Dress Circle at the Trafalgar Theatre

Rows A to M, and no row I. One block, aisles at either end and none down the middle, and three steps between every row. Nothing sits above this level, so nothing hangs over it. It is the top of the building and the cheapest seats are up here.

The rake is the reason to be up here

Three steps a row is steep for a theatre this size. You see over the people in front of you, whoever they are. The Stalls cannot promise that, because its seats are not offset and its rake is gentle. So if you are shorter, or you are booking for somebody who is, this is the level with the clearer view from your seat, and it costs less.

Nothing overhangs the level either. The safety rail across the front is the only thing at the edge of the picture.

Where to sit in the Dress Circle

The centre of rows B and C is the best block up here, and one of the two best in the theatre. You see the whole stage in a single frame from a few rows back and slightly above it. The identical money buys the centre of Stalls rows E to H, which is closer and narrower.

Rows D and E are the broad middle of the level, and where a lot of it sits.

Rows F and H are the sensible middle seats, a clear straight view for less than the centre costs. Row G, between them, is the one to avoid. Entrance A lands at seat G1 and takes the row's legroom with it, so anybody much over 5ft 5 will be cramped for 80 minutes. Book F or H instead: the same money and the same view.

Rows J and K are the sensible cheap seat, and unlike the cheap seats downstairs they carry no trade at all. They cost more at a weekend than midweek.

Row M is the cheapest ticket in the building, seventeen seats across the back. The view from there is better than the price suggests, because the rake has done its work by the time you get that far. If row L is close to the same money, take row L: the same view, one fewer flight of steps, and a slightly less remote seat.

Row A, and how wide it is

Row A runs 28 seats across with no central aisle, which makes it the longest row in the building. In the middle it is a good seat, close to the rail and looking straight down at the stage. At the far ends it gets noticeably angled and can lose the extreme edges of the stage, which is why the ends of it sit in the cheaper bands. The very shortest may also find the rail in front of row A sits high.

You come in at row G, and go up or down from there

Entrance A brings you into the auditorium at row G, in the middle of the level. Rows A to F are below you from there and rows H to M are above you. Two further doors come in at row M, at either end.

From the main door it is three steps a row down to the front, or three steps a row up to the back. Rows F and H are the least walking on the whole level.

The bar and the toilets are not on this level

There is no bar and no toilet on the Dress Circle. The Foyer Bar is at street level below you, and the Stalls Bar, which is the bigger one, is a further 25 steps down or one lift ride. The Dress Circle toilets are 22 steps up from the foyer, and there is another set a further 9 steps above the back of this level.

For an 80-minute show with no interval that changes nothing. On a longer production with an interval it means the middle of the price list has the longest round trip in the building, so go before rather than at the break.

Getting up here

Stairs only. There is no step-free access to the Dress Circle. The three entrances are 14 steps up from the foyer to row G, 21 steps up to seat M1, and 25 steps up to seat M17, and then three steps between each row inside. If stairs are a problem, the Stalls is the level with the lift and the access route has the full picture.