Pay What You Can
We’re proud to offer a range of ticket prices for our productions, making great theatre affordable for everyone. Our shows are even more accessible at Pay What You Can performances.
Everyone is welcome to attend our Pay What You Can performances and pay… whatever they can. £2, £5, £10 – whatever you can afford to give, that’s what the tickets cost for that performance.
Pay What You Can ticket bookers also receive a free programme (1 programme per booker).
How to Book
Tickets are subject to availability and are limited to two per person (four per person for pantomime). Tickets cannot be exchanged to other performances or refunded.
Pay What You Can tickets are capped at 2 tickets per household (4 tickets per household for pantomime) in order to give as many families as possible access to our shows. Tickets cannot be purchased on multiple accounts for the same household.
Where there are multiple Pay What You Can performances for one production, PWYC tickets are limited to one performance per customer. Any bookings for multiple performances will be cancelled. We will contact you if we have any queries with your booking, so please ensure your contact details are up to date.
Booking online:
- Click the link for the performance you’d like to attend (below).
- Enter PWYC in the promotion code box (at the bottom of the page, under the seat map and pricing table), you’ll only see the PWYC tickets once you’ve entered it and pressed apply.
- The PWYC tickets will appear as gold stars on the seating plan
- Select your seats and click continue
- Select the price you want to pay and checkout
- Check your email – you’ll receive a confirmation and your e-ticket
Booking in person:
Tickets are sold on a first come, first served basis (from, 9.30am until 2 hours before) on the day of the performance (dates listed below).
Cash payments are recommended to enable bookers to pay their chosen price anonymously.
Please note, not all performances can be booked in-person. In-person tickets are very limited and subject to availability.
If you have mobility requirements or use a wheelchair, please call Box Office on 0115 941 9419 to book your PWYC tickets (on or after the on-sale date).
Pay What You Can Performances
The Children
‘I don’t know how to want less.’
Hazel and Robin are living out their retirement in a cottage on the east coast. They listen to Radio 4, speak regularly with their children and Hazel never misses a day of yoga practice. But their existence is far from cosy – electricity is rationed and there’s a Geiger counter to hand to check radiation levels – for they live just outside the exclusion zone of a nuclear disaster.
When old friend Rose visits out of the blue, they crack open the parsnip wine and reminisce. But uncomfortable memories resurface, and Rose’s shocking proposal threatens their entire future. All three are forced to confront how their life choices have affected each other, as well
as future generations.
Lucy Kirkwood’s play is both epic and intimate, a gripping and funny thriller that highlights how the time to act is slipping through our fingers.
Winner 2018 Writer’s Guild for Best Play/Tony Award 2018 Best Play nomination/Top 3 in The Guardian’s 2019 Best theatre shows of the 21st century.
Performance:
Tuesday 26 March 2024, 7.30pm
Saturday 30 March 2024, 7.30pm
Book NowPerformance: Sat 13 April 7.45pm & Sat 20 April 2pm
Punch
Based on the book Right from Wrong by Jacob Dunne.
Teenager Jacob lives in The Meadows, Nottingham. Like his mates, he spends Saturday nights drinking, sometimes dabbling with drugs, and often looking for a bit of trouble. One night in Old Market Square, his friend squares up to a stranger. Jacob wades in and throws one single punch – with fatal consequences.
Released from prison, lost and haunted by guilt, his life spirals until, out of the blue, the parents of his victim ask to meet him. Their quest for answers results in an unlikely connection and Jacob’s life begins to turn around.
This important and fascinating new play shows us the incredible power of forgiveness, whilst asking important questions about toxic masculinity, class and our education system.
Nottingham’s James Graham is one of Britain’s most celebrated writers, winning multiple Olivier Awards, as well as BAFTA, Emmy and Tony Award nominations.
Performance: Tuesday 7 May 2024, 7.30pm
Book NowDear Evan Hansen
The Olivier, Tony & Grammy Award-Winning Best Musical
Today is going to be a good day. And here’s why…
Meet Evan: an anxious high school kid who wants nothing more than to fit in. The thing is, on his way to fitting in, he didn’t tell the whole truth. And now must give up on a life he never dreamt he’d have. As events spiral and the truth comes out, Evan faces a reckoning with himself and everyone around him.
Packed with some of the biggest musical theatre songs of the last decade, Dear Evan Hansen has a score by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (Oscar-winning composers for The Greatest Showman), book by Steven Levenson and more awards than can be listed here. Well ok, we’ll mention a few: its Tony® Award for Best Musical, Olivier Award for Best New Musical, Grammy® Award for Best Musical Theatre Album…no big deal but the list goes on!
With direction by Adam Penford (Artistic Director), this brand-new production marks the first time that the Broadway and West End phenomenon will tour the UK and Ireland following its premiere at Nottingham Playhouse. So tell your friends, wherever they are, #YouWillBeFound with the Dear Evan Hansen tour from Autumn 2024.
Presented ATG Productions by arrangement with Music Theatre International.
Performance: Thursday 12 September 2024, 7.30pm
Book NowJack and the Beanstalk
The legendary Nottingham Playhouse panto reaches new heights with a giant of a show – Jack and the Beanstalk!
When Jack exchanges the family cow for mysterious beans, he begins an epic adventure when they grow into an enormous beanstalk. Join Jack as he bravely climbs to discover a land above the clouds, where a ferocious giant lurks in his castle. Will Jack outwit the giant and leave with his magic harp? And can he bag the golden egg-laying goose that will change his family’s fortunes forever?
Packed with comedy chaos courtesy of Nottingham’s favourite dame, John Elkington, join us for a show jam-packed with laughter, live music, and spectacular special effects. Expect top tunes, dazzling costumes, and plenty of audience participation in this super-sized extravaganza that will leave everyone feeling sky-high.
Performances: Saturday 30 November 2024, 2pm
Tuesday 7 January 2025, 7pm
Wednesday 8 January 2025, 6pm
Access Bookings and Pay What You Can
How to Book
Tickets are subject to availability and are limited to two per person (four per person for pantomime). Tickets cannot be exchanged to other performances or refunded.
Pay What You Can tickets are capped at 2 tickets per household (4 tickets per household for pantomime) in order to give as many families as possible access to our shows. Tickets cannot be purchased on multiple accounts for the same household.
Where there are multiple Pay What You Can performances for one production, PWYC tickets are limited to one performance per customer. Any bookings for multiple performances will be cancelled. We will contact you if we have any queries with your booking, so please ensure your contact details are up to date.
For Access bookers, you are entitled to your EC allocation alongside your two PWYC tickets. Your Nottingham Playhouse account will need to be registered with your access requirements to gain access to this allocation. To find out more, click here.
Booking online:
- Click the link for the accessible performance you’d like to attend.
- Enter PWYCA in the promotion code box (at the bottom of the page, under the seat map and pricing table), you’ll only see the accessible PWYC tickets once you’ve entered it and pressed apply.
- The PWYC tickets will appear as gold stars on the seating plan
- Select your seats and click continue
- Select the price you want to pay and checkout
- Check your email – you’ll receive a confirmation and your e-ticket
Booking in person:
Access tickets are sold on a first come, first served basis from 1pm online the week before the first PWYC performance (dates listed below).
If you have mobility requirements or use a wheelchair, please call Box Office on 0115 941 9419 to book your PWYC tickets (on or after the on-sale date).
“I was worried we might feel awkward with people knowing we had used Pay What You Can, but it didn’t feel anything other than normal. ”
“I wouldn’t have been able to bring my children this year, and we would have missed out had it not been for PWYC. They had a great time, thank you!”