You're off to the West End: How to find the Best Show in Town

You've have your mind set on an evening in the bright lights of London's fashionable, theatrical West End. Either you're taking your family for a treat, out to impress some suitor or just want to go along for the fun of the theatre, you are presented with a myriad of shows and spectacles to potentially enjoy.

But which do you want? With approximately forty theatre venues across that little district of the big city you're not so much spoilt for choice as overwhelmed by it.

So how to choose a show?

You might be inclined towards the classics as many people are. There is a tendency with theatre for people to go with something they know to ensure a night they will enjoy. This is how timeless productions like Les Miserables have kept going for 27 years, people know they like it and therefore go again and again.

There is also an increasing trend from the theatre producers themselves to capitalise upon this trend by marketing their new shows towards already popular phenomenon. Starting with the Queen musical We Will Rock You, which took the universally loved music of the late Freddy Mercury, fitting a plot around it and presenting it as a musical, the public have flocked to We Will Rock You for the love of Queen.

There's nothing wrong with that plethora of film and pop tie ins; they can promise you a story and music you already know and love, but there's nothing wrong with a little variety.

There are even more original musicals out there and more are being written all the time. One of your best ways to judge a play is by reading reviews, most major newspapers and many other west based websites will review shows as well as link you towards cheap theatre tickets in London.

Always check the reviews before you see a show, even an established musical can suffer from a misjudged change of casting. Reviews can also alert your attention to a lesser known gem that you might otherwise have missed. It's best to read a broad spread of reviews for any shows you're thinking of deciding upon, one review is just the opinion of one writer whose tastes may vary from your own, so check a few to get an accurate picture of what's really good.

So either find something you know you'll love thanks to its reputation or story, or for the more intrepid theatre explorer trawl through the reviews in newspapers and online to find those gems to inject that extra special thrill of theatre magic into your life.