An Independent Inside Guide to London Theatre and Concert Venues

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Seating Plan Diagram

Much thought has gone into the layout. All rows are "offset" so that those who are shorter should see between the gaps of the seats in front between the taller folk in front. Rows A to D are also lower to improve sightlines for those behind, previously poor due to the shallow flooring rake.

The stage is at eye-level for a 5ft 7 monkey, so those in A will look up slightly (not really for neck-ache avoiders, though most should be fine). The row curves, with the central seats 9 to 19 having extra legroom - but even the ends of the row will be adequate for the shorter legged - provided they don't mind sharing seats 6 and 21 with a light fitting off to one side ahead of them.

One person felt his seat in row A, "was extremely uncomfortable!"

A reader remarks of "Equus" (March 2007),
"My seat, E15 was only four rows from the front and right in the centre. It was excellent with above average legroom. Some people have commented that they couldn't always hear Richard Griffiths but I certainly had no problems where I sat and Daniel Radcliffe comes across loud and clear."

Moving back, the rake begins noticeably at row K, and the monkey liked L too. It would pick L or K 8 to 19 first, then M or J (be aware it is lower than H in front - which helps the viewing angle but not the shortest) or back to Q in that order, then H and G or R to S at top price, or even perhaps saving a few pounds and picking U over these rows at second price. After that, if of average height (over around 5ft 5) it would choose F to D.

Rows U to W are further back and the rake is rather good there. At second price go for U 8 to 19 first, but the monkey feels itself comfy in any of these rows at lower prices - taking seats 8 to 19 first, for most central views. Remember too, though, that the central Upper Circle is also available for the same prices as V and W, so those who prefer not to lose a little of the stage to an overhang, and who don't need the extra legroom of the stalls / are not worried by heights will probably also enjoy well-chosen central upstairs seats as much in the monkey view... even saving a few pounds more by taking central row D up there...

Reader Jos says,
"The seats (row W off centre) afforded a pretty good view of the stage...Oh and theatre monkey were spot on in their review of the seating and the theatre!"

Those who are shorter may feel rows C to F worth taking after the rear rows, as the rake isn't significant and with someone taller than around 5ft 10 in front the view to the stage may be less than optimal, the monkey felt on first viewing - though it welcomes comments on this and strongly advises personal preference based on previous experiences is taken into account too.

Legroom is adequate for all but the tallest (over 6ft or so) in all seats - and there is space to tuck legs under the seats in front. A reader over 6ft tall indeed found row J cramped. The very tall should enjoy E24, G24 and N1 which have nothing in front of them; and E4 and G2 which have space for at least one leg to stretch into.

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Stalls Boxes
A and C at the sides of the theatre offer a restricted view eliminating the sides of the stage. At top price they are poor value, second price not much better, but at a discount they may worth considering to obtain better than average legroom. Each box seats 3 people.

DRESS CIRCLE 
Seats are in a single block in the centre of the circle, with two short rows of "slips" in the space between the Dress Circle and stage boxes at the sides of the theatre. Entrance doors are beside rows B and J.

The Upper Circle overhangs the Dress Circle at row C. This does not affect the view from any seat, though claustrophobics may find H and J a little less comfortable.

Oddly, the front of the circle feels almost at stage height, with the closest slip seats in row A almost within touching distance of the stage. The rake is also comparatively shallow by West End standards, feels the monkey.

In the central block, rows B to D 13 to 23 are prime viewing, then the ends of these rows or the centres of either A or E according to taste for leg-space - a little less in A. The theatre are keen on the seats in the Dress Circle, and the monkey agrees.

With the whole rear central Dress Circle at top price, the monkey would think twice about J for legroom, but for view the value is at least fair it opines.

At the extreme corners of the central block, a few seats are reduced in rows A to C for having a slightly side view. The monkey rather likes those at the ends of B as they combine a discount with a little extra legroom...

Wheelchair users can choose from B 5 or 30, as both seats are replaceable with a chair place. Indeed, B31 can also be substituted too if need be... the monkey would take B30 first. B5 is on the same side of the theatre as the adapted toilet facility. See notes.

Row A seats 3 to 6 and 30 to 33, and B 3, 4, 31 and 32 are at the sides of the circle. The combination of poor legroom and needing to lean forward for a view says no the seats in row A, though seats 3 and 33 are within touching distance of the stage and the view is good without needing to lean forward too far. Trouble is, for anyone taller than around 4ft 5 or so, there is almost no legroom at all in those seats. Behind, B 4 and 31 have a little legroom, but over a third of the stage isn't visible - skip them unless there isn't another seat except row AA Upper Circle available (legroom there is tighter) and you REALLY, REALLY need to see about two-thirds of the show.

Legroom is tolerable in all seats for all under around 5ft 10 inches, except in row A where it is tight, and the centre of row J, where the 5ft 7 monkey was only just comfortable. It is best in row B seats 5 and 30 with almost nothing in front, as well as B 4 and 31 which have a little space for one leg thanks to the curve of the venue and seat position.

Dress Circle Boxes
B and D are at the sides of the theatre, and offer an adequate viewing angle with only a little of the stage obscured. Worth considering at third price to obtain some legroom. Expensive above that, perhaps. Each box seats 3 people.

At the back of the Dress Circle are boxes E, F and G. Originally intended to be partitioned into three, instead they are combined into a single plush "Royal Albert Hall" style box-space at the back of the Dress Circle, behind (and looking slightly down on) row J of the Dress Circle.

Fixed theatre seats are arranged in two rows. The front row has six centre seats, a gap, then four more seats either side of the central six. Behind the six central seats are another row of four seats raised up on a plinth. Fixed pillars lie at the front of the box area, between the three blocks of seats. They don't affect the sightlines in any way whatsoever, but enhance the exclusive "private room looking out into the theatre" atmosphere wonderfully.

Though the very top of the stage isn't visible (and the monkey suspects, but can't test the theory that if the stage extends forwards those seated here may not quite see the front of it), the result is an interesting and exclusive viewing position. Indeed, the monkey hereby puts a bid in for use, come its next birthday celebration...

Legroom is adequate here for all but the tallest in the front row, but is very tight for those over 5ft 6 or so in the row behind.

PLEASE NOTE: For copyright reasons, information and graphics on this page should not be directly copied and reproduced on other websites / noticeboards. Hyperlinks to this page are, of course, welcomed. 

UPPER CIRCLE
Called the GRAND CIRCLE in this theatre.

A quirk of architecture splits the circle into front and rear sections, with a low wall in front of row F marking the change. The front block drops quite sharply downwards in front of it, while the rear block is shallower, but feels very high and far from the stage. The circle itself curves tightly round, causing most off-centre seats to lose a crescent shaped sliver of the front corner of the stage.

A bar runs across the front of the circle, which could affect the view in row A for the shortest - and could also bother the shortest people in the row behind too. It is double height at the aisles, which does mean those in the rear circle at the far ends have it in line.

A reader reports,
"Fair to say there is a rail at front of Grand Circle though doesn't obscure view even in front row where we sat."

A further safety rail exists at the ends of row D, meaning E 2 and 28 have it beside them. Not particularly in vision, the monkey felt, but worth knowing about if you are particularly picky.

The rear section rows F to J are split into two blocks by a central aisle containing an ornate gold rail. This doesn't affect the view from any seat.

The front section is now equipped with high-backed seats (identical to those in the Novello Theatre Upper Circle) providing both comfort and extra legroom thanks to good design and installation. These five long rows wrap around without an aisle, and only the first and last two seats in all rows really have noticeable restricted views as the curve of the circle and box intrusions cut a fifteenth or so of the stage off. In fact, the next two seats in from the "restricted view" ones may even be raised from "restricted view" status at some point, if a canny producer realises the potential... as they now have in row A. The theatre feel that the further back you go in the circle, the less the restrictions are noticeable.

A reader agrees, saying,
""Seat D5. Grand Circle. Restricted view. The restriction is felt. It is not negligible. The lady in front of me (C4) kept leaning forward ALL THE TIME. It was just too bad. I had to move my head around. Actually, I have been around a bunch of leaning people. At one point, they even stood!!! Leg room is just about acceptable. Considering the price, I probably go along with the Monkey’s assessment of this seat."

Bad manners never help, feels the monkey.

Another customer feels the same about those seats,
"Went to 'God of Carnage' and sat at D5 / D6 as suggested by this site for the price of £15 each (preview prices). The seats are OK for the price but it is restrictive view indeed. In 'God of Carnage' I would say more than the 1/15 of the stage you mention is lost, more like 1/6 of the actual performance stage. I believe that sitting at the other extreme of the grand circle would have been better since there was less going on in the left corner of the stage than in the right corner we lost due to the restrictive view. So, better to take the other end of the row seats than 5 and 6.

We were lucky enough not to have anyone in the row in front for the first part, but then two latecomers joined and blocked our view, especially since these people kept on changing position in their seats and leaning forward and annoying everyone who had already settled down. We moved up and again were able to get empty seats in front (the ones we left). Personally I would not have wanted to pay the higher prices for a more central view but we were lucky there was some margin for keeping empty seats in front, otherwise the restrictive view would have really been annoying, at least in this show, which has only four people on stage. It is not the part that is really cut from your view (which may be behind the the restrictive view classification), but that fact that if the rows in front are full, your view is really reduced. So my advice for this price range and this show would be to try and go in a less popular day so that there are free seats close to you and you can somehow ad! just your position.

The view is cut but 1/6 you never see what goes on to the right of the couch on stage and if the rows in front are full you have serious viewing problems. Not sure if the same applied to the adjacent seats in the more expensive price range, but if it does, this is a serious rip-off. So if other people's heads are going hinder the view, better go for a discounted price."

Anyway, prime seats in this section are row C 12 to 18 and D and E 11 to 19 in the monkey view.  For "God of Carnage" (March 2008) row D is cheaper too - grab it, says the monkey. Then take the next two seats beside these, then either take central E, or, if you don't mind paying a bit more, central row B, or consider row A if legroom isn't a factor - otherwise stick with D or E a bit further along within the price band.

Of restricted view seats, for comfort take those closest to the centre first, rows D, E, C, B, A in that order, and then repeat for the seats nearest the aisles. For view G (or F if you can stand the legroom) then H and J are better than A to E, many feel. Note that these restricted view seats are the same price all the way back to J, but much more comfortable in the front section of seating.

The monkey would pick discounted front section seats over those behind first without hesitation for comfort - and the view isn't bad either, all things considered.

A reader reports,
"For 'Macbeth' (September 2007). Unfortunately we booked quite late so we didn't have much choice but found seats C 8 and 9 - which AREN'T in the restricted view area and wouldn't seem TOO far along from the seats which ought to be the best. So I thought these might be OK. I'm pretty used to sitting 'in the gods' so I don't expect an 'amazing view' but I thought these seats were some of the worst I've ever had, I think, principally because the curve of this circle seems quite exaggerated? I don't know, I've sat much higher up in other theatres and enjoyed a much better view.

From my calculations, C 8 and 9 are 4 or 5 along from the restricted view seats but they really don't warrant the £37.50 price. A good quarter of the near corner of the stage was obscured but when folk in row A lean forward (as they mostly do, because of the bar) this rises to about half the stage, even if you lean forward yourself. Effectively, we were only able to see the left-hand triangle as it were. Added to this, I think the leg-room and seat angle were pretty poor up here - it wasn't just us shuffling about. After the interval, we were able to move to C16-17, which hadn't been available at booking. All the stage was viewable from here, though leg-room is unchanged. Be aware that if you get someone with a big head in front of you in these rows of the upper circle, the rake isn't steep enough for you to see over them - and we're quite tall! I think, on balance, C16 and 17 were reasonable value for this price range but in future I wouldn't consider any seats beyond 12 and would, in preference go for a higher row."

The monkey would welcome further comment on this from other readers. It felt (having had another long look) that the restriction in fact feels greater than it actually is: while it seems like huge lumps of circle are cutting off the whole view, it felt the circle lines up pretty well with the very front of the stage, and you don't actually lose much of the playing area itself.

Moving back to the rear section, the low wall in front of row F is only noticeable for the effect on legroom - it doesn't affect sightlines.

If the row F back section are the only tickets left: take seats as close as possible to the central aisle for both view and comfort, taking the most central seats available. Consider G or H first, then J - whichever has the more central tickets left, then the next closest to the aisle in either row after that. Leave F unless you can get an aisle seat and don't mind sitting slightly sideways in it, in the monkey opinion.

Reader Marcus Chaplin comments:
"We had seats G25 and 26 in the Upper Circle. These were excellent value as they are sold as restricted view tickets but for "Equus" (in 2007) the area of the stage you can't see is very rarely used, it all focuses on the centre of the stage. Good seats if you're on a budget."

Another reader says,
"Sat in F7. At first I thought, woah I'm high (and the lady next to me was scared of the height). But once the play started the distance between myself and the players didn't matter. I could hear and see everything. If you're in this section, it is best to be nearer the middle if possible. I thoroughly enjoyed the play and the seat was fine."

Of the restricted view seats in this section, take seats 3 and 23 then 4 and 24 over the others, remembering to take row F last. The row H and J restricted view seats are the same price as those further forward, though, so take them after rows A to E but before F if legroom is an issue.

At the very front edges of the circle are six seats either side of the central block. Designated row AA, these are last pick of all, as you need to lean forward to see more than two-thirds of the stage. Take 5 to 8 first if you absolutely must, but be aware you get what you pay for... or even a bit less...

Legroom is likely to be acceptably OK for those under 5ft 10 or so in rows B to E - even moving towards comfortable for the 5ft 6 or so brigade, and for those under 5ft 4 or so in row A and AA, thanks to new seating. It is cramped in all seats from row F to J (and row F is the worst of these four rows), with the low wall using up some handy toe-space. On the other hand, without it, the theatre might collapse, so on balance, the monkey guesses it has to stay...

PLEASE NOTE: For copyright reasons, information and graphics on this page should not be directly copied and reproduced on other websites / noticeboards. Hyperlinks to this page are, of course, welcomed. 

Notes
Total 965 seats.

Air-cooled auditorium. Not as effective as proper air conditioning, so be prepared for a hot and uncomfortable time in the height of summer, alas. To minimise the effects, seating in the front stalls is normally coolest as heat rises - and is also trapped in Circle overhangs. Just a bit of advice from someone in the theatre industry who has a grasp of physics...

Infrared headsets available working best in the front of each part of the auditorium (not good from Stalls row K back, though). Guide dog sitter available. Wheelchairs can replace seats B 5 and 30 in the Dress Circle. Access is via a fire exit and 12-cm step. Adapted toilet in foyer near the bar on the B5 side. Specific information from the theatre group dedicated phoneline on 0870 011 7574, www.delfont-mackintosh.com or Artsline 020 7388 2227 email artsline@dircon.co.uk.

No food except Ice-cream and confectionery. "Picnic boxes" can often be arranged for couples in the bar at the interval. Details from the theatre Hospitality Department on 0870 950 0950.

Three bars, Foyer, Stalls and Dress Circle. Reader Barfly noted that the Stalls one is, "nicely tucked away, meaning that it wasn't too crowded."

A VIP room leading off from a corridor behind the Dress Circle is available for hire.

8 toilets in all; Stalls 1 gents 1 cubicle, 2 ladies 6 cubicles, 4 cubicles; Dress Circle 1 gents 3 cubicles, 1 ladies 4 cubicles; Upper Circle 1 gents 2 cubicles, 2 ladies 2 cubicles each.

Reader Sam notes in November 2005 that:
"As a female I wanted to let others know that the toilets are just outside the stalls and not once (in the three times I used it) did I have to wait on line. That was the best part of the show!"

A reader says of upstairs facilities,
"The ladies' loos in the Upper Circle are more cramped (if that's possible!) than the seating - literally no room to turn round - or to let people in and out!"

One reader notes that latecomers may have to watch part of the performance on a TV in the foyer. He found this rather a noisy location, alas, and wishes to warn others of the potential problem.

PLEASE NOTE: For copyright reasons, information and graphics on this page should not be directly copied and reproduced on other websites / noticeboards. Hyperlinks to this page are, of course, welcomed. 

Plan your tube journey to this station using the button below:

The escalator from the platforms ends in a large circular underground area. 

After leaving the barriers, turn to your left, and follow the curve of the barriers around until you see an exit to your right with the sign "Subway 4" over it. Walk under this sign.

Walk through this tunnel and take the first staircase to your right, marked "Shaftesbury Avenue", take the stairs up to the street.

At the top of the stairs, take a very sharp "U Turn" through 180 degrees to your left. Look forwards and upwards for the huge "Sanyo" sign. Walk forwards towards it.

The busy road to your left is Shaftesbury Avenue. If you see the Prince of Wales Theatre, and Trocadero centre, wrong way.

For the Gielgud Theatre cross the road and turn to your right, walk under the covered area where the cash ATM's and street artists are. Walk straight on, crossing Denman Street, Great Windmill Street, Archer Street and Wardour Street and past the Lyric and Apollo Theatres. The Gielgud is the next one beyond these.

Denman Street. Turn to your left as you leave the car park. If you see the Piccadilly Theatre, wrong way. Walk to the end of the street and turn left. Walk straight on, crossing Great Windmill Street, Archer Street and Wardour Street and past the Lyric and Apollo Theatres. The Gielgud is the next one beyond these.

PLEASE NOTE: For copyright reasons, information and graphics on this page should not be directly copied and reproduced on other websites / noticeboards. Hyperlinks to this page are, of course, welcomed.