Garrick Theatre

“AA5 to 8: “Zorro” (closed March 2009). I booked front row seats, when extra row were available for £37. I was a bit apprehensive as people have said about the stage being high. The stage is high and people prone to neck ache, I suppose, will get it. I am only 5ft and I did have to look up, but I loved it - well worth the money. I would sit here again but will not pay full price. It did not bother me in the slightest. Sitting in the front row you are on the edge of your seat. A great experience."

"AA9 Front row of stalls - masses of legroom and very good view of stage - described as high stage but I was not bothered - worth paying for a good view for this particular play as so much fast action happens on the stage especially in the second scene."

"AA9 and 10: "The Drifters Girl" (November 2021). For some reason the stage is about a foot higher than usual and has also been extended outwards over a foot making viewing from the front row poor for 'The Drifters Girl.' When the cast are centre stage you may only see them from the upper thigh upwards and at the back of the stage, head and shoulders only. This is why they are the cheapest seats in the theatre for this show."

"AA11 and 12 with row AA as the front row: "Chicago" (November 2011). On 8th February 2012 - £30 each - These seats were brought as part of the 'Get Into London Theatre' offer and came with a workshop. These seats were amazing and I cannot fault them, even got chucked one of the roses at the end :D"

"AA12: "Romeo and Juliet" (May 2016) – Loads of legroom here as it the end seat of the front row so nothing in front or to the left side. You have to look up a bit as the stage is quite high and you can’t see people if they’re lying down on the stage which does happen at times! However if you like to be close to the action, this is really good seat as you’re the very front row and have a great close up view!"

“Row BB: “A Little Night Music” (April 2009). We always like to sit front row so booked row BB, appreciating that sometimes stages can be high. My daughter and I sat down (we are 5ft 1inch tall) and all I will say is that we could not see anything: no stage, no scenery except the very top where the scenery finished. It was as if somebody had turned off the light!! My Husband, who is 6ft, could see the last little bit of the scenery at the top. As it was impossible to stay there, we went to the box office and they exchanged them after a slight disagreement - so obviously nobody has told them there is NO view and that you would only hear the music. Nobody sat in the row. As they have extended the stage, why has nobody sat there and realized and taken out row BB? It's the first time we were all actually speechless!!!!. (second visit) They had completely removed row BB. Behind it, row A was fine for us (but then we are front rowers); at one small point when they laid flat on the floor you couldn't see them, but that didn't bother us. We had a great night and are booking same seats again before it finishes."

“Row BB (when second row) (Bas). The pitch was fine. You had to look up but were close to the action - recommended!" 

"BB1 and BB2: (John Lafferty). My view was unobstructed and there was plenty of leg room for seats in the stalls."

"Row BB: "Scottsboro Boys" (October 2014). Day seats (£20, front row). The stage is very high but I don't think I missed out on much but did have a stiff neck by the end."

"BB 5: "Young Frankenstein" (October 2017), (Glen Morranjie). An excellent view - I think AA stalls went to people who bought day-seats online, but the stage is very high."

"BB6 and 7: "Scottsboro Boys" (October 2014). Day seats (£20, front row). The stage is extremely high. So high, if I stand up in my front row seat (I'm 6ft) I can just about see the back of the stage. The box office didn't advertise these seats as restricted view but they really should. There is tap dancing footwork, the full depth of the stage is used, and the floor. You miss these things. I think the seats are worth £15 maximum.  Having said that, the (normal) cheapest seats are £25. So they are the cheapest seats in the house. Also, the acoustics are wonderful and you can really appreciate the fab singing! Also, the things you miss because of the restricted view aren't very important in this show. But in my opinion, especially since the performances are so broad and exaggerated, it's worth paying an extra £5 for an upper circle ticket. I imagine your view is restricted in a much friendlier way. To be honest, the theatre seems so badly designed I'm not sure any stalls seat would be worth paying for!"

"BB8: "When We Are Married" (November 2010), (Taljaard). For £20 as a 'day seat' in the middle of the second row was perfect, with the low stage there."

"BB10: "When We Are Married" (November 2010). Was perfect.”

"A8 and 9: “Chicago” (May 2012), (Chris B). This is actually the third row back for Chicago. Excellent legroom and an amazing view, you certainly feel part of the show and fully immersed in the action. You don’t feel too close either and it does feel quite intimate."

"Row B: "The Crown Jewels" (July 2023). Sat in centre of stalls row B. Felt very tight but excellent views (and chance to get picked on by Mr Murray)."

"B2 and 3: The Garrick is an amazingly intimate theatre and these seats felt truly part of the action. There was a family seated in row AA, but the children couldn't even see the stage so they were luckily moved to row BB, which seemed to be OK." 

"B14: Enjoy being on the aisle, you don't miss anything and it's a great view."

"C 7 and 8: "Rock of Ages" (2013), (Russell). Excellent for this show. Slightly looking up at the stage, but really felt part of the show. Possibly not good for a play, but as this is more of a rock concert, the closer the better. One row in front of premium so paid £65 each, as opposed to £95 one row back."

"C7 and 8: "The Hurley Burly Show" (March 2011), (Michael). Worse for leg room than charter airlines. View of the stage was fine, just cramped. The short run time of this show helped in the comfort factor. As rows here can be removed and easily replaced, it seemed that may have been an error replacing them as row B had much more leg room than C. Bear this in mind when choosing either B or C."

“C9 to C12: “Zorro” (March 2009). I felt a little too close to the stage as I think you miss some things because you can’t see the entire stage without turning your head. Also, I had to look up quite a bit as there’s a high stage. However, I did get the tickets for £30 via TKTS and at this price they were very fair."

"C11: "Great Expectations" (May 2023), (Taljaard). Sat in C11 in the stalls, great view."

"C15, 16 and 17: "Arturo Brachetti's Quick Change" (November 2009). Seats were good, but for this show I would recommend sitting a bit further back because we could sometimes see under his skirt and see part of the other costumes underneath, which spoils the magic a bit."

"D1: "Red Velvet" (February 2016), (Josepha Murray).  I was moved to D1 in the stalls when I commented to a kind ticket office man that my seat in the Grand Circle for 'Harlequinade' had blocked the front half on left of stage. D1 in stalls has no seat in front so very good legroom and very good view. I could see all stage. The only drawback is that its position by entrance door makes it cold and puts one in the ice cream queue. Still one can put on a coat. This seat was amazing compared to my earlier experience in Grand Circle."

"D5 and D6: "Horrible Histories" (March 2012), (Brent). The seats were fairly close to the front and my eyes were level with the stage so I was looking up at the actors. I thought they were decent seats although a little hard to judge as the audience in front of me were mainly children so my view was clear in any case. Leg room was fine for my 5 foot 7 height." 

"D7 and D8: (Michael). We were pleasantly surprised that this row was "offset", whereas all the rows AA to C were placed seat behind seat. This gave us a view between bodies/heads and feel that D6 to D13 could be GREEN as your row behind is. From our row, there was a real feeling that the performers were right on top of you when at the front of the stage, a nice touch in this theatre."

"D 11 and 12: "Harlequinade" (November 2015). Perfectly alright."

"Row E: I paid more for a better seat in the Stalls and was glad that I did. A final tip is that the stage is very high, rows D and forwards are below the action and people with these tickets have to look up all the time. Row E was excellent."

“E1: “Bonnie & Clyde” (February 2023), (Broadway John). There is a ton of legroom. You are on the aisle and no seat in front of you. It's a side view but you can see most of the stage. There were a few moments when Bonnie or her mother were at their house and you couldn't see them, but not a huge deal considering the discount. There is house lighting that stays on the entire show that does slightly dampen the atmosphere and was disturbed several times by late comers entering the theatre by my seat. I have sat here before and would probably do it again. Also, super close to the men's room and the exit.”

"E1: "The Drifters Girl" (November 2021). Seat was comfortable and had unlimited leg room. It does face a wall, but you can look to the left and see most of the stage. You do miss some moments on the side of stage closest to you, especially in the back. Nothing major and for this show it didn't matter to me.”

"E3 and 4: "Young Frankenstein" (October 2017). Sat for a preview of the quite (and surprisingly) excellent Young Frankenstein, and were impressed by these seats. More legroom than many West End venues, and even though the seats were only two in from the aisle, had a good 95% unrestricted view of the entire stage (some action on the very right edge may have been obscured). The rake was not extreme and perhaps had a Frenkensteinesque gentleman sat in front of us, this may have been an issue, but we were lucky on that front. All in all, we paid £68 for tickets, and think they represented fair value."

"E6 and E7: When walking to the Stalls bar which is situated at the rear of the seating area we happened to look back at the stage and realised exactly what other readers have commented on regarding the rear most rows of seats. You would miss quite a bit of action if it happened on a high level above the stage. Our seats were excellent, perfect distance from the stage and enough legroom for a large lanky oaf like me."

E8: One reader felt this seat was excellent. 

"E9 to 12: Excellent seats - dead central and a full view of the stage."

"E11: Got student ticket 45 minutes before for £20. E11 is a FAB seat! If you are gonna be paying full price for a ticket definitely go for something around this area of the theatre."

"F4, 5 and 6: I was sitting in F6 which had a really good view. Although I can see from the plan that for the production I saw it was a "premium" seat, I wouldn't pay more than I would for any of the surrounding seats. F4 and 5 were also good according to my friends. Even this far forward in the theatre, the rake isn’t disrupted at all. Legroom was also very good."

"F6 and 7: "Young Frankenstein" (October 2017), (Blindman). Were comfortable and had a great view. These are non premium cost for this performance with F8 being premium. Good choice at this cost."

"F 12 to 14: "The Miser" (March 2017). Was treated to premium seats (boo to premium seats!), Stalls F12-14. Just about acceptable legroom. No rake means there’s a bit of head dodging but it’s good to be close to the action in this show. The front row looked like a fun place to be for this play – no spoilers – I’d recommend giving that a shot!"

"F22 and 23: "The Drifters Girl" (October 2021). Although these seats are sold as "side view" I would class them as "restricted". Not only does the side of the theatre block roughly 40% of the left side of the stage, there is also a large speaker hanging there too which are very distracting and greatly affect the view. F23 has nothing in front so good for stretching the legs but was also particularly uncomfortable on the seat!"

"F22 and 23: "Young Frankenstein" (October 2017), (Bob Pickett). Nice sightline (you're to the side, but not craning the neck and you lose the tiniest sliver of stage). Good legroom, especially in F23, and very importantly you're in front of the pillars."

"G 1 to 4: "Scottsboro Boys" (November 2014). Have to commend. The pillar isn’t an issue and although you miss the merest smidgeon of action from the very end seat, the leg room is a revelation. People could pass down the row without us having to get up. Hard to tell whether the generous leg room extended throughout the row but it certainly didn’t appear a squash."

“G14 to G16: "Zorro" (July 2008), (James – regular reader). I certainly wouldn’t want to be any further forward and even G16 was beginning to affect the viewing angle. It’s definitely a show that you need to be as central as possible for but if you are on a side it’s probably best to be in the higher numbers due to where the action takes place on stage. From H11 and 12: Staggered seats and a good rake meant that the view was excellent. For this show I’d probably sit a row or two further back just to see the whole stage without turning from side to side but that’s just personal preference."

"Row H: "Young Frankenstein" (October 2017), (Taljaard). Had seats in the gallery but we were upgraded to row H of the stalls. Sound was very good."

"J20 and 21: "All the Fun of the Fair," (May 2010), (Frances). What excellent seats they were, and should definitely be green on Theatremonkey's seating plan. I was lucky enough to get my tickets on offer - £55.00 down to £27.00. The theatre was very comfortable as it was half empty; from my seat (J21) the next 10 seats were empty, so I had room to spread - and rows M backwards were completely empty and no one sat in front of us. Seats from M backwards were really not worth paying top price for as you can't see the back of the set or the top, and quite a few parts of the story are at the back of the set."

"K7: "The Scottsboro Boys" (November 2015) (Mary). The view was fine with the entire set visible. At 5'5" (165cm) I was comfortable."

"K12 and 13: "The Scottsboro Boys" (November 2014). Excellent seats - I normally prefer to be in the circle but I was very pleased with these seats which were central and not too near the front. The rake is quite good so my partner (who is 6'4") didn't feel too uncomfortable about people behind him."

"L5: "The Painkiller" (March 2016). Can thoroughly recommend this seat, an excellent view of the action, nobody sat behind to complain about their view being blocked, and even had space between my knees and the back of the seat in front! This in itself was a minor miracle based on recent experience. If ever I find myself back at the Garrick I would try and sit here again."

"L5 and 6: "The Last Five Years" (September 2021) (Bob Pickett). Good distance from the stage; close enough to pick up on every expression, far enough back to be on a nice elevation.  Rake is decent, but for some inexplicable reason (squeeze in another couple of seats perhaps?) seat staggering ends a few rows forward of here.  For this production (The Last Five Years) it didn't have much of an effect, but if sat behind a taller person it could be irritating. Legroom was decent, but I did fidget towards the end of each half."

"Row L: "City of Angels" (March 2020). I was row L in the stalls - decent position. However, I think this might be a show where the overhang of the dress will be significant because a lot of action takes place on a raised gantry."

“L13: (James). Great seat but worth noting that from row J backwards to row N the seating is bizarrely not staggered - so you will have someone's head directly in front of yours. Would definitely agree about needing to see the top of the stage if using its height."

"M9: Seat was very good."

“Row N: (Steve Chalmers). Good view.”

"N6: "The Scottsboro Boys" (November 2015). Great for legroom as aisle runs in front. Fair view of the stage from here as well. Watch your feet, drinks and bags as it’s a bit of a thoroughfare."

"N16 and 17, good seats, plenty of leg room, but the bloke in front was built like a, well shall we say he was a big lad. I spent the entire performance pressed up against the pillar, which to be honest was not uncomfortable."

"N18: "Harlequinade" (October 2015). It's a bit over to the side but no problem with heads in the way. I'd choose that seat again."

"N18 and 19: Good view, acres of legroom, but watch the toes with passers by."

“N20: Just the top corner of the view is cut off by the balcony. This is often irrelevant for a play, and - with no row in front - the extra leg room more than made up for this. So though this is a red seat on the monkey chart, I think I had my money's worth with a heavily reduced ticket."

“N22 and 23: “Bonnie and Clyde” (March 2023), (Bob Pickett). These seats are off to the side.  A big benefit is legroom, with nothing in front you can stretch out.  They are also comfortable and angled toward the stage so no neck craning. The trade-off is losing part of the left side of the stage behind a pillar (a few rows in front).  N22 gives a slightly better view (the pillar cuts off the side edge, N23 does let you peer round the pillar.  
Most of the time it's not much of an issue, though at Bonnie & Clyde when they were packing to leave N23 had no view, N22 very limited... and when Bonnie and Blanche were on stage together, Blanche's position on stage meant in N23 she disappeared completely, leaving it looking like Bonnie was reciting a monologue!”

"N22 and 23: "Young Frankenstein" (November 2017).  We sat in our favourite seats in the Garrick, Stalls N22 and 23 which give you loads of legroom and a decent view for a decent price (£38). There is one slight restriction on the view as there is a pillar which prevents you seeing right into the left hand corner, but you don't miss that much, as most of the action is mid stage."

"N 22 and 23: "The Miser" (March 2017). Gave a reasonable view, although you do miss some of Lee Mack on the harpsichord as he's tucked off to the side. Thankfully not with cramped legs as N22 and 23 give you the ability to stretch out."

"O10 to 13: (Clive). The seats were comfortable, the view fine but the rake is quite poor. While we had no problems shorter patrons with the wrong people in front could have an impeded view."

"P10 and 11: "Don Quixote" (November 2018). They were nice and central and, although we were under the circle overhang, we only lost the very top of the largest piece of scenery (didn't miss any of the action). My only complaint was that the singing sounded a bit thin from back there, but it's hard to know if that was down to the acoustics or the vocals themselves (it was particularly noticeable in chorus numbers)."

"P19 and 20: "Potted Potter" (August 2011), (Clive). These seats felt a little remote from the stage. However despite this and being to one side there was a good view of all the stage and the legroom was also good. It was however impossible to see when one of the performers drew something and when in a card trick a card was held up for everyone to see. These really didn’t interfere with the enjoyment of the show however."

“Q5 and Q6: “A Little Night Music” (April 2009), (James – regular reader). The view was good but they felt a little far from the stage for top price. For this show the overhang doesn’t cause a problem, but I can see it doing so for other shows. Legroom is also not great here." 

"Q17: "A Little Night Music" (March 2009). Since the actions of this show were mainly at the stage level and the set was designed accordingly, I am happy to report that the view from my seat that is considered at the back section of stalls was not obstructed by the Dress Circle hanging at all."

“R1 and 2: "Lance Horne: First Things Last" (February 2011, (Clive). A good view except for the very near side of the stage which was not visible. Elbow room was tight, leg room poor and there was no rake."

"R10: "City of Angels" (March 2020). There is a gallery across the back of the stage (around 2.6m above a slightly raked stage), and quite a lot of action takes place on it. I sat in seat R10, and the actors' heads were visible (except two brief points when one climbs higher). However, from the centre of row T back and row O back in the side blocks, the actors' heads will be obstructed by the circle front. The band is behind the gallery and plays as the audience leaves, so I was able to test the view from several seats.
Row R is offset from the row in front, but the offset is unequal, which means that you get a better view of the right of the stage than the left between the heads of the audience in front. I bought the ticket through TodayTix for £25, which I think was good value, but it would be poor value at the face price of £65."

"R12 and 13: "The Winter's Tale" (October 2015). Our section was not staggered, so we had heads immediately in front of us blocking our view. I think this may have been exacerbated by the fact our seats were almost dead centre of our row. I imagine if you are sitting nearer the end of the row you could look at an angle between the heads in the rows in front. The fact that the raking in those rows is minimal obviously doesn't help. Neither of us could see more than small patches of the stage. We could just see a little bit of what was happening on the left, or a little bit on the right. I was sitting behind a woman about my height and she blocked my view. And my friends who is tall was sitting behind a woman no taller than her who blocked her view. At the end of the first act the people in front of us, the people next to them, the people behind me and the two of us all apologised to the people behind as we were aware we moving our heads to the left and right so much because we were all having so much trouble seeing. The main problem was that in that section the seats are parallel, that is they are immediately behind each other. Had they been staggered we would have been able to see the stage through the gap between people's heads. It was so bad that the woman in front of my friend didn't return for the second act, which at least made it better for my friend - though not really for me. Also, it was unusually hot where we were sitting which added to the discomfort."

"R14 and 15: "When We Are Married" (December 2010), (Graham). Fine - although the rake is non-existent. Would have liked to have been slightly closer, but was OK."

"Row S: Unfortunately the view is not quite so good from back here as the dress circle roof cuts off the top of the stage ,so you miss a bit of the action. I'd say pay a little bit more and go for row L or forward."

"S7 to 10: "HIT ME! The Life And Rhymes Of Ian Dury”, (Clive). Perfect view of the performers and all of the set, however the view of the screen used infrequently for film images was obscured at the top by the overhang of the Dress Circle. Seats were comfortable and legroom adequate. The spoken (but not sung) words were sometimes difficult to make out. The lack of amplification by itself would not have been so much of a problem, but for an exceptionally noisy audience, very creaky seats and noise from the sound booth behind."

"S11 and 12: "Pygmalion" (May 2011). Supposedly this is a full price seat, but the circle overhang means that the top of the stage is obstructed - but that wasn't the problem. The seats aren't fully staggered to 50/50 to see through the row in front. I had a woman with very big hair in front of me, and in front of her a man with a very big head. Subsequently during the first half I could only see the right third of the stage, if often felt that some of the actors were a monologue, or that I was listening to a radio drama. During the interval the man swapped with his partner (I didn't ask, so wonder if there had been other comments). I was now able to see the left hand third of the stage. I was never able to see anything in the centre of the stage which meant I didn't get to see Eliza (Kara Tointon) until about 3 scenes in. Check if Marge Simpson is in town before booking here, feels the monkey...”

"S19 and 20: "City of Angels" (March 2020). I and a friend were sat in Stalls S19 and 20 and paid £20 each, though the ticket was £35 originally. I liked the position of the seats as they were a pair off to the side and you had space to put your stuff beside you. The seats were slightly offset so you could lean and get a pretty good view of the stage. It doesn’t feel far away, however because of the severe circle overhang it cuts off anything happening on the second storey set. It wasn’t too bad for City of Angels but if I had paid full price I would have been miffed, as some of the action/singing is on a split level. I bought similar seats for Noises Off for £15 at the same theatre and that was very annoying as a LOT obviously happens on the second storey.
I don’t think producers should use the Garrick Theatre for split level sets; it just doesn’t work for half of the stalls."

"T 1 and 2: "The Painkiller" (March 2016). I hadn't checked Theatremonkey's diagram beforehand... in Stalls seats T1 and T2 you couldn't see the whole stage (some of the action on the right of the stage) even though they told me when I was buying these at £50 each that they were good ones! Perhaps I'm being a bit precious, but I wasn't that impressed! Theatremonkey is right in these seats not being great value."

"U6: "This House" (November 2016). Dreadful, not sure quite how they can even sell these seats with how bad they are. Luckily I was able to move due to a quiet house."

"Row V: ”Zorro” (2008). I thoroughly enjoyed the show... from the knees down! Why? Because the clever designers have maximised the limited stage space by building vertically. If, like me, you are in Row V (or in fact any stalls seat from N back); you will spend happy minutes during the show trying to work out whose knees belong to which character... and when the rest of the auditorium gasps, you will just be sighing with relief when actors make it into view!"

“V3, 4, 5 and 6: "Zorro" (July 2008). We could only see about a third of the stage. The overhang blocked all the action taking place at the top of the stage. The pillar to the side of our seats also blocked our view of the actors to the left of the stage (audience left). We were lucky enough to move to better seats in the Dress Circle during the interval but I was bitterly disappointed in the quality of the seats in Row V. They are definitely restricted view."

"V8: "The Painkiller" (March 2016), (Taljaard). Quite distant from the stage with the top half cut off by the Dress Circle overhang. Ok view but if you were under 5'6" you would struggle as the rake is not very steep, the rows are not staggered either. Heard everything perfectly."

"X6: "The Painkiller" (March 2016). Reduced to £15 due to pillar imposition. Fair value, but I felt pretty far removed, and the pillars were more intrusive here than at other venues, like The Old Vic or Almeida."

"W13: "Orlando" (November 2022), (Taljaard). Felt a bit far from the stage. We were lucky as the people sitting in the few rows in front were not very tall and the rake of the seating was not good. The play is 90 minutes without an interval and the seat itself was very uncomfortable. The seat padding needs attention!"

"X12, 13, 14: "Death Drop" (June 2021) I only got cheap seats - back row of the stalls, X12,13,14.  I had - obviously - read your reviews and was aware of the overhang and hoped that for this show it wasn't going to be too much of an issue.  The gamble paid off in this instance but I would be very wary of booking seats here if I had any inkling that there was a mezzanine level or any action above the main stage.  The view is very 'post-boxy'. The rake wasn't great but social distancing gaps helped and the leg room was plentiful.  You also get into the ladies or the bar first at the interval!  The noise outside could be heard at times, obviously today was exceptional and despite everything it really wasn't too bad."