Adelphi Theatre

Adelphi Theatre was opened in its current form in 1930 although its roots can be traced back to 1806. It is located in the heart of central London on The Strand close to Trafalgar Square, Charing Cross Station and Covent Garden. It is co-owned by LW Theatres and Nederlander Theatres.

BOOKING

LOCATION

ACCESS

SEAT

Now Showing

booking

Booking was easy and made by online using the LW website or Nederlander website.

I had already registered for their access scheme. LW theatres require access patrons to register for their access scheme a link to the application can be found here.

Once registered you can book tickets online via your account, by telephone 020 3925 2998, via email or in person. More details can be found here. If you have successfully registered for access once you log in to your online account wheelchair seats will be shown with a wheelchair icon if available.

If you are eligible there is a free carer ticket and an access rate.

LW Theatres also offer a variety of adaptations and assistances when booking tickets and visiting the venue. Full information can be found here.

There are two transferrable wheelchairs seats at either end of Row J and two non transferrable wheelchair spaces in Row X. Seat Plan available here

Accessibility

Access Overview

Access to the theatre is via the main door which is level access with a small ramp to the side once inside.

We were greeted by a member of staff who showed us to our seats. the non transferable seats are right on the back row in front of the entry doors so access is easy. Transfer seats are identified as Row J but truthfully any aisle seat can be a transfer seat. Wheelchairs are kept in a room next to the accessible toilet or in the main lobby.

When leaving from the Wheelchair Park staff helped to stop people when leaving to create a gap for me which was very helpful so we were able to leave quickly and easily. When seated in the transfer seat we waited until everyone left before retrieving my chair.

Access Host

During both our visits the access host was lovely and showed us to our seats. When seated in the wheelchair park space they helped me get secured with the wooden wedge. They checked if we needed assistance during the interval and checked our preference for leaving at the end of the show.

Our interactions with staff were very pleasant and they were all very polite. My only feedback would be regarding the toilets as no one challenged the women queuing (only my carer asked if the needed to use the access toilet) and the amount of people coming and going and hitting my chair or legs during the show and interval was excessive and appeared to go without challenge as well. I appreciate that these are very difficult elements to control but did lead to a less enjoyable experience and potential could have been minimised by assertive comments from staff.

Toilet Facilities

The toilet was located in the foyer to the side of the auditorium.

You don't need a radar key to access the toilet, however it might be useful to have a radar lock because there were several people who apologised to me and stated that they were only using the toilet because they didn't want to queue for the ladies.

The toilet is large and modern with enough space to side transfer and turn around.

Seat & View

We sat in wheelchair park seat X23 and X24 and transfer seat J33 and J34.

The wheelchair spaces were on at the back in row X and the view of the stage was great. A wooden ramp was used as a leveller so the chair was not on a slope for the performance which was really helpful. The problem was that at the start of the show when people were going to their seats they kept trying to squeeze behind the back of the staff member and hitting my chair. After this happening several times my carer asked the staff to stand directly in front of my chair which solved the problem.

Also the sound was terrible. It sounded as if the sound was only coming from the front speakers which seemed a fair distance away and I found myself straining to hear the dialogue and the lyrics. As a result it did not feel very immersive and I wasn't transported like I have been in other performances.

It was also a very distracting performance. I counted 22 people who got up to exit in the first half. One little boy climbed over the back of his chair using my wheelchair and the gentleman's wheelchair next to me to help and he did this 4 times during the first half. His mother also did this once. Admittedly they were told in the interval this was not acceptable but the amount of people leaving and returning was staggering. Significantly more than any other show. During the second half a man stood at the back of the show pacing around, he was passed by multiple members of staff but it was at least thirty minutes until someone asked him what he was doing and told him to sit down. needless to say it was very difficult to concentrate on the performance and I do feel that I missed a lot of what happened and need to revisit it when I will transfer out of my chair and sit in an aisle seat.

The transfer seats in Row J were located to the left of the auditorium but there are identical seats on the right hand side. In truth any aisle seat could be used as a transfer seat. The sound was much better from this seat and there was less direction but I still counted 8-10 people who used the bathroom during the performance. The staff also patrol the aisles during the performance which does reduce the amount of talking but is also quite distracting if you are on the end of the aisle.

You can see the car at the end much better from here but you are comprised if someone tall sits in front as the rake is not great.

Click here for seat plan