Keep up the great work, team Theatremonkey, you are the best in what you do!"
And for those who made Theatremonkey what it is today
Thank You's and Credits.
Family (Natch!)
Mr. Don Fechner, Specialist Computer Systems International Ltd. For building a great machine and patiently teaching how to use it.
The hundreds of fellow theatregoers chatted to over the years, who inspired this site.
The Box Office and Front of House staff of the Vaudeville and Royal National Theatres. For making visits friendly enough to encourage a young theatregoer.
...and the tens of thousands of you who have emailed me since this site began, adding your own experiences, contributing your advice, help and time.
And now, the team at John Good and Graphic Alliance who did the honours with the new site, particularly David and Stuart. Also, in memory of Ben, with love and thanks.
Theatremonkey.
