Kids Week 2026: How to get free West End theatre tickets this summer

The school summer holidays are long, hard and unavoidably expensive: six straight weeks of being forced to entertain your beloved children.

And every year SOLT – that’s the Society of London Theatre, which runs the West End – helps out a little by organising Kids Week, an initiative in which every full-paying adult at a participating theatre show can get one ticket for a child for free and up to two at half price.

This is, it should be pointed out, a pretty sensational deal as West End shows rarely offer any sort of specific discount for underage audiences. Therefore it’s quite easy to save literally hundreds of pounds if you’re buying nice stalls seats: the offer defines a child as aged 17 and under, so if you want to take a teenager to Cabaret with it, you absolutely can. 

It’s also a nice money-saver even on more affordable shows pitched specifically at kids: prices for, say, The Enormous Crocodile at the Lyric Hammersmith are modest, but £20 saved is £20 saved. While tickets are inherently limited by the fact that individual performances can sell out, there is no specific limit on the number of shows you can book for over the course of the summer.

Plus if you get in there quick you can take advantage of a series of special free bonus activities attached to certain performances, from a Hadestown dance workshop on August 7 to a Wicked singing and acting workshop on Aug 26.

How does it work? Simple! Go to the Kids Week portal – which is now open – and book a participating show during the period Jul 20-Aug 31 (as has been heavily observed, this is a lot longer than a week, best not question it). And that’s it. Again, if the show sells out you won’t be able to buy tickets, but if you go to the portal you can see what’s on sale and buying couldn’t be easier. 

Over 50 shows of all shapes and sizes are participating. Here’s the full list: