Overview

King's Place is a medium size, modern arts complex with excellent accessibility. They host classical and contemporary music, comedy and talk events. I visited to attend Uncanny Com, a live version of the paranormal podcast.

Transport & Parking

The nearest tube station is King's Cross Station which is step free. Also very close by is King's Cross and St Pancras mainline railway stations. There are also a number of buses that stop very close by. If you are facing King's Cross Station, the road immediately to its right hand side is York Way. There is a McDonald's on the corner. Walk up this road with the station on your left hand side. The walk should take about 3-5 minutes. King's Place is on the opposite side of the road from the train station. It's just before the bridge over the Regent's Canal. Very easy to get to by public transport.

Access

King's Place building also houses the offices of The Guardian. So if you approach the building from King's Cross, the first part of the building, on the corner with Crinan Street, is The Guardian offices. There is a canopy with huge columns, walk along here, rather than the pavement as this is the way to the step free entrance. If you continue along the pavement, the pavement rises as it approaches the bridge and you then come to a short flight of stairs about 6 or 7 steps with handrails on both sides which is directly opposite the entrance. After the steps is a permanent ramp. The entrance has 2 revolving doors and a push button door on the right. The push button has a notice under it saying "its a little temperamental so push it hard". It took a couple of goes but it works. The entrance opens out into a spacious foyer with the box office with a lower counter on the left. Halls 1 and 2 are at the -2 level and the option is to walk straight ahead to the escalator or turn left after the box office counter for the lift. I am not a wheelchair user but I thought the lift was a quite narrow. There are tactile buttons and audio announcement. The website says that there are 2 larger lifts available for wheelchair users and you just need to speak to a member of staff. On Level -2 is Hall 1 and Hall 2. Uncanny was in Hall 1 which has step free seating in the stalls. There is a gradual slope and a handrail. I had seat K1, which was at the end of the row and entered through the East door, which is the first of the two auditorium doors you come to. I would recommend getting a seat with a lower number so you don't have to by-pass everyone going in through the East door to get to the West door. The seating in Hall 1 is in fixed rows, and wheelchair spaces are available. Also on Level -2 is a large foyer, cloakroom and bar. There were free standing tall tables when I visited and I asked staff, who explained due to the foyer being used for Meet and Greet of the show I was attending, there were no chairs out, but they are usually available. Of the show itself it was excellent, fun and fascinating. Really enjoyed the show. However, despite a large screen which showed pictures, there was no subtitles or closed captioning available and there was no BSL interpreters. Providing this would have made the event more inclusive. For other talking events at King's Place I would suggest contacting the venue for more details.

Toilets

On Level 2 there were 2 accessible toilets, which are directly opposite each other in the foyer. There is an accessible toilet which requires a RADAR key with a left hand transfer and an accessible gender neutral toilet with a right hand transfer which does not require a RADAR key. Both toilets are spacious, clean and tidy with a plenty of grab rails and an emergency cord that reaches to the ground. Please note there is a Changing Places toilet at King's Cross Station.

Staff

Staff were exceptionally helpful, very approachable, proactive and very friendly. Initially when I went in I made directly towards the back to find the lift and had to retrace my steps as I couldn't find the lift. I asked where it was and suggested to Javon, member of staff at the box office, that it would be helpful if there was a sign pointing to the lifts. When I came out he called to me and showed me that he had made and hung up a sign pointing to the lifts and which floor people need to press to get to the performance halls. Brilliant, huge thank you to Javon for listening and responding so quickly. Outstanding customer service. Staff were also very helpful on Level -2 by answering my questions and assisting me to my seat. Sorry I didn't take these member of staffs name, but the woman had blonde hair.

Anything else you wish to tell us?

King's Place is very accessible both to get to and to get around. They host a diverse programme of activities. Staff are exceptional. I loved, loved, loved and highly recommend going there. Huge thank you to the wonderful staff and huge shout out for Javon.

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