At any one moment, up to a dozen or more musicals are running on London stages, mainly in the West End. Even if your interests as a songwriter do not lie in the direction of the musical stage, seeing a live performance of one of the top shows is an experience no writer should miss.

Although it is not easy to obtain tickets at very short notice for the best-selling musicals, agencies like Ticketmaster can often help when all fruit fails.

Prices range from £10  to £35 per seat, but tickets for several of the shows (although not usually hits such as "Les Miserables" or "The Phantom"), can be obtained at half-price plus £2.00 booking fee, on the day of the performance, from the Half-Price Ticket Office in Leicester Square (the small white building in the background of the photo above).

Beware however - the charming gentlemen who wander up and down in front of the booth offering tickets do not necessarily have any connection with the Half-Price Booking Office!

Most of the theatres lie within easy walking distance of each other, and restaurants of all types and prices (Italian and Chinese) , abound in Theatreland.

For an excellent update on what is happening - got to the