Frequently asked questions

What is Theatre Scout?

Theatre Scout is a directory of what’s currently on at the 70 London theatres that aren’t in the West End — pub theatres, fringe spaces, arches under railway lines, converted warehouses. Tickets usually £10–£25 instead of £80+, and programming that’s bolder and weirder than the big commercial houses.

Why isn’t the Lyceum / Phantom / [a big West End show] here?

By design. Theatre Scout only covers non-West End venues. The West End is already well-served by mainstream ticket sites; we’re surfacing the scene that isn’t.

What do “Major”, “Mid-size”, “Fringe” and “Outer” mean?

We group venues by size and character:

• Major — the bigger Off-West End producing houses (Almeida, Bridge, Donmar, National, Old Vic, Young Vic and the like).
• Mid-size — specialist venues with a strong identity (Barbican, Park, Soho, Wilton’s and the like).
• Fringe — pub theatres and small fringe rooms (Finborough, King’s Head, Southwark Playhouse and the like).
• Outer — larger receiving houses outside zones 1–2 (Alexandra Palace, Richmond, Wimbledon and the like).

Which venues are covered?

All 70 are listed on the home page, grouped by tier. If you can think of a London venue we should track, see How can I add a venue? below.

Where does the data come from?

We pull listings directly from each venue’s own website. Every show, date, price, image and description comes from the theatre itself — no middlemen.

How often is it updated?

The full catalogue refreshes once a day, overnight. If a venue updates their site today, you’ll see it on Theatre Scout the next morning.

A show looks wrong / has the wrong dates / is missing — what do I do?

In almost every case, either the venue’s own site has the bad data or our parser for that venue needs a tweak. File an issue on the GitHub repo (see Who runs this?) with the venue name and the show title, and we’ll fix it.

Why are some prices / images / cast missing?

Not every theatre publishes the same level of detail. If a venue doesn’t list a cast or a price range on their site, we can’t conjure it. If you spot information on the venue’s site that we’re missing, that’s worth flagging too.

Do you sell tickets?

No. The Book tickets button on every show page sends you straight to the venue’s own box office. We don’t handle payments, never see your card, and don’t take a cut.

Can I save a show, get reminders, or subscribe to a calendar feed?

Not at the moment. A calendar view is something we’d like to add later; saved-show and reminder features aren’t on the roadmap today. If any of these would be useful, say so in a GitHub issue — that’s how we decide what to build next.

Is there an app?

No app — but the site is built to work on a phone.

Do you use cookies or track me?

No. No cookies, no third-party trackers, no Google Analytics, no fingerprinting. We do count anonymous totals server-side (page views, search terms, which Book tickets links got clicked) so we know whether the site is working, but none of it is tied to you.

How can I add a venue?

Propose it on the GitHub repo (link below) with the venue name and its website URL. We add it to the master list and write a small parser for its site; from the next overnight scrape onward, its shows appear on Theatre Scout.

The repo is public, so anyone with a GitHub account can open an issue — the link is under Who runs this? below.

Can I use Theatre Scout inside ChatGPT?

Yes — Theatre Scout runs as a remote MCP server that ChatGPT can connect to, so it can search shows and make recommendations directly inside a conversation.

The server URL is:

https://platform-mcp-server.boomclick.workers.dev/mcp

To add it in ChatGPT:

1. Open Settings → Connectors.
2. Choose Add custom connector.
3. Paste the server URL above.
4. When prompted, complete the Authorize consent screen — Theatre Scout uses OAuth, so you approve access once and the tools become available.

Custom connectors require a ChatGPT plan that supports them (Plus, Pro, Business or Enterprise). Once connected, ask things like “what’s on at the Almeida this month?” or “recommend a fringe play for Friday night under £20.”

Can I use Theatre Scout inside Claude?

Yes — Theatre Scout runs as a remote MCP server, which means Claude can search shows and make recommendations directly inside a conversation.

The server URL is:

https://platform-mcp-server.boomclick.workers.dev/mcp

To add it in Claude Desktop:

1. Open Settings → Connectors.
2. Choose Add a custom connector.
3. Paste the server URL above.
4. When prompted, complete the Authorize consent screen — Theatre Scout uses OAuth, so you approve access once and the tools become available.

Once connected, you can ask Claude things like “what’s on tonight in zone 2?” or “find me a play about climate change running this week.”

Other MCP-compatible clients (Claude Code, Cursor, and similar) can use the same URL — check their docs for where to paste it.

Who runs this?

Theatre Scout is an independent project, not affiliated with any theatre or ticketing company. The code lives on GitHub:

github.com/ruiboom/theatre-scout

For bug reports, missing data or new venue proposals, file an issue there.