Small things which could make going to the theatre less stressful

[RelationshipOrNot]

I was wondering if other ND people relate to any of this. I'm autistic, and while I like the idea of going to the theatre, the reality is often highly stressful. I had tickets for a play last night, but in the end I didn't feel able to go as I couldn't find any information on the running time or whether there would be an interval. I know I should have contacted them and asked, but I didn't realise I would get so anxious about it in advance and wasn't sure who to contact as it was a theatre company putting on a show at a wider festival. It isn't the first time this has happened.

I think it should be standard practice for theatres to give the running time and whether there's an interval for all plays, and images or diagrams of the layout of the auditorium would be really helpful as well. Not just for ND people, but for people with other needs too such as those who need the loo more often or who find sitting for too long painful. I wonder if it's worth writing to the festival organisers and suggesting this for next time, or if they would think I was annoying.

Festival organisers are generally quite “right on” people and it’s probable they had never considered how valuable knowing about run times and intervals are to certain sectors of the community. The idea that people with tickets would back out rather than go through the potentially upsetting/frustrating/energy-draining process of calling up and enquiring about this information I’m sure is completely alien (I personally get it, if the enquiry goes badly, even if the information gained is positive it might leave you too drained to feel able to attempt the Theatre trip - which you’d need 100% of your mental and physical stamina for).

If you have the mental space for it, do please tell them your experience and ask them to consider including the information for future events.

As for a visual guide to the Theatre.

There is this wonderful website which has had thousands of theatre goers contributing images of the seats.

https://aviewfrommyseat.co.uk/league/3084/West+End+Theatre/West+End+Theatre/
I think it’s great to know what view to expect.
As for visual guides. I got my first one sent to me recently by email for an Autism Friendly event at the British Library that I took my DD to. The bus ride there had been horribly overwhelming as well as delayed and we arrived a bit late with there being a start deadline. Having had the visual guide to pre-plan my visit I managed to stay on the flappy and anxious level and not drop into panic and incoherence. My kid began her session (which she loved) and I had a whole, near empty exhibition to explore by myself - bliss!
Oops, sorry, detour - point is, that whoever put the British Library’s visual guide together knew exactly what they were doing, I imagine they had guidance from a consultant.
I’m not sure how straightforward it is for people who don’t need visual guides themselves to create one, but I can’t see any harm in stating that you would value one.

I go to theatres a lot and they do seem to be getting better, though there's been a few I've still had to hunt for the run time. Not helpful if you need to book dinner or trains after. I notice a few like Lion King have started doing a visual guide which I originally got to show my (also autistic) daughter as it was her first time at the theatre but found the pictures of the different areas quite helpful myself. My biggest issues are around getting there as I have a very poor sense of direction so appreciate very clear directions and if not in London actually telling you where you can park so I don't have to spend ages researching which car park is open at that time.

I love visual stories and always appreciate it when theatres have them.

Other things that would help me are:

Not having to queue / wait to get into the auditorium - I like to leave myself plenty of time to get there in case anything goes wrong, but then have to wait in crowded areas, which doesn’t work for me.

Not a small thing, but having different types of autism-friendly performances. Relaxed performances aren’t accessible for me as I can’t tolerate other people moving around and being noisy. I’d like the reduced sensory input but with very strictly enforced rules around audience behaviour - you sit down, don’t talk or eat, don’t sing along etc.

Make box seats easier to book as this works well for me as I don’t need to be so close to other people, but can almost never get these online.