Witness For The Prosecution at County Hall
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 lift had a capacity of 30kg or 4 stone, even when I had physically used it with a 95kg chair 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!
Theatre Location
Located inside County Hall right by the London Eye it is very easy to locate. The entrance is around the back (not riverside).
We found food options to plentiful along the Southbank with Wachaca a particular favourite of ours. You do need to allow 15-20 minutes extra if you want to eat down by Southbank as it's further than you think.
However on this occasion we went to Mamuska by Leake Street Arches.
The venue itself is beautiful and fits the play perfectly.
Theatre Access
Access to the theatre is at the back of County Hall via 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.
.
At the end we again needed to contact security to use the lift to leave.
For the second performance you need to inform staff at the front of the theatre of your return.
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 had to get the external lift operator on our own
Honestly it felt as if the whole accessibility aspect was an afterthought,
Seat and Staging
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.
Toilets
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.
I visited in April 2024 and all views expressed above are my personal opinion.
It was my first visit to County Hall Theatre