Booking FAQ

On this page you’ll find a list of the questions we’re asked most frequently. If you have a question that is not answered here, please email us, or check our terms and conditions.

How do I book tickets?
You can book tickets for all shows in the C ARTS programme online at www.CtheArts.com, or over the phone by calling +44 (0)131 581 5555.
For events in our digital programme which are also in other fringes and festivals, such as the Brighton, Edinburgh, Greater Manchester, Melbourne, Sydney or New Zealand Fringes, you can also book tickets from these festivals’ websites in the weeks before and during those festivals.
For shows in our Edinburgh Fringe in person and digital season, you can also book tickets in-person from any of our venue box offices.

What hours is your box office open
Our website www.CtheArts.com sells tickets every day of the year. 24 hours a day.
Our telephone lines are generally available from 10:00 to 18:00 UK time Monday to Friday, except public holidays, and from 09:00-midnight seven days a week on performance days during the Edinburgh Fringe. Our box office sales number is +44 (0)131 581 5555. Our customer support number, for those who have already booked tickets, is +44 (0)131 581 5551. At busy times your call may be forwarded to voicemail. We will endeavour to answer emails to the box office team received within these hours the same working day.
Our box office counters at each venue during the Edinburgh Fringe are open on performance days, from 30 minutes before the first show of the day, until 15 minutes after the last show of the day has started.

What timezone is shown on your website?
Times on our website are displayed in UK time. During the summer months this is BST, British Summer Time, one hour ahead of GMT/UTC, Greenwich Mean Time/Coordinated Universal Time, and during the winter months this is GMT/UTC). When booking online scheduled events, please take care to check the time in your local timezone.

What date is shown for performances starting at midnight or later?
For the purposes of performance listings, each day begins at 07:00. For example, a performance listed as taking place on a ‘Tuesday’ at 00:00 or later will actually take place in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

Is there a booking fee?
We do not charge a booking fee for tickets booked from us at www.CtheArts.com for our digital shows and events. For tickets booked from us at www.CtheArts.com or on the phone to our in-person shows and events, or in person at our venues, a booking/handling fee of £1 per ticket is payable, up to a maximum of £5 per transaction. This fee is waived for iCmore members.
Most of the fringes and festivals that show our digital work do charge a booking fee, and therefore the overall cost of booking a booking for a digital show or event, including any booking fees, will generally be cheaper if booking from www.CtheArts.com.
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society sell tickets for some of our in-person and digital shows and events. A booking fee of £1.25 per ticket is charged on all bookings made via the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, up to a maximum of £5 per transaction, and a proportion of these booking fees may be rebated to us by the Society.
Booking fees help contribute to the costs with providing an online and telephone booking facility and providing a box office and listings website, and help us ensure we can pass a greater proportion of ticket sales income to companies producing or performing shows and events with us.

Is the price the same wherever I book from?
The prices charged for our shows and events at fringe and festival websites, or any third party box office outlets which sell tickets for us, may be different to the prices shown on our website, to take account of different festivals’ ticketing policies, appropriate pricing and currency variations. We endeavour to make the lowest prices for all shows available from our website at all times, so if you find tickets for our shows and events on sale cheaper elsewhere than on our website, please let us know. Please note that for digital and in-person shows, booking fees, and therefore the overall cost, will generally be lower when you book from us, than when book from festival and fringe box offices.

How do I find the cheapest prices?
Performance listings on our website display the lowest generally-available price for each performance.
For many of our in-person shows, lower prices are generally available on Mondays and Tuesdays, mid prices apply mid-week, and the higher prices on weekends. Lower prices are also sometimes available at the start of some performance runs.
Some shows offer a pay what you can pricing, with a choice of different prices available, or a pay what you want pricing, where you can pay a optional low cost in advance to guarantee admission, and/or pay whatever price you want at the venue.
For many of our digital show and events, pay what you can pricing applies. Please consider how many people will watch the digital show with you, how your contribution can support the work of the performing company making the show or event, and the price you consider appropriate.
Our iCmore membership allows you to access ticket discounts of at least 10% on full price tickets (and discounts on concession tickets for concession-eligible people in your party), plus waived booking fees and other benefits, for an annual membership fee that goes to support our work.

Do you have both digital and in-person events?
We sell tickets for three main categories of event format:
In-person
In-person shows take place in a physical venue at a specific date and time. Some in-person shows may also be available to watch online as a scheduled online event.
Online – on-demand
On-demand events are listed without a performance start time, and can be purchased and viewed at any time throughout the viewing period. Be sure to check the ‘available from and to’ dates for individual events.
Online – scheduled
Online scheduled events occur at a specific date and time. This applies to live-streamed and live interactive shows, and also to some pre-recorded shows whose creators prefer their audience to experience the event at a specific time. Some online scheduled events offer catch-up, where a recording of the event can be watched for a period after the show.

Are the operating system requirements to book tickets for shows and events the same as to watch them?
Please note that more recent versions operating systems and browsers may be required for payment for shows and events on our website than are required to watch content already paid for. If you attempt to view our website using a device with an operating system or browser that does not support payment on our website, a message should display, requesting that you to use a more modern operating system/browser for payment. Once you have paid for content and received a booking confirmation, and it is showing in My Booked Shows, you can revert to a wider range of operating systems and browsers to watch the content.

When will I receive information on how to access the online shows I have booked?
You’ll be able to find any online show or events you have booked from us, and links to access them in the ‘My booked shows’ area in the ‘My C’ menu of our website, www.CtheArts.com. Your username to log in is the email address you used to book. If you need to re-set your password, you can do this at the log-in page.
If you have booked your show or event from a fringe or festival box office or a third party ticket box office, please, please refer to the information they have provided to find out how to access the show or event.

My e-ticket/confirmation email hasn’t arrived, what should I do?
A confirmation email is sent for all bookings made on our website. For digital shows and events this provides a reminder of how to access your booking and for in-person shows and events this contains your e-ticket barcode where available. Where an e-ticketing is not available, the email can be used to collect your tickets at the venue. If you think you have not received your confirmation email, please check your junk/spam folder. You can view your bookings and re-send confirmation emails when logged into your account on our website. If you can’t find it your email or log into your account on our website, please get in touch with our box office support team by emailing us or by calling +44 (0)131 581 5551.

What should I do if I have a question about my booking?
If you have a question about a booking you have made, please contact our box office support team by by emailing us or by calling +44 (0)131 581 5551.

I have access requirements
The box office has a team in place specifically for access enquiries and bookings. This service is here to assist anyone with an access requirement to make the most of what we have to offer. You can contact our access bookings team by emailing us, or calling +44 (0)131 581 5552.

Can I book tickets for someone else
You can book tickets for others, but at present our systems do not permit the customer account details of both the booker and the attendee to be logged separately for an online booking, and the customer used to book the ticket must be used to view a digital show. If you wish to book tickets for digital shows for another attendee to use, please either book them using a username (email address) and password that you are able to share with that person (such as using their email address, and a bookings access password you share with them), or contact the box office by telephone on +44 (0)131 581 5555 to request a third party booking. We hope to be able offer more support for online bookings for third parties in the future.

Can I pay for tickets with vouchers?
Vouchers make the ideal gift for friends and family members with an interest in independent arts and performance. Vouchers have a validity of two years from date of issue and can be redeemed for online performances digital arts, and for any in-person events we sell tickets for. Where a voucher is redeemed for a transaction that is less than the voucher value, the unredeemed amount is carried forward and can be used for future transactions.

Do you offer group discounts?
Group discounts area available for some shows. If you would like to book for a larger size group than the website allows, or have any enquiries about group discounts, please contact our group bookings support team by by emailing us or by calling +44 (0)131 581 5553.

I’m going to be late for the show, is that ok?
If you arrive late for a scheduled online or in-person event for which you have tickets, you may not be allowed to enter. It is your responsibility to arrive before or at the advertised start time. No refunds of ticket costs, booking or other fees will be made as a result of refusal of entry to an event due to late arrival.

What are you doing to ensure your venues are Covid safe?
We follow current Covid-safe guidance. We ask that you are considerate to your fellow audience members, respect everyone’s individual choice to wear or not to wear a face covering, and maintain appropriate physical distance from others wherever possible. You will not be required to provide a Covid pass or proof of a negative test. We appreciate your cooperation in making our venues a safe environment for everyone.

I have Covid-19 or an infectious disease, should I attend the venue?
If you test positive for Covid-19 or another infectious disease, or are instructed to self-isolate by a healthcare professional, please do not attend the venue. Please email us, including proof of your test results and/or the healthcare professional’s instruction, and we will issue a credit note for the value of your tickets for future use. Exchange credit notes are issued with a 13-month validity to allow use, at the current or next festival. Your credit refund will not include the booking fee.

Can I get a refund, credit note or an exchange?
Tickets, booking and other associated fees are non-refundable.
No refunds of ticket costs, booking or other fees will be made as a result of refusal of entry to an event due to change of plans or late arrival.
Tickets for digital and in-person shows and events in our programme which have been bought from us can be exchanged for other tickets to the same value, or for a credit note up to 12 hours before the performance start time, by contacting us by email, or by calling our box office support number +44 (0)131 581 5551 during opening hours. An exchange fee of £1 per ticket is payable, plus the cost of any difference in price. Exchange credit notes are issued with a 13-month validity, to allow use at the current or next festival. Your credit refund will not include the booking fee. Tickets bought from festival, fringe or third party box offices are generally not be able to be exchanged.
Where an exchange or credit note is requested due to your testing positive for Covid-19 or another infectious disease, or an instruction to self-isolate from a healthcare professional, no exchange fee is payable, and tickets can be exchanged for a credit note at any time before the performance start time.

Can I reserve seats?
All our seating is unreserved, unless you have access requirements.

Are guide dogs and assistance animals permitted?
Guide dogs and other recognised and trained assistance animals are permitted anywhere in our venues.

What’s your babes in arms policy?
Children under the age of 2 are permitted to most performances, however they must be placed on a parent or carer’s knee and not occupy their own seat unless a ticket has been purchased for them. All children aged 2 and over need their own ticket.

Do you have a cloakroom facility?
Unfortunately we are not able to offer a cloakroom facility or store any luggage. Customers with young children may leave empty foldable child buggies with the venue team at their own risk, subject to their being available space.

Ticket types

Online shows
Ticket sales directly support Fringe organisations and artists, so please consider buying tickets per viewer rather than per household or device.

Pay what you can
Some shows have tickets listed at several price points – please help support the artist by paying what you can for a show. If more than one person is watching the show, please consider offering more.

Pay what you want
Some shows have a ticket where you can enter the value you want to pay – please help support the artist by paying what you think is fair for the show. If more than one person is watching the show with your booking, please consider offering more.

Membership, subscription and by invitation tickets
Membership, subscription and by invitation ticket types require that you are logged in with a customer account which holds the relevant membership, subscription or invitation to access the ticket type requested, before selecting the tickets to add them to the basket. You can find out about available memberships and subscription packages on the membership and subscriptions page.

Promo codes
Some ticket types require entry of a promo code before the ticket can be added to the basket. Ticket discounts and special offers be available if an applicable promo code is entered in the basket.

Donate during booking
You may be asked to consider making a donation to us or to the organisation putting on the show during booking. Such as donation is voluntary and you are able to decline it.

Donate during or after the show
Some online shows may give you the option to donate while you’re watching or afterwards; others may suggest donating via their social media channels and funding pages. Please consider donating to a show during or after the performance to further support artists directly.