Shaftesbury Theatre Seating Plan

Seats are sold on two levels, with four Boxes along the sides. The feature that decides most bookings here is where the centre aisle falls.

The centre aisle runs through every single row

At the Shaftesbury, the aisle sits between seats 18 and 19, and it stays there. Every row in the Stalls, from A at the front to Y at the back, and every row in the Royal Circle, splits at the same two seat numbers.

At most theatres the seat numbers run from one end of each row, so the middle of row C is a different number from the middle of row R, and you have to read the plan carefully to find it.

Here seats 18 and 19 are the middle of the theatre wherever you are sitting. If you want the centre, book towards those numbers and you'll be fine.

The levels at a glance

The Stalls hold 636 seats in rows A to Y and are where we would send most people. The Royal Circle holds 380 in rows A to M and is currently the top of the building. Four Boxes at the sides seat two or three each.

There are no pillars in the auditorium, so no seat has one in front of it.

The Shaftesbury normally has a third level, the Grand Circle above the Royal Circle, which is shut while the dome is restored. So for now there is no cheap upper level here at all. The practical effect is that no poor seats are on sale, because the level people usually warn you about is not being sold. It also means fewer seats each night than the Shaftesbury normally holds, so popular dates go sooner than you would expect.

The Grand Circle is due back in early 2027, at the same time as the theatre takes its new name.

What it costs

Prices for the current run go from around £25 up to around £145 midweek, and around £165 at the weekend. Most seats are between about £45 and £95, premium starts at about £100, and a good seat tends to cost about £70.

The cheapest seats hold their price at the weekend, and the rise falls on the expensive end instead. The day you pick matters much more at the top of the range than at the bottom.

We use all-in pricing, so the price you see is what you pay.

Stalls or Royal Circle?

The Stalls, on balance, for a reason particular to this theatre at the moment. Normally the middle level of a three-level theatre is the safe recommendation, because it gets you height without distance. That reasoning does not hold here while the Grand Circle is closed, because the Royal Circle is the top level rather than the middle of three.

The Royal Circle is still a good view in its own right and there is no reason to avoid it, but if both have seats for your date, start with the Stalls.

The overhang

Both levels lose the top of the stage at the back, for the same reason: there is another level directly above. At the back of the Stalls the Royal Circle is overhead, and at the back of the Royal Circle the Grand Circle is, even while it's closed.

In the Stalls it starts at row P and gets worse towards the back. In the Royal Circle it starts at around row H. The prices follow it, so these are good value seats rather than seats to avoid.