Mamma Mia sells a £30 day ticket and a family rate that works out at £24.75 a head. The family rate is cheaper, bookable weeks ahead, and gets you a known seat.
So the “deal” that involves watching the clock is the worse of the two, and nothing on the page compares them.
Every published price, cheapest first
Family Rate 2: four tickets for £99. That is £24.75 each, against a usual price of up to £52.50. Valid Monday to Thursday 7.30pm performances and Thursday 3pm matinees, until 11 March 2027.
Summer Family Tickets: from £24.75 per ticket, for groups of 2 to 6 between 25 June and 1 September. The group must include at least one person aged 17 or under. Online only, in dedicated seating locations.
£30 Day Tickets: a limited number, released from 10.30am each morning and closing at 5.30pm the same day.
Early Bird: book six weeks in advance and save £20 on selected Monday to Thursday tickets, including peak weeks.
Family Rate 1: four tickets for £199, which is £49.75 each against a usual price of up to £83.50.
Groups of 10 or more get their own rates, as do schools and colleges.
The arithmetic worth doing
Four people on Family Rate 2 pay £99 in total. Four people buying day tickets pay £120.
The family rate is twenty one pounds cheaper for the four of you, can be booked in advance, and does not depend on a limited release. The day ticket’s only advantage is availability on a Friday or Saturday, which the family rates exclude.
There is one real catch on the family rates: the exclusion list. Not Fridays or Saturdays, and not 26 to 31 October, 21 December to 3 January, or 15 to 21 February. Those are precisely the weeks most people want, which is how the offer stays affordable.
Two details that change the price you actually pay
Prices include a theatre restoration levy. It is in the figure, not added after, which is better practice than most.
Booking fees apply except for tickets purchased in person at the box office. So walking to the Novello and buying at the counter is the only fee-free route, and the Early Bird discount is also available in person or by telephone on 0344 482 5151.
The Early Bird is only bookable through Delfont Mackintosh directly. Online, look for the EB tag on calendar dates, where the £20 is already taken off.
It is the shortest of the big musicals, and it runs on Mondays
Running time 2 hours 35 minutes, including a 15-minute interval.
That is ten minutes shorter than Hamilton or Wicked and fifteen shorter than Les Misérables.
Monday to Saturday at 7.30pm, with matinees at 3pm on Thursday and Saturday.
Note the Monday. Wicked is dark on Mondays and this is not, which makes it the obvious choice for a Monday night in the West End.
Extra Tuesday 3pm matinees are on sale for 27 October 2026 and 16 February 2027. Both fall inside the family rate exclusion weeks, so they will be full price.
The Christmas timetable in full
They publish the whole thing, which almost nobody does, so here it is. Four days are dark and New Year’s Eve is a matinee only.
Mon 21 Dec 3pm and 7.30pm
Tue 22 Dec 7.30pm
Wed 23 Dec 3pm and 7.30pm
Thu 24 Dec no performance
Fri 25 Dec no performance
Sat 26 Dec 7.30pm only
Sun 27 Dec 3pm and 7.30pm
Mon 28 Dec no performance
Tue 29 Dec 3pm and 7.30pm
Wed 30 Dec 3pm and 7.30pm
Thu 31 Dec 2pm only
Fri 1 Jan 2027 3pm and 7.30pm
Sat 2 Jan 3pm and 7.30pm
Sun 3 Jan no performance
Two things to take from that. Boxing Day is evening only, so there is no matinee. And New Year’s Eve is a single 2pm performance, an hour earlier than the usual matinee, which gets you out by about 4.35pm with the whole evening free. That is the best-designed slot on the list and it is one line in a table.
How far ahead you can book
Their own page gives two different answers. One section says booking to 13 March 2027 and the footer says currently booking to 2 October 2027, following an extension announced in September 2026.
Treat 2 October 2027 as the real limit, since it is the later date and matches the announcement, but expect the calendar to disagree with itself depending on which page you land on.
Where it is
The Novello Theatre, Aldwych, London WC2B 4LD.
Covent Garden, Charing Cross and Temple are all walkable. Captioned and audio described performances are scheduled at the Novello.
There is an official show plus afternoon tea package at the Strand Palace, which is a few minutes away, and theatre break packages combining a hotel with a ticket.
The show turned 26 in April 2025, which makes it one of the longest-running musicals in the West End.
How to plan it
Four of you, midweek: Family Rate 2, £99 for four, which beats the day ticket by £21 and does not need luck.
Two of you, midweek: Early Bird six weeks ahead, £20 off.
Friday or Saturday: the £30 day ticket from 10.30am, because the family rates exclude weekends.
Avoiding booking fees: buy in person at the Novello box office.
New Year’s Eve: the 2pm, out by half four.
A Monday in the West End: this, because Wicked is dark.
Mamma Mia at the Novello Theatre
- Address
- Novello Theatre, Aldwych, London WC2B 4LD
- Nearest
- Covent Garden, with Charing Cross and Temple both walkable
- Hours
- Monday to Saturday 7.30pm, with 3pm matinees on Thursday and Saturday. Extra Tuesday 3pm matinees on 27 October 2026 and 16 February 2027. Running time 2 hours 35 minutes including a 15-minute interval
- Booking
- Online, in person, or on 0344 482 5151 through Delfont Mackintosh. Booking fees apply except in person at the box office. Currently booking to 2 October 2027
- Price
- Family Rate 2 is four tickets for 99 pounds, which is 24.75 each. Family Rate 1 is four for 199. Day tickets are 30 pounds, released from 10.30am and closing at 5.30pm. Early Bird saves 20 pounds when booking six weeks ahead. Prices include a theatre restoration levy
- Standing
- The shortest running time of the big West End musicals, and one of the few that plays on a Monday
How to get in
Four people on Family Rate 2 pay 99 pounds in total against 120 for four day tickets, so the family rate is cheaper and bookable ahead, but it excludes Fridays, Saturdays and the October, Christmas and February peak weeks. New Year’s Eve is a single 2pm performance and Boxing Day is evening only.
Where to go next
Les Misérables is the other Delfont Mackintosh show, with half-price parking, and Hamilton has the £10 lottery.
The West End page covers the rest, and the afternoon tea page covers the show and tea packages.
Questions we get asked
How do you get cheap Mamma Mia tickets in London?
Family Rate 2 is the cheapest at four tickets for £99, which is £24.75 each, valid Monday to Thursday evenings and Thursday matinees with weekend and peak-week exclusions. A limited number of £30 day tickets are released from 10.30am each day until 5.30pm. Early Bird booking six weeks ahead saves £20 on Monday to Thursday performances.
What time are Mamma Mia day tickets released?
From 10.30am each morning, closing at 5.30pm the same day. A limited number are available at £30. For a group of four, the £99 Family Rate 2 works out cheaper at £24.75 a head.
How long is Mamma Mia?
2 hours 35 minutes including a 15-minute interval, which makes it the shortest of the big West End musicals: ten minutes under Hamilton and Wicked and fifteen under Les Misérables.
Is there a Mamma Mia performance on Monday?
Yes. It runs Monday to Saturday at 7.30pm, with 3pm matinees on Thursday and Saturday. That makes it one of the few big musicals available on a Monday, when Wicked is dark.
Is Mamma Mia open on Christmas Day and New Year's Eve?
There is no performance on 24 or 25 December, 28 December or 3 January. Boxing Day is 7.30pm only with no matinee, and New Year's Eve is a single 2pm performance, an hour earlier than the usual matinee.
How do you avoid booking fees for Mamma Mia?
Buy in person at the Novello Theatre box office. Booking fees apply to every other route. Prices themselves already include the theatre restoration levy.
How far ahead can you book Mamma Mia?
The footer of the official page says currently booking to 2 October 2027, following an extension announced in September 2026, while another section of the same page says 13 March 2027. Treat 2 October 2027 as the limit.
Written by Robert J Wills, no. 260 in the guide.
Last checked 5 October 2026 against the venues' own published information. Nobody pays to appear here and we take no bookings.
