Dress Circle at the Savoy Theatre
Rows A to O, no row I. The front five rows are some of the best seats in the theatre; a small block at the back is the most restricted.
Where we'd put you
Rows A to E. From here you see the whole stage at once, which is the point of sitting upstairs for a big musical, and nothing hangs over you. Row A has a little extra legroom to go with the view. Row A's end seats look through a rail, so book towards the middle.
There is no centre aisle in these rows. Rows A to F run unbroken across the full width of the level, 30 seats wide at the front, so you get in and out from the ends, and a middle seat means passing a few people.
For less money, the middle seats of rows K to M see well, though from row K the Grand Circle starts to take the top of the stage.
What to avoid
From row G back the level splits into a large block and a small side block of low-numbered seats, and those low-numbered seats are the restricted ones up here. The middle of the same rows, in the big block, sees the whole stage.
The Grand Circle sits over the Dress Circle from row G, and you start to really notice it from row K back, where it begins to take the top off the stage. Paddington plays some of its projections high, around the stage, so from K back you can lose part of that. Rows G to J are clear of the overhang, but a high rail runs across the front of row G and sits in the view from all three.
For legroom, row A is best, rows B to D are fine unless you are very tall, and it's poor from row G back. If legroom matters, take row A up here or the Stalls.
Getting there, and the bar
The Carting Lane entrance comes in at street level straight into this level, and the venue opens it for access bookings rather than as a general door. Everyone else comes in from Savoy Court, which means two flights of stairs, 32 steps in all. Transfer seats are in rows F and G, and the accessible toilet is on this level. The access route has the rest.
Bars and kiosks are on all levels, this one included. Like the others it is small, and drinks can be ordered to your seat.
FAQs
Is the Dress Circle better than the Stalls at the Savoy Theatre?
For seeing the whole stage at once, the front five rows of the Dress Circle are. For being close, rows D to G of the Stalls are. Both are good seats; the Stalls win on legroom and the Dress Circle wins on steps, because it is the level the Carting Lane door opens into.
Which Dress Circle seats are restricted?
The small side block of low-numbered seats at the rear, rows G to N. Also row A's end seats, which sit behind a rail; rows G, H and J, which look through the higher rail across the front of the rear section; and the top of the stage from row K back under the Grand Circle.