Stalls at His Majesty's Theatre

Rows A to T on the ground floor, the closest you get to the stage. You sit in the Stalls to get up close to the performers, and at Phantom that means seeing the faces up close.

Where we'd put you

The central block, rows D to K. It's the accepted best of the theatre, and the front few rows put you close enough to read faces. Rows C to E are the ones we'd pick if the performances matter more to you than the spectacle.

Sit as central as you can: a central seat a few rows back beats a side seat further forward. The more central the seat, the more it tends to cost, so the sweet spot is as close to the middle as you can get without paying the premium prices.

What to avoid

• Row A, if you're tall. It has the least legroom on the level, comfortable to about 5ft 4, and the stage is at around head height. Start at row B or C.
• The back of the Stalls, for a first Phantom. The Royal Circle overhangs from row J. At the sides you start losing the top of the stage from row M, and in the centre from row P, and the top of the stage is where the chandelier is.
• Seats with a pillar in view, unless the saving matters more than the view. There are two pillars in row M, two standing on their own in front of P16 and P25, and one at each end of row Q.

Rows R, S and T are split in the middle by the sound desk, and most of their seats are sold as restricted.

Legroom in the Stalls

Most seats are fine for people up to about 5ft 10. Row P has the most legroom in the building, comfortable even at 6ft 5, and rows M and N are next. B9, B30, E33 and E34 have nothing in front of them at all.

The floor starts to rise at row C and gets steeper from row E, so the view over the row in front improves the further back you go, up to the point where the overhang starts to bite.

Getting in, and the stairs

From the main doors on Haymarket the Stalls aren't the easy option: there's a flight down from the foyer and another up into the auditorium. The step-free way in is the separate entrance on Charles II Street, which has level access to the back of the Stalls. The three wheelchair spaces are on this level, and the access page has the rest.

Drinks and toilets

Two bars are on your way in: the Champagne Bar in the foyer, and the Stalls Bar on the flight down. For toilets you don't leave the auditorium. The Gents is 18 steps up, and of the two Ladies, one is step-free and the other three steps up. The only accessible toilet in the building is at the back of the Stalls, by the Charles II Street door.