Venue Description

A 400-seat theatre in the heart of Ipswich, Suffolk's county town, The New Wolsey Theatre was established in 2000, building on the foundations of the regional repertory company that had opened the theatre in the late 1970s.

Accessibility

The auditorium is accessible from the street without encountering any steps. Row C is accessible from the Ground Floor Foyer without using steps, and Row K also, via the passenger lift to the Bar area on the first floor. For each subsequent row there are two steps. There are six spaces available for wheelchair users in the auditorium, four in Row C and two in Row K. Guide and assistance dogs are welcome throughout the building and, if you prefer, we will happily look after your dog whilst you watch the performance. The Box Office is located inside the main entrance. It has a low level service. There is one accessible toilet on the ground floor near to the Café Bar and one in the Bar on the first floor. You can pre-order interval drinks to avoid queuing. The Bar also has an accessible service area. Touch Tours for visually impaired audiences are available before some Audio Described performances. Touch tours introduce blind and partially sighted visitors to the arrangement of the stage and help participants to engage with the ideas, props and costumes. If you are attending a performance where a touch tour is not booked, please contact our Box Office who may be able to arrange an additional one for you. We can also offer Familiarisation tours for audience members who would appreciate to seeing the venue before visiting for a show. Please contact the Box Office for information on booking these tours. We have Audio Described, BSL interpreted and captioned performances as well as relaxed and dementia friendly shows too. We also have audio enhancement equipment and some of our staff are trained to a basic level of BSL. For more information on Accessible Performances please follow this link to our website. http://www.wolseytheatre.co.uk/access/

Accessibility Guide

Accessibility Guide Link: http://www.wolseytheatre.co.uk/access

Access Statement

Access Statement Link: https://www.wolseytheatre.co.uk/access/

Accessible Performances

We offer Audio Described, BSL interpreted and Captioned performances as well as Relaxed and Dementia friendly shows too. We also have audio enhancement equipment available.

Toilets

The building has two accessible toilets, one upstairs across the bar area as you exit the lift and one downstairs which is to left as you enter the building. Both have doors wide enough for a manual or power wheelchair, grab rails and easy to use taps and locks. Both also have an emergency alarm. We also have a changing places toilet in our sister building NW2. This building is not publicly accessible but our team will be more than happy to provide access if required. Please speak to any member of our team who will be able to facilitate this for you.

Staff

Our staff have yearly access training and we have been awarded Most Welcoming Theatre by the TMA. All our staff have had D/deaf awareness training and some of our staff are trained to a basic level of BSL. Staff have also received Sighted-Guiding training and Dementia friends sessions.

Assistance dog facilities

Other assistance dog facilities

We have water bowls available for assistance dogs.