The producers of Paddington The Musical have put 130 pairs of seats for the new company's final dress rehearsal at the Savoy Theatre on 28 October into a £10 prize draw, with the proceeds going to the children's charity the Institute of Imagination.
A West End dress rehearsal is not something that normally goes on sale at any price. For Paddington The Musical, one now costs a £10 entry and some luck: Sonia Friedman Productions and Eliza Lumley Productions have donated 130 pairs of Grand Circle seats at the Savoy Theatre for the incoming company's last rehearsal before it faces the public, and every pair is being drawn in aid of the Institute of Imagination.
The session is scheduled for 28 October at 1.30pm, though the production says the start time has yet to be confirmed, as has a running time of about two hours 45 minutes including an interval. It will be the first time the new company announced on 29 September has played the show to an audience. It is a working rehearsal rather than a finished performance, so the action may be halted, a scene may be run a second time, and a photographer will be at work in the stalls.
Entry is open to UK residents aged 18 and over. Buying several entries improves the odds and the size of the donation, but not the seats: every prize is in the Grand Circle, and no one can win more than a single pair. The draw closes at 9pm on Sunday 11 October, winners are drawn on Monday 12 October and told by email that day, and they then have three days to claim. The box office sends the e-tickets a couple of days before the rehearsal, and they cannot be transferred or resold.
The prize is for 28 October only, with no alternative date and no cash alternative; should the production have to move the rehearsal, the tickets move with it. Winners may bring a child as their guest if the child is six or over and can stay in their own seat throughout. There is no step-free access to the Grand Circle and no wheelchair spaces. A free postal entry route is also offered, and full terms are on the prize draw page.
The Institute of Imagination is a children's charity that uses play, making and creative learning to develop imagination and creativity, with a particular focus on children facing disadvantage.
The new company takes over a production that opened at the Savoy in November 2025 and has since won seven Olivier Awards, nine WhatsOnStage Awards and Best New Musical at the Critics' Circle Theatre Awards. Luke Sheppard directs, with music and lyrics by Tom Fletcher and a book by Jessica Swale, bringing Michael Bond's characters to the stage in a story inspired by the 2014 film.
Paddington The Musical is booking at the Savoy Theatre, where the widest choice of seats is currently for performances in 2027.
