West End Theatre's

[lunaswand]

DH & I went to the theatre on Saturday to see HP & The Cursed Child, the performance was good but completely ruined by the horrendous heat in the theatre. It was so hot people were using anything as fans, DH fashioned one out of a Malteser box.
During the interval we enquired about the air conditioning only to be told there wasn't any!

I'm so annoyed as it completely ruined the day - are all London theatre's like this because they are old buildings?
Am I being unreasonable to expect to not have to sit wafting my t-shirt throughout the performance so I don't pass out from the heat when we have paid almost £400 to see a performance we've been looking forward to for so long?

I was just wondering about this. We have tickets for a West end show later in the week, for all the family, so it cost £££. It's a long show so I will be very pissed off if it gets too hot to enjoy the performance. They could install temporary air con, even if it is only on before the show and in the intervals.

Yes, a lot don't have air conditioning because they are listed buildings. My daughter used to work in one. It's hard for the staff and performers too.

Some do have an air cooling system though.

I do remember this happened when we went to see Wicked. It was soooo hot! It just took away from the enjoyment of the show as everyone was melting,

I went to one in similarly conditions a few years back. The theatre were giving out free iced water, which was great.
A solution would be great .. air/con won’t be happening to old theatres for lots of reasons .. by better fans & airflow would be a start

Which theatre? Some do. Shaftesbury theatre does!

Yes Wicked is the one that sticks on my memory, that was a hot one.
Recently went to the National Theatre and that seemed to have air conditioning but it's a newer building of course and not in the West End.

Theatres I know of with air con or air cooling include SohoPlace, Adelphi, Almeida, Arts, Novello, Sondheim, Drury Lane, Troubador, Wyndhams, Victoria Palace, Trafalgar, Theatre Royal, Haymarket, Savoy, Shaftesbury, Prince Edward, Prince of Wales, Playhouse (Kit Kat) HIs Majestys, Gillian Lynne, Aldwych, Criterion

Most of them don't have air con. Just like having only tiny women's toilets.

West end theatres are generally pretty uncomfortable I find - cramped, poor sightlines, no aircon, not enough women's loos. They trade on their name and tradition really. Most people, objectively speaking, wouldn't pay so much for such duff conditions otherwise.

I think it's less that they 'trade on their name' than that's just what the majority of London theatres are like -- most of them are Victorian. If you want to see a play or musical, it's more than likely to be in the same type of Victorian theatre building. The NT is far more comfortable, but won't be putting on Phantom or We Will Rock You.

That’s a shame it spoiled it. It’s a ‘double bill’ show too, so a long time to be in there in high heat.

After a similar, bad experience in a boiling hot London theatre in winter, reviews and info on heating/air con is now something I check before booking.

YABU to put an apostrophe in “ theatres” 🤣

The Palace Theatre, Shaftsbury Avenue

It really was absolutely awful. I'm a huge HP fan & didn't want to go back for the second part in the evening & many people didn't as far as I could tell

I think this is really difficult. Most public buildings in the UK don’t have Aircon, on trains it’s patchy and on buses it doesn’t work. Lots of the west end theatres are completely old and decrepit and don’t have great facilities. If you tried to install aircon it would cost a fortune and probably be architecturally problematic. Free standing aircon units/ fans would probably fuse the place or cause an electrical fire, be noisy and not sure they would make much difference.Plus in the past days where it was 25 plus by the evenings were few and far between so it wouldn’t have been worth the investment.

I do think this perhaps needs a rethink though, maybe if temperatures are over a certain level they should be obliged to hand out fans/ iced water and/ or offer the option of a refund?

I feel most sorry for the performers!

It’s not just the heat, you’ll be sharing an arm rest and your knees smushed into the seat at front unless you get good seats. It’s cramped at the best of times and that’s before you add the heat.. there are nicer theatres though like up at Wembley and down at Battersea

They are historic listed buildings so no air con, for 9 months of the year they need heating anyway, it’s Britain!

I’ve been in London theatres in heat and yes it like a sauna but it’s really rare in terms of days per year.

go to a modern regional theatre if you want mod cons

We were at the Noel Coward theatre on a hot day about couple of weeks ago for Comedy about Spies and it was surprisingly cool and that was a matinee .

as I general rule I always go to a more local theatre which has comfortable seats & the temperature has never been a problem however they don't show this production as it is a permanent West End show.

Lesson learnt in that I won't be going again & going in winter if it's something I really want to see.

I just thought it's something people should be aware of

Yes, thank you, indeed, it’s useful when people post reviews and info.

It’s not possible to see these shows elsewhere.

In case no one's said this already, there are various websites with seating plans, notes on legroom, restricted view seats, best seats etc in each theatre, how many women's toilet cubicles, disabled access eg

https://www.theatremonkey.com/venues

(According to Theatremonkey, the Palace is an 'air-cooled auditorium', but that people have been complaining for years that it is unreliable and ineffective, and that it's often stifling in summer.)

I’ve found some theatres uncomfortably hot and stuffy in winter too - old heating systems turned on high.

Tiny and few women’s toilets!
Although went to see Evita recently at the Palladium and there were loads!
And at a Broadway theatre (can’t remember which one) there were staff manning the women’s queue and inside calling out the ones that were free (they had numbered them). It was a fantastic operation! Almost as good as the show!

Yes, I went to a summer performance of Harry Potter a couple of years ago and it was boiling then. Me and my Mum went to see 'Pretty Woman' in the West End and that theatre was horrible, they had a massive fan on to try and cool it down but couldn't keep it switched on during the performance due to noise.

Went to Noel Coward Theatre on Sunday to see 'The Comedy About Spies' and was kind of dreading it in the heat despite being a massive Mischief fan as I thought with everyone laughing it would quickly get boiling but it actually stayed comfortable throughout the whole performance despite London being boiling, I was really impressed.

One reason I prefer sitting in the stalls is because I find them cooler and more comfortable then sitting in the Gods.