Overview

We visited to see My Fair Lady. The show was excellent, but it is an old theatre which has good access as far as the auditorium, but is then let down by poor wheelchair spaces and carer seating.

Transport & Parking

There are a couple of disabled spaces right outside, but these were full. Round the corner there is on street parking, which is free for blue badge holders. We managed to get a space. The venue advised us about an NCP Car Park in the locality but we did not need to use it.

Access

There is one flat access door at the front left of the venue. That leads to the main lobby where there is a small wheelchair lift to take you up three or four steps. There is then another full size lift which goes to the 1st floor (Circle Level) where the wheelchair spaces are. This delivers you to the bar area, and from there access to the auditorium. There are only 4 wheelchair spaces, 2 right at the back (row R) at either side of the auditorium. We had a power chair, and were alongside a manual chair, and it fitted, but was tight. Carer seats are adjacent, but with a gap of about 40cm, and much lower down, making interaction almost impossible. The carer seat can only be accessed by moving the wheelchair back, and is unbelievably cramped, with zero legroom. The view is advertised as obstructed - you can't see the top of the stage from the carer seats, and even less when in the higher up wheelchair space.

Toilets

There is an accessible loo on the Circle floor. We did not make use of it.

Staff

Staff very helpful - we were guided from front door to our seats, and they checked at the interval whether we needed anything, even offering to go and get a programme for us. Leaving the venue there were staff at the lifts to ensure that disabled people could use it, rather than have the experience of waiting for a lift to come, and then finding it full of able-bodied people when it arrives.