Upper Circle at the Adelphi Theatre

405 seats and the cheapest level in the building, and the middle of it is good.

The thing to know before you book here

The Upper Circle is not one section, it is two. Rows A to H form the front block. Rows J to O sit behind them, and a safety rail runs along the division between the two.

That rail is why rows J and K are the ones people ask about. They are the first two rows of the rear block, they sit behind the rail, and they are the two shortest full rows on the level.

Where to sit

Front and centre of the front block is where the value in this building is. From there you see the whole stage cleanly with nothing in the way, and you are paying a fraction of what the levels below cost.

The height is real and you should take it seriously. This is a third level, not a shallow balcony. If heights bother you, they will bother you all evening, and that is the reason to book elsewhere, not the view.

Avoid the front row if you are tall. As on the Dress Circle, there is a wall in front of it and the legroom goes with it.

The back of the level is a long way up and a long way back. Nothing is blocking you, but you are watching from a distance.

The first two and last two seats in rows B to F are sold as restricted.

Price, and the stairs

This is the cheap level. The bottom of any production's range starts up here, which is what makes the front block such good value: the price is the lowest in the building and the view from the middle of it is not.

It is 71 steps up from the ground floor, and there is no lift, with handrails on both sides. Seventy-one steps is roughly four flights, and for a lot of people that settles the level on its own.