Overview

My son is reading Private Peaceful for English. Seeing that they were showing it at the Beck Theatre I was eager to take him to experience it live. However I was also in two minds as he has ASD and certain situations can cause crippling anxiety for him. Nothing ventured, nothing gained so I booked our tickets and we headed to the Beck in Hayes for the showing. On arrival we noticed a school party was there, as it was a daytime showing booked in the hope it would be a bit of a quieter experience for him. We managed to get to the hallway approaching the theatre before the anxiety kicked in and we were unable to continue any further. A member of staff (Charlotte) noticed we were having issues and came to see if she could support us in anyway, offering ear defenders, a change in seats to a quieter, out of the way area and she went over and above in her compassion and understanding in trying to make our visit as pleasurable as possible. We managed to get seated, but by this time the anxiety had overwhelmed him and after just a minute or two we were heading out of the theatre to go home, with a very upset and dejected boy who just wanted to do what the other kids could do. Charlotte saw us leaving and yet again did everything in her power to go the extra mile to make what could have been a very upsetting experience and potentially something which could cause additional issues with future outdoor visits. We were informed that there would be a relaxed screening a couple of days later, Charlotte spent a while explaining to my son and I what this entailed (open door policy, lighting remained on, quieter speaker system so no loud bangs, even the hand dryers in the toilets were decommissioned for the performance to avoid that additional noise in the toilets). We were told where we would be sitting, how many people had currently booked for the performance compared to the total seating, we had all the information we needed for an autistic and anxious child to feel somewhat in control. on the day of the performance I was emailed with an update to the amount of seats that had been sold, so that we could be pre-warned and later that day we made our second journey to the Theatre in hope to see the performance. We were met on entrance and escorted to our seats and all of the staff were amazing, ensuring that our visit went as smoothly as possible and that we were as comfortable as we could be in the surroundings and circumstances. We were able to sit through the whole show, and even enjoyed a half time ice cream. The show that we watched, Private Peaceful, was a joy to watch. the actors, lighting, scenery was all great and we had an amazing time. However as great as the show was, none of it would have been possible without the theatre and staff (especially Charlotte) being so inclusive for people with special needs and doing everything in their power to make the experience wonderful. We have missed out on a lot of things due to the difficulties we face day to day but we will be back to the Beck Theatre in the future. I am hoping to book up the first Christmas Panto we have managed to go to in years as a family. A huge thank you to all involved in creating such a great experience and more importantly unforgettable memories for both me and my son.

Transport & Parking

Good car parking on site. Plenty of spaces including disabled.

Access

Good well maintained ramp and access into the Theatre. The staff couldn't have been more disabled friendly if they tried. An exceptional theatre for all with disabilities.

Toilets

Putting 5 stars because I don't want to dilute my overall score, even though we didn't actually visit the toilet facilities. However the fact that they even take into consideration the noise of the hand dryers etc. on relaxed performance days says it all.

Staff

If I could give the staff ten out of five I would. I don't think there has been a time I can remember when I got any better service, support or empathy from anywhere else. The staff made this a day that neither my son or I will forget. I could not thank them enough.