Help centre FAQs

All your frequently asked questions, answered.

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You can chat to our Box Office team between 11am–6pm, Monday to Saturday, using the green chat button on the bottom of our web pages, or email boxoffice@nationaltheatre.org.uk

To book tickets by phone, call 020 3989 5455 from 9.30am to 6pm Monday to Friday and 10am–6pm on Saturdays. A £3 transaction fee applies by phone. There are no booking fees for online bookings.

Ticketing

Get answers to the most common questions about tickets, returns, concessions and delivery.

We do not offer refunds but we can issue you with credit on your National Theatre account in lieu of tickets you can no longer use.

You can then use this credit to pay for another booking for the same production, or for any other show bookable on this website.

We need at least 24 hours notice before the start of the show for this service.

If your performance takes place over 24 hours from now and you would like to exchange your tickets for credit, please log in to your account and select Upcoming events. You can then view your ticket details and submit a request to exchange some or all of your tickets for credit.

A fee of £4 per performance returned will be deducted from the value of your tickets for this online service. Young Patron Premium , Young Patron Ambassador, Supporting Cast, Patron, Life Benefactor, Premier Patron, Benefactor and Olivier Circle members are exempt from this fee if returning tickets online.

A separate fee of £4 per ticket will apply to tickets exchanged by phone or in person.

Read our full ticketing terms and conditions.

Online

Tickets can booked online and are available up to 30 minutes before a performance starts.
There is no fee for online bookings on our website.
Visit what’s on to select your preferred show and date.

By phone

To book tickets by phone, call 020 3989 5455 from 9.30am – 6pm Monday to Friday and 10am – 6pm on Saturdays and Bank Holidays.
A £3 fee per transaction applies to phone bookings.
For information about ticket exchange options, see above

In person

Tickets can be booked in person from 10am-6pm, Monday to Saturday. After 6pm, we can only help with ticket sales for that night’s performances.

Access bookings

To book Disabled concession tickets and for any additional support you may require, please call our Access line 020 7452 3961 from 11am-6pm, Monday to Saturday, midday to 6pm on Bank Holidays.
Our Access pages have more detailed information for users with specific access requirements.

Group bookings

To book tickets for a group of 10 or more, call 020 7452 3010 from 11am-6pm, Monday to Saturday, midday to 6pm on Bank Holidays.

Yes, all over-60s can save on midweek matinees with £20 off £66 and £56 tickets for our shows in the Lyttelton and Olivier theatres.

For shows in the Dorfman Theatre, higher priced tickets are reduced to £36 for midweek matinees.

The discount price is available to select when you have clicked on a seat in a seating plan and the price/s available will be displayed.

Visit our ways to save for information about this and other concessionary rates.

For “sold out” performances, there are still two chances of booking tickets:

1. £10 Friday Rush tickets: Every Friday at 1pm, £10 Friday Rush tickets are released online for the following week’s performances.
Please note that we do not hold back tickets for release on the day of the performance.

2. Check back online regularly for any updates to availability – we often have tickets returned to us by customers who are no longer able to attend, even on the day of the performance.

Tickets returned to us by customers who can no longer attend will be made available to buy online at their face value, and can be booked up to 30 minutes before the performance.

See our ways to save page for more details.

Standing spaces may be made available for sold out productions at the discretion of the Box Office.

£10 Standing tickets are available for the sold out run of The Importance of Being Earnest and are released online for the following week’s performances as part of Friday Rush.

Standing tickets are not currently available for Ballet Shoes.

Our Friday Rush scheme offers cheaper tickets for shows at the National Theatre, closer to the day of the performance. Selected performances of our West End transfers may also offer Friday Rush tickets.

Every Friday at 1pm a limited number of £10 tickets for the following week’s performances are released to buy online from our Friday Rush page.

You can buy up to two Friday Rush tickets for each production. If you have already bought two tickets for one particular production, you won’t be able to buy further Friday Rush tickets for the same show in future weeks.

Please note: Friday Rush tickets are not transferable – if the person who has booked Friday Rush tickets is unable to attend, they should contact the Box office to ask about exchanging their tickets: boxoffice@nationaltheatre.org.uk.

Friday Rush Tickets are not available for Talks, Tours and other one-off events.

To make the booking process as quick as possible, we recommend you have your username and password to hand if you already have an account, or register in advance.

For all orders booked from 14 January 2025 we are now sending mobile tickets 7 days before the date of the performance.

These tickets can be saved to your wallet on Apple iPhones and Google Android phones. You can then share individual tickets with your family and friends if needed.

When you complete your order you will be sent a confirmation email with all the details of your order, for reference.

If you are unable to use e-tickets, please come to the ground floor Box Office from one hour before the start of your show and we will print paper tickets for you.

If you booked your tickets on or after 14 January, you should be able to find the mobile tickets in the email sent 7 days before the performance.

If you can’t find the email, you can log on to our website, go to the Account section and in the Upcoming events page you will see details of the performances you have booked for. Click on the performance you want and you will see your tickets. These can be downloaded to your wallet (on Apple iPhones and Google Android phones).

If you booked before 14 January, the email with your tickets will have been sent within 10 minutes of your order being completed.

If you have problems finding your ticket, you can still use the pre-visit email that you will have received 24 to 48 hours before your visit.

More and more people want to be able to save tickets to Google/Apple wallets and this can only be done a maximum of one month before the event, and if we send tickets earlier, then people cannot do that.

We have chosen to send a week before rather than a month before, as it gives more time for exchanges and reduces the likelihood of people turning up with the wrong ticket.

It also hopefully makes it easier for people to find their tickets as they have been sent more recently!

Your visit

Find out more about visiting us, parking, things to do and access at the South Bank.

For the National Theatre on the South Bank

Bags smaller than 50cm x 30cm x 20cm can be taken into the auditorium.

All other bags must be left in the cloakroom on the ground floor.

Please note, that to keep everyone safe, all bags are searched upon entry to the building.

For West End theatres where a National Theatre production has transferred

Large bags are also not permitted into the auditoriums of our West End productions, and currently cloakrooms are unavailable so if you have a large bag you will be refused entry to the theatre.

The National Theatre’s car park is located under the building. The entrance ramp is on the southwest corner of the building, accessible from Upper Ground (the street that runs behind the National Theatre building).

The lifts from the Car Park to the main building foyers are open from 10am to 11pm Monday to Saturday. Please note, that on days with no performances, this exit from the car park will close at 6pm.
For opening times, please see the information on the Getting here and Your visit pages.

We have a taxi drop off outside Stage Door, allowing a step-free route around to the river-front side of the building, however this is a relatively long walk.

Should you require use of a wheelchair, please contact us on boxoffice@nationaltheatre.org.uk and we will arrange one to be available on arrival.

Unfortunately, it is not possible for staff to assist with pushing wheelchairs.

The National Theatre building on the South Bank is home to the Olivier, Lyttelton and Dorfman theatres. Visit Our spaces for more details.

National Theatre shows often transfer to the West End and tour in the UK.

See what’s on and what’s coming up in our South Bank theatre and any West End transfers and tours on our What’s on listing.

Tickets for our West End production can be booked with the National Theatre online. Tickets are also available from the presenting theatres. Details can be found on the What’s on listings.

Tickets for our touring productions are available from the individual local venues. You will find links to them on the individual show page for each tour.

For productions in the Olivier and Lyttelton theatres, please go to the front of the building, by the riverside, and for productions in the Dorfman theatre, please go to entrance on the east side of the building, on Stage Door Avenue, opposite the IBM building.

Please be aware that some entrances have steps. If you require step-free access please contact boxoffice@nationaltheatre.org.uk so they can assist you with your booking.

If you haven’t visited the National Theatre before, please view our map to familiarise yourselves with entry points.

Yes. Free wi-fi is available throughout our foyer areas. The network name is NT Public and does not require a password. If you have trouble accessing our wi-fi, please visit the box office on the ground floor for information and assistance.

We recommend that you download your tickets to your phone prior to arrival at the theatre.

Yes, National Theatre Guided Tours journey behind the scenes to see into our carpentry, props and scenic painting workshops to discover how we create our world class productions, plus explore the design of this renowned building, including our three auditoriums.

For more information please visit our Tours page.

Photography and filming is not permitted in any of our auditoriums but ticket-holders are welcome to take pictures in our foyers to document your visit to the National Theatre.

Filming or commercial photography must be arranged in advance. For more details and how to contact us visit our Filming and photography page.

For the Olivier theatre, your ticket will state if you are seated in the Stalls/Level 2 or Circle/Level 3 and then which door/aisle you should use on that level to enter the auditorium.

In the Lyttelton theatre, signs by each entrance indicate the seat numbers which determine the entrance you should choose to enter the auditorium.

In the Dorfman theatre, your ticket will state which door to use to enter the auditorium and staff will direct you once inside.

In all three theatres there will be a member of staff at each door to assist at all times.

National Theatre at Home

Get advice and answers on using our streaming service.

You can choose to subscribe by the month, year or just rent a single play.

Subscription

Monthly subscription £9.98 / US$12.99 + tax
Annual subscription £99.98 / US$129.99 + tax – 12 months for the price of 10.

Rent

National Theatre Archive play recording £5.99 / US$7.99 + tax
National Theatre Live play recording £7.99 / US$9.99 + tax

Other international currencies available, please visit the check-out pages on ntathome.com for pricing in your country.

Follow these easy steps to rent a play for 3 days from National Theatre at Home:

Visit ntathome.com/products
Choose the single play you want to rent.
Create an account by entering your email and setting a password.
Enter a payment method. You can pay by Visa, MasterCard, & American Express credit & debit cards.
Unfortunately, you cannot pay by PayPal at this time
If you have any problems, please visit the Vimeo Help Centre.

That’s it! Enjoy watching National Theatre at Home.

Follow these easy steps to subscribe and start watching National Theatre at Home today:

Visit ntahome.com/checkout/subscribe
Choose the subscription option that is right for you
Monthly subscribers will be charged each month for full access to the platform. And you can cancel anytime.
Annual subscribers will only be charged once and will enjoy full access to the platform for 12 months for the price of 10.
Create an account by entering your email and setting a password.
Enter a payment method. You can pay by Visa, MasterCard, & American Express credit & debit cards. Unfortunately, you cannot pay by PayPal at this time
If you have any problems, please visit the Vimeo Help Centre.

That’s it! Enjoy watching National Theatre at Home.

If you subscribe to National Theatre at Home, you will get unlimited access to all available plays. You can also enjoy early access to new plays that are added every month and exclusive behind-the-scenes content.

You can choose to subscribe month-by-month, or annually, and you can cancel anytime.

If you rent a single play, you will get access to this play only, and have three days (72-hours) to finish watching it once you click the play button. Make sure you finish it within this window as there are no extensions once the 72-hour period ends.

You can rent a play for 3 days (72 hours).

Once you have purchased the play, you will receive an email confirmation. When you press play to start the play you have rented, you have three days (72 hours) from this point to finish watching.

At the end of the third day, after 72 hours, you will no longer have access to the play. Remember when you started your play to make sure you get to watch the play in full and don’t miss out!

If you subscribe to National Theatre at Home, you can watch our available catalogue of plays whenever you want, with no time restrictions.

No, unfortunately not. The National Theatre at Home platform is not connected to the National Theatre website, and so vouchers cannot be used for National Theatre at Home payments. Vouchers can only be used to buy standard theatre tickets and memberships on the main National Theatre website.

Please go to the National Theatre Help Centre for more information on how you can use your vouchers.

No, National Theatre at Home is for individual personal use only. Using the platform in this way would be against our terms of service.

However, the good news is we already have a streaming service for schools and educational institutions called National Theatre Collection. Its programme is curated for learning, and it includes full play recordings and supporting educational resources that can be accessed worldwide.

You can find out more here.

There are a few different ways you can watch our plays on your TV or Smart TV, depending on your set up at home. You can use our TV app, cast via Chromecast or Airplay with Apple devices, or you can use a HDMI cable.

Visit the Vimeo help centre for more information on how to watch our plays on your TV.

The steps to cancel your National Theatre at Home subscription will depend on how you signed up

If you signed up within an Apple iOS or Apple TV app, follow the steps here: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202039
If you signed up within a Google Play or Android app, follow the steps here: https://support.google.com/googleplay/answer/7018481
If you signed up within the Roku channel, follow the steps here: https://support.roku.com/article/208756478-how-do-i-manage-or-cancel-a-subscription
If you signed up with Amazon, follow the steps here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=GDT2SXJJ7K49JKYE

If you signed up on the National Theatre at Home website, you can cancel your subscription by logging into your account and following the steps below:

Click on your circular profile icon in the top right corner of the screen and select ‘manage subscription’.
Choose to cancel instead of one of the pause options if you do not want to be charged again.
Finally, confirm the choice to cancel.

When you cancel, you will receive an email confirmation. When you cancel your subscription, video access will exist until the next charging cycle, but you will not be charged further.

Please note: If you signed up and paid on the website, you can only cancel via the website (and not via apps).

National Theatre Live

The most popular questions about our cinema broadcasts.

National Theatre Live is the National Theatre’s groundbreaking project to broadcast the best of British theatre live from the London stage to cinemas across the UK and around the world.

National Theatre Live launched in June 2009 with a broadcast of the National Theatre production of Phèdre with Helen Mirren. Our broadcast of Nye with Michael Sheen, on 23 April 2024, reached our 100th production shared from the National Theatre, and on occasion other theatres in the UK and around the world.

For more information, please visit the National Theatre Live website.

We only offer the broadcasts through the screenings in partner venues for a limited time-frame. We are passionate about preserving the live, communal experience and the sense of event through these big screen exhibitions.

Many of our National Theatre Live screenings are now available on National Theatre at Home, our online streaming service. Visit the National Theatre at Home website.