My name is Kevan, and I already host one of the best pub history sites in the UK, in particular London and the south east. I struggle with walking up stairs, and also long distances – and therefore this is my guide of visiting London whilst using London transport links. I can be harsh, but my comments are fair.
These are therefore recommendations for those with limited accessibility, and travelling in London. This includes suggestions, tips, places to avoid such as stations with no exit, and lots of stairs to climb. Public toilets availability.
Free places to visit, the accessibility of London Theatres and other classical venues.
IThere is an (0nline latest copy is here) which is full of very useful information for the average London visitor. I also found a good listing of the many theatres in London here too, and this is my personal thoughts on whether the theatres are accessible and maybe some sensible suggestions on how to access the area, using my local knowledge of buses, trains, stations etc.
Here is my first decent attempt to put these on a google map. There is detail on each station and the steps needed (London City Guide) to be climbed here. I summarise this detail on my accessible stations site listing, plus I will be adding travel tips and using buses strategically to these pages very soon. Feel free to offer any updates, and advice.
My first research into London theatres, and using my accesslondon credentials I have so far managed to visit about 50 of the theatres in London in some way. Every theatre was helpful in offering advice and some form of positive feedback. Some were not open at all. I visited the following :
The accessibility at the Theatre Royal Drury lane is outstanding, as is the friendliness shown to my enquiries. They have spent 60 million pounds on a refit. It is a shame about London bus stops which are continually being closed for roadworks without offering a reasonable alternative, which is ridiculous. The Number 15 best serves this area, when it is running correctly, and bus stops allow access to the service.
Here is the entrance to the theatre :
I kept spoken notes on my mobile app, and the winner is the Adelphi theatre where it looks so amazingly accessible, unlike the theatre very close by. The Adelphi, in the Strand has a slight ramp to access the building, and everything else is accessible, and the staff were incredibly helpful and interested in making the theatre a success. Well done.
As part of the theatres in London project to check if they are accessible, I cam across this page : https://www.nimaxtheatres.com/accessibility/ It is the next step in making stairs a thing of the past. I have been well versed in expensive contraptions for making a building safe for those in wheelchairs, but these go to the next level. Wow, I am impressed.
My London Theatre Listing (including seating capacity)
Adelphi Theatre – Back to the Future
409-412 Strand, London, WC2R 0NS (1436)
Facilities: Disabled toilets, Infrared hearing loop, Wheelchair accessible
Aldwych Theatre – Tina Turner
49 Aldwych, London, WC2B 4DF (1176)
Facilities: Disabled toilets, Infrared hearing loop, Wheelchair accessible
Ambassadors Theatre – The shark is broken
West Street, London, WC2H 9ND (444)
Facilities: Infrared hearing loop
Apollo Theatre – Magic Goes Wrong
31 Shaftesbury Avenue, London, W1D 7ES (775)
Facilities: Disabled toilets, Infrared hearing loop, Wheelchair accessible
Apollo Victoria Theatre – Wicked
17 Wilton Road, London, SW1V 1LG (2384)
Facilities: Disabled toilets, Infrared hearing loop, Wheelchair accessible
Arts Theatre – The Choir of Man from Nov 2021
6-7 Great Newport Street, London, WC2H 7JB (350)
Facilities: Disabled toilets, Wheelchair accessible
Barbican – Anything Goes
Silk Street, London, EC2Y 8DS
Barbican Theatre (1156) Barbican Hall (1943) The Pit (200)
Facilities: Disabled toilets, Infrared hearing loop, Wheelchair accessible
Cambridge Theatre – Matilda
32-34 Earlham Street, London, WC2H 9HU (1283)
Facilities: Disabled toilets, Infrared hearing loop, Wheelchair accessible
Criterion Theatre – Pride and Prejudice
Piccadilly Circus, London, SW1Y 4XA (593)
Facilities: Disabled toilets, Infrared hearing loop, Wheelchair accessible
Dominion Theatre – The Prince of Egypt
268-269 Tottenham Court Road, London, W1T 7AQ (2069)
Facilities: Disabled toilets, Infrared hearing loop, Wheelchair accessible
Donmar Warehouse
Donmar Warehouse, London, WC2h 9LX (251)
Facilities: wheelchair accessible, with three wheelchair spaces in the auditorium
Duchess Theatre – The Play thar Goes Wrong
3-5 Catherine Street, London, WC2B 5LA (494)
Facilities: Disabled toilets, Infrared hearing loop, Wheelchair accessible
Duke of York’s Theatre
104 St Martin’s Lane, London, WC2N 4BG (650)
Facilities: Disabled toilets, Infrared hearing loop, Wheelchair accessible
Fortune Theatre – The Woman in Black
Russell Street, London, WC2B 5HH (432)
Facilities: Infrared hearing loop
Garrick Theatre – The Drifters Girl
2 Charing Cross Road, London, WC2H 0HH (718)
Facilities: Disabled toilets, Infrared hearing loop, Wheelchair accessible
Gielgud Theatre – The Mirror and the light
35-37 Shaftesbury Avenue, London, W1D 6AR (986)
Facilities: Disabled toilets, Infrared hearing loop, Wheelchair accessible
Gillian Lynne Theatre – Cinderella
166 Drury Lane, London, WC2B 5PW (1108)
Facilities: Disabled toilets, Infrared hearing loop, Wheelchair accessible
Harold Pinter Theatre
6 Panton Street, London, SW1Y 4DN (796)
Facilities: Disabled toilets, Infrared hearing loop, Wheelchair accessible
Her Majesty’s Theatre – The Phantom of the Opera
57 Haymarket, London, SW1Y 4QL (1160)
Facilities: Disabled toilets, Infrared hearing loop, Wheelchair accessible
London Coliseum –
St Martin’s Lane, London, WC2N 4ES (359)
Facilities: Disabled toilets, Infrared hearing loop, Wheelchair accessible
London County Hall
Belvedere Road, London, SE1 7PB
Facilities: Disabled toilets, Wheelchair accessible
London Palladium
8 Argyll Street, London, W1F 7TF (2286)
Facilities: Disabled toilets, Infrared hearing loop, Wheelchair accessible
Lyceum Theatre – The Lion King
21 Wellington Street, London, WC2E 7RQ
Facilities: Disabled toilets, Infrared hearing loop, Wheelchair accessible
Lyric Theatre – Bob Marley story
29 Shaftesbury Avenue, London, W1D 7ES (967)
Facilities: Disabled toilets, Infrared hearing loop, Wheelchair accessible
Noel Coward Theatre – A Ghost story (ending in October)
85-88 St Martin’s Lane, London, WC2N 4AU (872)
Facilities: Disabled toilets, Infrared hearing loop, Wheelchair accessible
Novello Theatre – Mamma Mia
5 Aldwych, London, WC2B 4LD (1143)
Disabled toilets
Facilities: Disabled toilets, Infrared hearing loop, Wheelchair accessible (not in October, 4 steps)
Palace Theatre – Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
109-113 Shaftesbury Avenue, London, W1D 5AY (1400)
Facilities: Disabled toilets, Infrared hearing loop, Wheelchair accessible
Peacock Theatre – Message in a Bottle (ends in October)
Portugal Street, London, WC2A 2HT (1000)
Facilities: Infrared hearing loop, Wheelchair accessible
Phoenix Theatre – Come From Away
Charing Cross Road, London, WC2H 0JP (1012)
Facilities: Disabled toilets, Infrared hearing loop, Wheelchair accessible
Piccadilly Theatre – Moulin Rouge (is coming in November)
16 Denman Street, London, W1D 7DY (1200)
Facilities: Infrared hearing loop, Wheelchair accessible
Playhouse Theatre – currently closed.
Northumberland Avenue, London, WC2N 5DE (786)
Facilities: Disabled toilets, Infrared hearing loop, Wheelchair accessible
Prince Edward Theatre – Mary Poppins
28 Old Compton Street, London, W1D 4HS (1650)
Facilities: Disabled toilets, Infrared hearing loop, Wheelchair accessible
Prince of Wales Theatre – The Book of Mormon
31 Coventry Street, London, W1D 6AS (1160)
Facilities: Disabled toilets, Infrared hearing loop, Wheelchair accessible
Savoy Theatre – Pretty Woman
Strand, London, WC2R 0ET (1158)
Facilities: Disabled toilets, Infrared hearing loop, Wheelchair accessible
Shaftesbury Theatre – & Juliet
210 Shaftesbury Avenue, London, WC2H 8DP (1400)
Facilities: Disabled toilets, Infrared hearing loop, Wheelchair accessible
There is major renovation ongoing outside, and the theatre is awkward to access due to pavements closed. I will pop inside next time I am there.
Sondheim Theatre – Les Miserables
51 Shaftesbury Avenue, London, W1D 6BA (1074)
Facilities: Disabled toilets, Infrared hearing loop, Wheelchair accessible
St. Martin’s Theatres – The Mousetrap
West Street, London, WC2H 9NZ (550)
Facilities: Disabled toilets, Infrared hearing loop, Wheelchair accessible
There are a series of ramps provided as needed to gain access. Nearest tube is Leicestaer square, which is inaccessible.
The Old Vic – Camp Siegfried, then a Christmas Carol (in November)
103 The Cut, London, SE1 8NB (1067)
Facilities: Disabled toilets, Infrared hearing loop, Wheelchair accessible
Theatre Royal, Drury Lane – Frozen
Catherine Street, London, WC2B 5JF (2196)
Facilities: Disabled toilets, Infrared hearing loop, Wheelchair accessible
The accessibility here is outstanding, as is the friendlyness shown to my enquiries. They have spent 60 million pounds on a refit.
It is a shame about London Transport options which tend to require a bus to avoid the many inaccessible stations, or a taxi! The bust stops are continually being closed for roadworks without offering a reasonable alternative, which is ridiculous.
Theatre Royal, Haymarket – Only Fools and Horses
8 Haymarket, London, SW1Y 4HT (888)
Facilities: Disabled toilets, Infrared hearing loop, Wheelchair accessible
Trafalgar Theatre (NEW) – Jersey Boys
14 Whitehall, London, SW1A 2DY
No accessible facilities listed.
Vaudeville Theatre – Celebration (November 2021)
404 Strand, London, WC2R 0NH (690)
Facilities: Infrared hearing loop, Wheelchair accessible, using a wheelchair stair climber – No disabled toilets are available
Victoria Palace Theatre – Hamilton
Victoria Street, London, SW1E 5EA (1517)
Facilities: Disabled toilets, Infrared hearing loop, Wheelchair accessible
Wyndham Theatre – Leopoldstadt
Charing Cross Road, London, WC2H 0DA
= Still to add to the various pages are :
Arts Theatre – The Choir of Man from Nov 2021
6-7 Great Newport Street, London, WC2H 7JB (350)
Barbican – Anything Goes
Silk Street, London, EC2Y 8DS
Barbican Theatre (1156) Barbican Hall (1943) The Pit (200)
Donmar Warehouse
Donmar Warehouse, London, WC2h 9LX (251)
London Palladium
8 Argyll Street, London, W1F 7TF (2286)
Peacock Theatre – Message in a Bottle (ends in October)
Portugal Street, London, WC2A 2HT (1000)
Piccadilly Theatre – Moulin Rouge (is coming in November)
16 Denman Street, London, W1D 7DY (1200)
Playhouse Theatre – ?
Northumberland Avenue, London, WC2N 5DE (786)The Old Vic – Camp Siegfried, then a Christmas Carol (in November)
103 The Cut, London, SE1 8NB (1067)