You’ve possibly clicked on this post because you’re looking for the perfect gift for the theatre lover in your life, whether it’s your partner, a relative, a friend, or a colleague. Alternatively, you may be a big theatre fan yourself and looking for theatre gifts to treat yourself to or planning to let others know what you’ll like for your next birthday. Whatever the reason may be, here are my very best gift ideas to consider for all theatre lovers.
1. Theatre Gifts from RedBubble
I’m a big advocate for purchasing meaningful gifts that a theatre lover will use, rather than novelty items that will be quickly forgotten about. This is why I’m a fan of the collection of theatre products available on Redbubble.com.
The most thoughtful theatre gifts I’ve received are a theatre throw pillow and a theatre notebook. However, there are many other theatre-related items available on Redbubble such as phone cases, coasters etc. I’d recommend using Redbubble’s search function and looking for terms such as “broadway” “theatre” “musicals” “plays” to browse the range of products available. Or you could simply search for the name of a particular play or musical.
Website Link: https://www.redbubble.com/shop/?query=theatre%20cushion&ref=search_box
2. Wall Art from Etsy
Hanging a theatre-related piece of art on the wall can be a wonderful addition to a room and help to reflect someone’s interests and personality. I purchased each of my favourite theatre-related wall art pieces from Etsy and love each one of them dearly. I would highly recommend Etsy as somewhere to locate special theatre gifts because each sale supports independent creators and artists. For the wall art pieces that I’ve featured above, I’ve included a link to the Etsy sellers who created these below:
Custom Song Lyrics: https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/1017615939/custom-song-lyrics-pick-your-favourite?ref=yr_purchases
Customisable ‘My Favourite Musicals’ Art Print: https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/890575363/customisable-my-favourite-musicals-art?ref=yr_purchases
Musicals periodic table: https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/904160605/musicals-periodic-table-unframed-print?ref=yr_purchases
3. Merchandise from Shows
Many West End and regional theatre productions will sell a range of t-shirts, hoodies and mugs for a given show and you can’t go wrong with this option. To find merchandise from shows that are currently running, your best bet is to visit the merchandise stall at the theatre. Surprisingly, many shows don’t yet sell their merchandise on their official website. If the show is no longer open, I would recommend checking platforms such as eBay.
4. Theatre Programmes/Playbills
Theatre programmes are a great form of memorabilia; they provide a record of a particular theatre production, its cast and creative team members. Many theatre lovers will have their own unique ways of saving their favourite programmes whether it’s in a special folder or even as wall art. An exciting part of this form of memorabilia is who knows what may happen to the resale value of a programme one day!
The Broadway and West End flea markets are great places to start to look for theatre programmes. eBay is also an excellent website to use if you’d like to find an old copy of a theatre programme.
eBay: https://www.ebay.co.uk/b/Collectable-Theatre-Programmes/60410/bn_2317002
West End Flea Market: https://westendfleamarket.co.uk/
Broadway Flea Market: https://broadwaycares.org/category/post-event/broadway-flea-market-and-grand-auction/
5. Cameo from a Theatre Performer/Artist
For a fee, you can send a request to a celebrity to create a personalised video recording just for you. Who wouldn’t want to receive a happy birthday wish from their favourite theatre person! Stars currently featured on the platform include performers in the Broadway production of Hamilton and West End performers including John Owen-Jones and Carrie Hope Fletcher. If you’ve not seen these before, here’s a video on Amy Lovatt’s YouTube channel with plenty of cameo video examples from musical theatre stars.
Website Link: https://www.cameo.com/browse/actors/theater
6. Theatre Vouchers
Although some may frown on the idea of buying vouchers as a gift because it’s arguably not the most personalised present to buy, I can assure you that theatre vouchers for any theatre lover will be well-received! Especially considering the steep climb in theatre ticket prices in recent years. Some of the leading theatre websites that offer West End theatre vouchers are TodayTix, London Theatre Direct and Official Theatre London. Just be sure to check the voucher’s expiry date and the theatre venues that you can claim the vouchers with.
TodayTix Vouchers: https://www.todaytix.com/london/shows/24441-todaytix-gift-cards—gbp
London Theatre Direct: https://www.londontheatredirect.com/vouchers?gclid=CjwKCAjwu_mSBhAYEiwA5BBmf8p0eJxHwRE98UvSoJpKJA5m8vi1OMoZqaD6jMcP0N-MnQSXd-XyyRoCsCoQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
Theatre Tokens: https://officiallondontheatre.com/theatre-tokens/
7. Theatre-related Book
Broadway World has a section of their website dedicated to ‘must read’ theatre books and there are lots of interesting titles worth exploring. A book that I read recently that I’d recommend for any musical theatre fan is Stephen Sondheim’s ‘Finishing the Hat’. This is a collection of the lyrics from the multi-award-winning composer and is an insightful look into his writing process and his genius. The book covers Sondheim’s productions between 1954 – 1981 including ‘West Side Story’, ‘Company’, and ‘Sweeney Todd’ to name a few.
Website Link: https://www.broadwayworld.com/books/
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