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Post by Deleted on Apr 16, 2017 13:46:12 GMT
Enough said really, what are the worst seats you have ever sat in at the theatre? I'll start... balcony at the Haymarket. Just cushioned benches with a metal bar on either side of you to define what is your seat that digs into your ass if you have one slightly larger than average, which, for me, is an issue. Was horrible to sit, thankfully I moved down. Go.  |
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834 posts
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Post by Steffi on Apr 16, 2017 14:10:07 GMT
Balcony at the Palace Theatre. I don't suffer from vertigo but getting to my seat up there was a serious challenge. Awful view too, I might as well just have listened to a recording of the show.
I wouldn't sit up there ever again even if someone paid me.
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Xanderl
Member
Not always very high value in terms of ticket yield or donations
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Post by Xanderl on Apr 16, 2017 14:13:27 GMT
Upstairs at the Sam Wanamaker. Like watching a radio play - will never sit upstairs there again
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Post by partytentdown on Apr 16, 2017 14:42:24 GMT
I still don't understand why they bother selling those benches in the Sam Wanamaker - either keep them off sale or give them free or SOMETHING. Surely they get more complaints or people saying they'll never return than is worth it?
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806 posts
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Post by duncan on Apr 16, 2017 16:43:08 GMT
The Gallery at TR Haymarket - horrible benches with nasty cushions.
NEVER AGAIN!
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134 posts
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Post by romeo94 on Apr 16, 2017 16:46:19 GMT
Aldwych, Shaftesbury and Trafalgar Studios have the the worst legroom in my experience (being 6ft 5).
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Post by Honoured Guest on Apr 16, 2017 16:48:24 GMT
Directly behind anyone who is 6ft 5.
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Xanderl
Member
Not always very high value in terms of ticket yield or donations
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Post by Xanderl on Apr 16, 2017 16:52:28 GMT
Oh, forgot about St James Theatre AKA The Other Palace. Seats deliberately designed to force you into position unable to move. Found the whole experience so uncomfortable on my first visit I've never returned, and never will unless they redesign the seating.
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Post by partytentdown on Apr 16, 2017 17:06:21 GMT
This thread generously sponsored by Mark Shenton.
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716 posts
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Post by theatre-turtle on Apr 16, 2017 17:17:24 GMT
Behind pillars at Her Majesty's.
The £10 Les Mis seats where you can see a third of the stage
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Post by Deleted on Apr 16, 2017 17:24:42 GMT
The back row of the gallery at Theatre Royal Brighton can only have been designed with amputees in mind.
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4,799 posts
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Post by The Matthew on Apr 16, 2017 17:28:34 GMT
Any seats that don't have backs.
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488 posts
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Post by AliceFearnFan2212 on Apr 16, 2017 17:30:33 GMT
Row R behind the wooden bannister at Wicked in the Circle, awful seats!
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4,361 posts
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Post by shady23 on Apr 16, 2017 18:09:57 GMT
Directly behind Brian May!
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1,102 posts
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Post by zak97 on Apr 16, 2017 18:17:36 GMT
Back row of the gallery at Wyndham's.
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7,538 posts
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Post by alece10 on Apr 16, 2017 18:27:11 GMT
I know they are only £15 but those Travelex seats at the NT. No legroom and no back support. Never again.
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648 posts
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Post by ptwest on Apr 16, 2017 19:59:13 GMT
The end of Row Q in the stalls at the Palace, row C of the stalls at the Cambridge and rear stalls at the Aldwych. No complaints about the view but legroom so poor I feared I wouldn't even be able to sit down. I expect some restriction but these times the tight space really impacted on my enjoyment.
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3,478 posts
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Post by showgirl on Apr 16, 2017 20:08:13 GMT
Any of those pub-theatre-type seats which are shallow wooden benches with no support for any part of your thighs. Tying with the stacking plasting chairs also encountered at more rough-and-ready venues.
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4,458 posts
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Post by poster J on Apr 16, 2017 20:34:02 GMT
Directly behind anyone who is 6ft 5. Or for someone of my height, anyone who's 5ft 6... |
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806 posts
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Post by duncan on Apr 16, 2017 20:34:24 GMT
I know they are only £15 but those Travelex seats at the NT. No legroom and no back support. Never again. in the Dorfman? The seats there are like sitting on a pub bar stool for 90 minutes. The Olivier and Lyttleton Travlex seats have been fine when I've used them. Another contender would be The Old Vic. I got one of the £10 tickets for Row X in the Baylis about 10 years ago - dear god, essentially a long wooden bench with no marked seats so everyone trying to expand as far as possible in the space which left me at the end sitting in sod all space for the first act. Come the interval I decided not to move and when everyone else went off for a drink and pee I expaned and wouldn't shift when everyone came back. A poor experience and one I've never repeated. |
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4,458 posts
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Post by poster J on Apr 16, 2017 20:36:32 GMT
The extreme sides of the stalls at the Palladium. And basically anywhere in the Palladium stalls that isn't a middle aisle seat for legroom reasons.
Also the second row stalls in the Apollo Victoria and Savoy as the rake is non-existent.
And the front row (usually row B) at the Shaftesbury - no legroom and high stage.
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1,064 posts
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Post by bellboard27 on Apr 16, 2017 20:39:45 GMT
I was recently in the BFI and thought how nice the seats were for comfort, legroom, width, etc and regretted that so many theatre seats were not of the same standard.
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Post by Jan on Apr 16, 2017 20:47:19 GMT
The worst seats - I mean literally the actual seats - are those where both the back and seat are divided into two separate pieces - in use at Hampstead and the Young Vic.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 16, 2017 20:48:01 GMT
Most seats in the Upper Circle of the Duke of York's. Don't even consider them unless you're under 4 ft tall.
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2,302 posts
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Post by Tibidabo on Apr 16, 2017 21:29:44 GMT
Ok. I'll say it then.
The bumcheek-sharing horrors at the Chocolate Factory.
I LOVE the Trafalgar Studio seats. They are my favourite because they fit like a glove. So comfy.
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18,844 posts
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Apr 16, 2017 21:42:22 GMT
Row D of the stalla at Manchester Op House. No idea what's going on with that row but there is zero legroom in the ones at the ends despite being top price/premium.
Her Majesty's stalls G14. One of the most expensive seats in the house (treated myself for my first ever Phantom) and was unable to physically sit in the seat there was so little legroom. Before the seat was was halfway down my knees hit the one in front.
Extreme ends of side stalls at the Lowry. Unless you like snuggling up to a curtain covered wall.
Balcony seats anywhere but especially the Palace Manchester. I'm surprised they get these past health and safety. A fatality waiting to happen!
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Post by Deleted on Apr 16, 2017 21:49:09 GMT
If I've only paid £15/20 I kind of expect that the seat may not be perfect, although I had forgotten quite how uncomfortable the Travelex ones are at the Lyttleton. My discomfort may have been increased by the torture I was watching most recently but there you go.
What really grinds my beans though is the places which charge full price or even premium price for seats that are not fit for purpose. The back few rows of the Wyndhams for example or the worst offender, Trafalgar Studios, how they have the temerity to charge £85 for miniscule seats with leg room for perhaps a two year old completely baffles me but then perhaps we are at fault for paying it. I have become very acquainted with the people I have sat with on a number of occasions. More than they perhaps wanted. However until I shrink my buttocks to the size of two rose petals and lose about a foot in height I can't see there being any change.
Also, granted it was about £40 but Found 111!! I had to pay that amount to sit on a chair which had been rummaged out of the back of someones shed, not dusted, not padded for a little extra comfort, not even bloody stable on it's legs.
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3,478 posts
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Post by showgirl on Apr 16, 2017 21:49:39 GMT
Forgot to mention those high stools you find at some theatres, which mean you can't put your feet on the ground. There are a few at the Orange Tree and, I think, Jermyn Street Theatre and more upstairs at the Dorfman. I'd rather miss out than perch on one of those.
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6,334 posts
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Post by Jon on Apr 16, 2017 21:50:41 GMT
I was recently in the BFI and thought how nice the seats were for comfort, legroom, width, etc and regretted that so many theatre seats were not of the same standard. Cinemas have the advantage of usually not being in listed buildings and also the seat are pitched differently to theatre seats. It is a surprise that newer theatres like The Other Palace or a refurbished one like Dorfman have issues with seating and sightlines, I'm not expecting a perfect view in every seat but surely it is something that should be addressed in the planning stage |
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3,478 posts
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Post by showgirl on Apr 16, 2017 21:53:04 GMT
Now I think about it, I genuinely cannot call to mind any theatres with seating I actually like. However, Jon has a point above: Curzon Victoria has fabulous seats!
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