Is the Bridge Theatre wheelchair accessible?

Yes. Book Gallery 1: the way in from the street is level, Gallery 1 is on the foyer level, and the wheelchair spaces are there at C31 to C43. Both accessible toilets are on the level too. Access bookings go through the venue's own team.

Is there a lift at the Bridge Theatre?

There is a platform lift down to the Stalls, taking 300kg or four people. There is no lift up to Gallery 2, which is twelve steps above the foyer with more steps between its rows.

Bridge Theatre Access | Step-Free Route and Wheelchair Spaces

Gallery 2 has no lift access at all. Everything else in this building is either level with the street or reached by the platform lift.

Access bookings are handled by the venue's own access team, through the theatre's official site.

Which level to book

The route in from the street is level, into the foyer.

Gallery 1. Book this one if you want to avoid stairs. It is on the foyer level, one step down into each row, and it holds the wheelchair spaces.
Stalls. Take the platform lift down the single level, or about twenty steps, then one more step down into your row.
Gallery 2. Twelve steps up, more steps between the rows, no lift. Not a step-free option.

The platform lift takes 300kg, or four people.

Wheelchair spaces and wheelchair hire

The wheelchair spaces are in Gallery 1, C31 to C43, with level access from the foyer and no lift involved. They can be booked online once you have registered.

A wheelchair space in Gallery 1 also tends to see better than one in the Stalls, because it depends less on where the set has been put.

A wheelchair can be borrowed for your visit, subject to availability, arranged with the access team before you come. Mobility scooters cannot be charged at the theatre.

There are two accessible toilets, on the ground floor and in the lower foyer, and a separate unisex baby-change.

The Access List

Registration is free. It gives 24 hours' priority booking before general sale, an essential companion ticket free of charge, and the ability to book access seats online, by phone or in person.

Hearing support

Hearing enhancement runs on a digital radio system rather than a loop. Pick up a Sennheiser receiver from the merchandise stand, with headphones or an induction neck loop, or plug in your own headphones. Channel 1 carries assisted listening and Channel 2 carries audio description.

Assisted performances

Every production gets at least one captioned performance, with a block of seats held back that have a clear view of the caption screens. Audio described performances are scheduled per production, each of them with a free touch tour beforehand and an allocation of seats held close to the stage. BSL interpreted performances have their own reserved seats with a clear view of the interpreter, marked with the BSL symbol on the plan for that date.

Planning the evening

Give yourself 45 minutes rather than the 15 to 20 we suggest to everyone else, if getting into the auditorium early or moving around the building unhurried would help.

Speak to a member of staff before the show starts if there is any chance you will need to step out during it, and they will do what they can to bring you back in at a suitable moment. Without that, the theatre readmits nobody once the performance has begun.

Assistance dogs are welcome in the auditorium. Say so when you book and you get an aisle seat; if you would rather not have the dog with you, front of house will look after it. Emotional support dogs are not admitted.

Large print signage and menus come on request, Access Hosts are on site, and there is a quiet space if you need one; any member of staff can point you to it. The theatre is a Dementia Friendly venue.

The taxi set-down on Potters Fields, beside the LaLiT hotel, is a minute from the entrance on the level.

Facilities

Cloakroom: free of charge, at street level towards the back of the foyer, opening at 5:45pm or 12:45pm on a matinee day. Suitcases, larger bags, folding bikes and e-scooters cannot be left in it, or brought in at all.

Bag searches operate on arrival.

Water: free dispensers in the foyer and downstairs by the Stalls and Gallery 1, with ice-cold, sparkling and room-temperature taps.

Toilets in the foyer: eleven cubicles for women and three for men, plus the baby-change and accessible toilet. In the waiting area for the Stalls and Gallery 1 there are nineteen and three.

Wifi: free in the foyer for ticket holders.

Photography and filming are not permitted in the auditorium. In the foyer they are fine.

The Box Office counter opens at 1pm, and only on days when there is a performance.

Access and Facilities at the Bridge Theatre