Access and Facilities at the Dorfman Theatre

The Circle is the level to book if you need to avoid steps. The entrance, the foyer and the route to the Circle are all step-free, and the lift reaches every level; what changes level by level is what happens after you come through the doors.

Access seats are booked with the National Theatre's own access team, who handle it for all three auditoriums.

Which level to book

The Circle. It is on the ground-floor foyer level, through swing doors held open before and after the performance with staff on them, and the floor is flat with a slight slope. The doors open straight on to row N, and most of the other Circle seats are one or two steps up, with handrails on both sides.

The Pit has lift access, and most of its rows have steps up to them. The step-free seats down there are rows L and M, the two that wrap round the back and the sides, which is where the doors from the lift open. The middle rows change with each production.

The Gallery has no step-free row at all: five steps from the doors on to row R, and four more to most of the seats.

Because the auditorium is reconfigured for each production, what is reachable varies with the layout, and the seating plan for your performance shows the configuration for that show.

Wheelchair spaces

There are two, in the Circle at row N, with step-free access. There is no designated wheelchair seating in the Pit or in the Gallery, and the Circle is the nearest in both cases.

A companion seat sits next to the space, the chair stays with you, and there is room for an assistance dog beside you. Ask a member of staff to point the spaces out when you arrive; they are not signed.

Getting in

The entrance on Stage Door Avenue is step-free and under a canopy, with two sets of wide automatic doors opened by a push pad. A ramp to the right as you face the entrance bypasses the four steps to the left, which have handrails on both sides. There is a dark floor marking just inside the doors that can read as a hole.

The foyer is step-free throughout and has a seating area. The lift is at the rear right of it, visible from the entrance, and needs no member of staff; it serves all four floors and has a hearing loop, a visual indicator and an audible announcer.

Step-free drop-off is the private road on the east side, between the National Theatre and the IBM building, right beside this entrance. There are four Blue Badge bays off Upper Ground and they have to be booked in advance rather than turned up to.

Toilets

Two accessible toilets in the foyer, step-free, one set up for a left-hand transfer and one for a right, both with a dropdown rail, grab rails and an alarm. The standard toilets are to the left of the foyer, also step-free, and one cubicle is ambulant.

Hearing

There is no installed hearing loop in the Dorfman, because the layout changes. The Olivier and the Lyttelton both have one; this theatre does not.

Instead, ask in the foyer on arrival: there are neck loops if you wear a hearing aid and infra-red headsets if you don't, and staff will send you to the right counter. Smart caption glasses are suspended at all three theatres because of a technical issue.

No member of staff is trained in British Sign Language, which is why BSL is scheduled per production rather than available on request.

Assisted performances

Captioned, British Sign Language interpreted, audio described, relaxed and sensory adapted performances are scheduled for each production, with the dates on the page for the show you are booking. Audio described performances have a touch tour 90 minutes before the start, booked with the access team. Sensory adapted performances go further than relaxed ones and change the production's own light and sound; both allow noise and movement, have a chill-out space and let you leave and come back, which matters here because latecomers may otherwise not be let in.

Assistance dogs are welcome in the auditorium, with water bowls, and front of house will mind the dog during the performance and bring it back at the interval and at the end if you'd rather not have it beside you. Mention it at the time of booking: you'll get an aisle seat, and a warning about any special effects. Every performance has free synopses and large-print and Braille cast lists, and a script can be sent out in advance.

Facilities

Box Office: on the ground floor of the Dorfman foyer, opening an hour before the performance.

Bar and cloakroom: the Dorfman has its own of each, opening an hour before the performance rather than when the main building opens. The cloakroom is £1.50 an item, with no charge for access equipment or medical supplies.

Cash: the building is cashless throughout, at the Box Office and at the bar.

Photography and filming are not allowed during the performance, and neither are phones.

The Backstage High Level Walkway and the Clore Learning Centre are both reached from this foyer.

Everything else in the building, including the restaurants, the other bars and the main cloakroom, is in our National Theatre guide.