Which London show for boys?

[Ryeman]

We live near London and visit fairly often but I've never taken my kids to a show. Any recommendations for the best one for boys age 12 and 9, and me and dh? I was looking at Wicked or the Lion King. We're on a budget so any tips on saving on ticket costs - or is the view OK from the cheapest seats at the back?!

Every summer holidays they have kids theatre week (it's a fortnight or longer in fact) and whilst offers vary, typically you get a child ticket free with every adult. There's a dedicated website, keep an eye out

My DS really likes Matilda- there’s a weekly lottery for £25 premium seats which we have won a couple of times. It’s on the website. He also loved The play that goes wrong, we got tickets for the back of the circle that were cheap but the view was still great. Back to the Future was also excellent.

TodayTix app is good for cheap rush tickets on the morning and also offers (but always check and compare against the website)

Seatplan.com is great for looking at seat views

Both are great shows but what about Back to the Future?

Keep an eye on this site for discounted tickets if any of the dates will work for you https://officiallondontheatre.com/seeitlive/

For Lion King the cheap seats in the top balcony are high but a great view (my daughter used to work there)

For Back to the Future I recommend circle not stalls. I've sat at the back of the dress circle but I've not been in the Upper Circle.

I always buy the cheapest seats, especially if going with DCs, as then it’s not disaster if they don’t enjoy it!

As well as the big theatres there’s the Unicorn Children’s theatre, worth a look

The Play that Goes Wrong , great for all ages

How about Starlight Express?

It’s 5 mins walk from Wembley Park station, which is quick on the metropolitan line from say Baker Street. So not completely central, but easy to get to, and Boxpark for food before / after won’t break the bank,plus gives lots of food options.

Back to the Future is fantastic. My DH is not a fan of musicals but even he enjoyed that one!

Both fab shows but Back to the Future would also be good for those ages. For Lion King not sat in the grand circle, but the cheap restricted view seats at the back of the royal circle and the side of the stalls really aren't that restricted. For the former the overhang causes the restriction but as it's the back row you can just lean forward to see. For the stalls you lose a bit of that side of the stage but if you go for the right as facing the stage nothing important happens on that side anyway. I'd avoid the boxes, not sat there but looked like they'd be very restricted.

My boys loved The Lion King and were bored by Wicked , The Pantomime that goes wrong if it’s still going was good but perhaps a bit old- my 13 year old didn’t really get it . Back to the Future was excellent

@mitogoshigg thank you - I’m sure I signed up for this ages ago but got taken off the mailing list for some reason. Will look again

@ScoobyDoesnt ooh I saw Starlight Express as a child - too many years ago to mention. Could be an option

Thanks for the other suggestions and tips, I’ll definitely check out Back to the Future as it’s one of dh’s favourite films.

I liked Back to the future more than I thought I would. As a pp suggested seatplan is excellent for finding what the view is like per price point. Play around with the different options. Hopefully you won't have to worry too much about leg room. I sat in dress circle P33 and it was perfect as it had a couple of little extra steps to make it higher- I was on my own though and it's a billy no mates seat.

I have managed to get tickets for £35 each for the lion king in a few weeks. I remember seeing it as a child and loving it. Taking my DD now and hoping she will love it too.

We took our boys to Back to the future last September when we were in UK, they were 12 & 9 and thought it was incredible. We all did, so that gets my vote!

The Play That Goes Wrong - perfect for this age.

The Play That Goes Wrong has a parallel panto edition Peter Pan Goes Wrong which is where we're going for Christmas treat

We saw the Peter Pan one too, also found hilarious by my two (DS12 and DD10)

My ds (year 9) went on a school trip to see Back to the Future a couple of weeks ago. He really didn't want to go but to his surprise he really enjoyed it.

We’ve just been to the Lyric (Hammersmith) to see Aladdin (Panto) it was so good and deffo worth a watch

Back to the Future was my first thought also. The effects are amazing.

Another one who immediately thought if BTTF. We always but the cheapest seats and have only had an issue with the view at Phantom.