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.
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:
- When booking has opened for PWYC tickets (dates below), 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 11am 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. No in-person tickets are available for Sleeping Beauty.
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
Sleeping Beauty
There will be no in-person bookings for Sleeping Beauty PWYC. All bookings must be done online at the above date.
Prepare to be spellbound as our legendary Nottingham Playhouse panto 2025/26 is the tale of Sleeping Beauty!
Outraged at not being invited to the Princess’s party, the evil Maleficent casts a spell that sends the Princess and her whole kingdom into a deep sleep, when she pricks her finger on an enchanted spinning wheel. As they snooze, a tangled forest springs up around them. Only one thing can break the curse – the magic of true love! Enter our Prince, who must battle through the thorns, and work with the Princess to defeat the wicked fairy.
It’s going to be panto pandemonium in a show bursting with jaw-dropping costumes, dazzling effects, and sprinkled with magical mayhem. Comedy chaos will be provided by Nottingham’s favourite panto dame John Elkington in this festive spectacular beyond your wildest dreams!
Performances:
Saturday 29 November 2025, 7pm
Tuesday 6 January 2026, 7pm
Wednesday 14 January 2026, 7pm
The Beekeeper of Aleppo
Following its world premiere here in 2023, and a sell-out tour, The Beekeeper of Aleppo makes a welcome return to Nottingham Playhouse.
Nuri is a beekeeper; his wife, Afra, an artist. They live a simple life, rich in family and friends, in the beautiful Syrian city of Aleppo – until the unthinkable happens. When all they care for is destroyed by war, they are forced to escape. On their terrifying journey, they must face the pain of their own unbearable loss alongside incredible danger. Above all, they must journey to find each other again. This compassionate and beautiful play is a story of connection – between friends, families and strangers.
Winner of the Aspen Words Award, Runner up for the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, and one of The Times top three bestselling books of 2020, Christy Lefteri’s best-selling novel has its world premiere in a brand new adaptation by Nesrin Alrefaai and Matthew Spangler who adapted our sell-out production of The Kite Runner.
Performance: Monday 9 February 2026, 7.30pm
Due to popular demand, March 2026 heralds the return of Punch to Nottingham Playhouse, following its remarkable simultaneous openings on Broadway and in the West End. After its premiere in 2024, this powerful account of Jacob Dunne’s story sparked discussions everywhere, from theatres to courthouses and the House of Commons. Now it is back, with a brand new cast. Olivier Award-winning writer James Graham (Dear England, This House, BBC’s Sherwood), has brought Jacob Dunne’s extraordinary true story to the stage in a gripping, high-energy and deeply moving production.
Jacob Dunne, a teenager from The Meadows, Nottingham, spends his Saturday nights seeking thrills with his friends. One fateful evening in Old Market Square, an impulsive punch leads to fatal consequences. After serving prison time, Jacob finds himself lost and directionless. Searching for answers, Joan and David – the parents of his victim James – ask to meet, sparking a profound transformation in Jacob’s life.
A powerful story of hope, humanity, and the possibility of change.
Performance: Mon 16 March 2026, 7.30pm
Four unforgettable characters bring this Windrush story to life: Hortense and Gilbert, determined Jamaican migrants in search of belonging and respect; Queenie, an Englishwoman who defies convention; and Bernard, her husband, struggling with change. Together, they discover love across culture, colour and class – and the fragile hope of a shared future.
Spanning decades and continents, this brand-new production draws on the joyful rhythms of calypso and the harsh realities of postwar Britain to explore the emotional truth of our collective history, brought vividly to life through music, striking visuals and a compelling story you will never forget.
Performance: Tue 5 May 2026, 6.30pm
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
Access tickets are sold on a first come, first served basis.
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!”