With sky-rocketing rental prices, a full-to-bursting job market and all that pesky inflation business, London isn’t an easy place to live when you’re on a tight budget. But that doesn’t mean you need to stay cooped up in your £1000 a month studio flat in Battersea counting your pennies – not when Spoonfed has scoured high and low for cheap or free events and places to go to. Whether it’s free-admission museums, comedy and music on a shoestring, or budget theatre, we’ve got it covered.
Art and Exhibitions
They say the best things in life are free, and visiting one of London’s many museum and gallery exhibitions is probably your best bet if you want to see the city on the cheap. Most of the larger venues, such as the two Tate galleries and the British Museum are completely free, although you will usually have to pay for temporary exhibitions. Check out our judiciously compiled list of the best museums in London, all of which have free permanent exhibitions.
If you want to save money while simultaneously having your finger firmly on the UK’s art-world pulse, then why not visit a graduate exhibition at one of London’s numerous art colleges? The Royal College of Art holds annual graduate shows, which are the toast of artists and critics alike, and the London College of Communication also holds Summer shows. You never know, you might spot the next Tracy Emin or Damien Hirst.
Comedy
When you’re strapped for cash it doesn’t feel like there’s a lot to laugh about, especially when high-profile comedy venues can charge anything upwards of £18 a pop. Luckily, London’s a veritable hotbed of burgeoning comedic talent, so there are plenty of places where you can get a free laugh. Certain ‘Mirth Control’ nights at the Grove Tavern in Wimbledon or The Secret Garden in Battersea won’t charge you a penny for your chuckles. Comedy Mondays @ Theatre Royal Stratford East is another great bet with its unusual Cockney-Caribbean vibe, and if you like your comedy as far away from the MacIntyre Mainstream as possible (and infinitely cheaper), swing by the Tuesday Night Experiment @ Comedy Café.
Have a look at the Spoonfed comedy team’s top free comedy tips for more info on those and more.
Live Music
If live music’s your bag and you’ve got no money in your purse, don’t despair just yet, because London’s got more free gigs than you could ever expect to attend. For a grab-bag of varied amateur fare and a cracking atmosphere there’s The Camden Sunday Sessions at The Camden Head. It’s open mic so if you feel like you’ve got a song in you, there’s the chance to sign up to perform too. The Hoxton Square Bar and Kitchen plays host to Sheltered, a lovely Sunday night of acoustic folk, indie rock or DJ sets: it’s a weekly delight. Drop by the Notting Hill Arts Club on a Saturday afternoon to catch Rough Trade’s free live showcase, RoTa, which will not disappoint.
Theatre
The unbelievably great (albeit ageist) ‘A Night Less Ordinary’ free theatre ticket scheme may be over and done with, but discount tickets are still there for the taking at some of London’s best theatres. The Royal Court Theatre still runs its £10 Monday nights and has a range of deals for exceedingly cheap standing tickets. The Donmar Warehouse in Covent Garden and many other theatres will also give you standby tickets at concession prices which are available on the day or, in the case of no-shows, mere minutes before the performance starts. The latter option, however, can be quite a stressful way of going about it, and only worth doing if you’re not that fussy about what you’re going to see.
To find more great things to do in London on a budget, click here for a comprehensive list of free things to do in London.
Image credit: Peter Gerdes
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