County Hall

County Hall is the former headquarters of London County Council and later Greater London Council. It is located on the banks of the River Thames next to Westminster Bridge and opposite the Houses of Parliament. It was opened by King George V in 1922 and was sold in 1992 and reinvented as a leisure complex. The theatre seats 369 and has been the venue for Witness for The Prosecution since 2017. Tickets are provided by KX Tickets.

BOOKING

LOCATION

ACCESS

SEAT

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booking

Absolutely the worst booking experience I have ever had. In fact it was so bad I officially complained to KX tickets. They have only received one star because I got tickets otherwise it would have been zero.

All enquires and booking for access tickets is completed via email exchange. Which in my experience was a long and drawn out (all afternoon) unproductive process. I ended up having to physically go to County Hall with my carer. I found the person who was dealing with my access ticket requests to be rude and unhelpful (both virtually and in person). They did not initially accept my nimbus card (despite it being stated on the website) and gave false information about wheelchair access and weight. They informed me the external lift (which is essential to access the building) had a capacity of 30kg or 4 stone, even when I had physically used it with a 95kg chair (plus my body weight) they kept insisting it was 30kg limit. They refused to call me to discuss my needs and did not send me any links to access guidelines despite saying they would. If it wasn't my mother in laws choice I would have just given up!

Having booked future events with KX Tickets I have found the process a little easier and I would be willing to attempt to visit this venue again in the future and see if the experience has improved. I still am unsure as to why KX tickets have not been able to integrate online booking of wheelchair spaces into their venues which is now commonplace for most theatres or failing that offer a phone line where availability can be immediately discussed rather than a drawn out email only offering which is stressful and complicated.

To book access tickets email access@kxtickets.com and state the date and production you want to see. I would advise giving a couple of date options especially if you are wishing to remain in your wheelchair as there is only one wheelchair space at County Hall.

Accessibility

Access Overview

Access to the theatre is at the back of County Hall (Belvedere Road, not Riverside) via a side door. However to get to the door you need to use an external lift located in front of the Japanese Restaurant as there are a few steps.

A key is needed to operate this and the County Hall security have this. They are located just in front of the main door. I needed a carer to alert security as there are no staff members around despite the wheelchair space having been booked.

Once inside you are escorted to another set of lifts and taken to the first floor where the theatre is located. At the end of the show we needed to find staff ourselves to help us exit the theatre level as none came to assist us.

Once in the lobby we again needed to contact security ourselves to use the external lift to leave.
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Toilet Facilities

Another disappointment with regards to accessibility. The disabled toilet was located inside to the ladies/men's main toilet. To access this there was a narrow corridor which was blocked with queuing people.

The toilet was open for anyone to use (no radar key was required) and the other patrons were doing just that. When I got to the front of the queue I had to wait quite some time for the accessible toilet to become available.

The cubicle itself was large and spacious enough for a side transfer and to turn around. there was also a sink inside so thankfully I did not need to try and navigate the busy main sinks.

My carer is the opposite gender to me so could not escort me into the toilets, for me this was find but might be a problem for others. There was no assistance from an access host either.

Leaving the toilet was tricky as the queue of other patrons blocked the narrow corridor. They all had to move out of the toilet to allow me to pass through which was not ideal.

On the website it does state that there are toilets at foyer level but I was never informed of these during my visit and there was no assistance offered at the interval to help me navigate the toilets.

Access Host

Comparable to other theatres the service wasn't the best.

There was no one outside greeting guests so my carer had to go in and find a member of staff to enable me to use the lift to enter there building. Fine with a carer but not sure how I would have managed alone.

Once inside a member of staff escorted us through to a different set of lifts and showed us to the theatre door.

We had to find the seats ourselves (which was quite easy as they were right by the door) and a member of staff informed me that the props and actors would come past me on the aisle but they knew I was there so there was nothing to worry about.

Afterwards we located a member of staff to take us down in the lift but none came to us voluntarily and we had to get the external lift operator on our own to exit the building.

Seat & View

We sat in F159 (seat) and F160 (wheelchair space).

The wheelchair space (F160) was great. It was large and located at the end of the row on the top level so there was no one behind me.

It was located right next to the doors so was incredibly conienvient and easy to leave at the end of the show.

The staging of the show was great, I could see the whole stage and all the action. I was warned in advance that the actors and props would be entering an exiting in the aisle next to me but this was no problem.

There was a speaker next to my head which was a little bit distracting as it played background sounds when the actors were talking so occasionally I struggled to focus and hear the dialogue but overall it was good.

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