Dress Circle at the Lyric Theatre

Rows A to H, curved in a horseshoe, the smallest of the four levels and almost level with the foyer.

Who the Dress Circle suits

It's the best level in the building, and the one we'd book ahead of any other. You see the whole stage in one view, and it's the easiest level to reach, one or two steps off the foyer, so it suits anyone who'd rather not face a staircase. Shorter people do better at the front, because the tiers are shallow and there isn't much height over the row in front.

Where we'd put you

Rows E and F. For Hadestown, rows A to D are premium-priced and the price drops at row E, so you pay less to sit one row further back. It catches people out, because the cheaper row is behind the dearer one rather than the other way round. In row F, keep to the seats away from the two pillars.

If the budget stretches, rows A to D in the centre are high enough for a full stage picture and close enough to keep faces, and they're priced for it.

Row H is cheaper again, under the overhang from the Grand Circle but still facing the stage squarely. Pick a seat that isn't behind one of the pillars.

What to avoid

The ends of the rows. The curve of the circle cuts off the near edge of the stage, and it gets worse the further back you go: the first and last three seats of rows B and C, the first and last four of row D, and the first and last five of row E. The two end seats of row A can have lighting equipment in front of them.

The seats behind the two pillars, which stand in row F, between seats 10 and 11 and between seats 16 and 17. The seats directly behind them in rows G and H are the ones sold as restricted. Don't be thrown by the numbering behind them: rows E to H begin at seat 8 rather than seat 1.

Legroom in the Dress Circle

Tight on this level, comfortable for people up to about 5ft 8, with the most room in rows A to D. Row H's two end seats, H8 and H22, have a stair in front, so one leg can stretch out.

Steps

Four steps up from the pavement into the foyer, then one or two into the Dress Circle, and that's all. The Grand Circle hangs over the level from row C. The step-free entrance comes into the Dress Circle Boxes on this level, and the access page explains how it works.

The Dress Circle Boxes

Eight of the ten Boxes are on this level, four each side, between the circle and the stage. They're side-on to the stage, and the Boxes page says what to book instead. Boxes C, D and E are the wheelchair spaces.

Drinks and toilets

The Dress Circle is served by the bar in the foyer, which has only a little seating. There are Ladies and Gents toilets on this level, and the theatre's accessible toilet is here too.