Back to The Future at The Adelphi Theatre
Booking
Booking was easy and made online after registering for their access scheme I could either book online or via telephone. I chose telephone booking as I like to ascertain the location of the seats and ensure that I am not blocking anyones view with my powerchair. They were very helpful on the phone and the whole process was easy.
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Access Ticket: £35
Carer Ticket: Free
Theatre Location
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This theatre is located on the Strand near Trafalgar Square and at the back of Covent Garden . .
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There are lots of transport links and accessible restaurants located near by.
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Theatre Access
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.
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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.
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Access Host
The access host was lovely and showed us to our seats and helped me get secured with the wooden wedge. At the beginning the interval they asked if I needed assistance and at that point I didn't. However I did decided to use the restroom towards the end of the performace and couldn't find anyone to help me return to my seat (my carer was queuing in the toilets themselves) but I did choose to go after the had offered to help.
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Having said that 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 during the show 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.​​​​
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Seat and Staging
We sat in seat X23 and X24.​.
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The wheelchair spaces were on the back row 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.
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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.
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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. Admiddtley they were told in the interval this was not acceptable but the amount of people leaving and retiring 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.
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Toilets
The toilet was located in the foyer to the side of the auditorium.
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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.
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The toilet is large and modern with enough space to side transfer and turn around.
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I visited in July 2024 and all views expressed above are my personal opinion.
It was my first visit to The Adelphi Theatre