art_enthusiast Posted March 14, 2022 Share Posted March 14, 2022 (edited) 20 hours ago, Emeralds said: I think Carlos has really got to know the dancers’ strengths and personalities, and has found a ballet that they can shine in. Looking forward to their visit to Sadler’s Wells! Indeed. Just wondering, does anyone know which are the 'good' seats in Sadler's Wells? I know that there are different definitions of the term. For me I like to be as close to the stage as possible, ideally in the stalls or at the side, so not in first or second circle. I notice that there are 2 rows at the front of the stalls in Sadler's Wells that are described as 'restricted/near to the stage' (DD/CC). Does that mean a significant part of the dancer's feet are cut off? Would be grateful for any advice! I have not been to Sadler's Wells very much before so am quite unaware of the different views from each level. Can't find a separate thread about Sadler's Wells seating so hoping I can ask here. Edited March 14, 2022 by art_enthusiast Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capybara Posted March 14, 2022 Share Posted March 14, 2022 3 minutes ago, art_enthusiast said: Indeed. Just wondering, does anyone know which are the 'good' seats in Sadler's Wells? I know that there are different definitions of the term. For me I like to be as close to the stage as possible, ideally in the stalls or at the side, so not in first or second circle. I notice that there are 2 rows at the front of the stalls in Sadler's Wells that are described as 'restricted/near to the stage' (DD/CC). Does that mean a significant part of the dancer's feet are cut off? Would be grateful for any advice! I have not been to Sadler's Wells very much before so am quite unaware of the different views from each level. Can't find a separate thread about Sadler's Wells seating so hoping I can ask here. The seats DD and CC in the Stalls at Sadler's cut off more than feet. AA is more or less OK, depending on whether there are footlights, BB is marginal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
art_enthusiast Posted March 14, 2022 Author Share Posted March 14, 2022 (edited) 21 minutes ago, capybara said: The seats DD and CC in the Stalls at Sadler's cut off more than feet. AA is more or less OK, depending on whether there are footlights, BB is marginal. Thanks. Are the stalls raked well? In case there's someone really tall in front Are the side stalls (row SG) good? I'm looking at getting one on either side Edited March 14, 2022 by art_enthusiast Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capybara Posted March 14, 2022 Share Posted March 14, 2022 8 minutes ago, art_enthusiast said: Thanks. Are the stalls raked well? In case there's someone really tall in front Are the side stalls (row SG) good? I'm looking at getting one on either side I don't think that the Stalls are particularly well-raked. I have no experience of seats further back, I'm afraid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawnstar Posted March 14, 2022 Share Posted March 14, 2022 (edited) 36 minutes ago, art_enthusiast said: Are the side stalls (row SG) good? I'm looking at getting one on either side I sat there for Singin' In The Rain last year & thought the view was good. There was very little view restriction, much less than side stalls circle at the ROH, though of course it may vary depending on how different productions use the stage. Edited March 14, 2022 by Dawnstar 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted March 14, 2022 Share Posted March 14, 2022 1 hour ago, capybara said: The seats DD and CC in the Stalls at Sadler's cut off more than feet. AA is more or less OK, depending on whether there are footlights, BB is marginal. I've found BB just about OK and AA OK (unless there are footlights in the way). I've just had a look at the seating plan and BRB is starting at row A, which I have always found fine. (NB is starting at row AA). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
San Perregrino Posted March 14, 2022 Share Posted March 14, 2022 6 minutes ago, Jan McNulty said: I've found BB just about OK and AA OK (unless there are footlights in the way). I've just had a look at the seating plan and BRB is starting at row A, which I have always found fine. (NB is starting at row AA). I think Rows DD, CC, BB & AA are extra rows of seats put in which cover the orchestra pit when there is no live orchestra. As such, depending on the product, they can be too close to the stage for my liking. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
art_enthusiast Posted March 14, 2022 Author Share Posted March 14, 2022 15 minutes ago, Jan McNulty said: I've found BB just about OK and AA OK (unless there are footlights in the way). I've just had a look at the seating plan and BRB is starting at row A, which I have always found fine. (NB is starting at row AA). Yep, that's good to know. But for The Forsythe evening (sorry for the slight subject change here) they opened CC/DD. Don't know if there's a thread for this yet. I haven't seen William Forsythe works live ever, but I saw the ENB's YouTube clips and I see that this is a highly technical performance with lots of interesting footwork and so on, so it would probably be very bad to miss the feet! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted March 14, 2022 Share Posted March 14, 2022 1 hour ago, art_enthusiast said: Can't find a separate thread about Sadler's Wells seating so hoping I can ask here. No, I don't think we have one either, so I've used this to start one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted March 14, 2022 Share Posted March 14, 2022 18 minutes ago, art_enthusiast said: Yep, that's good to know. But for The Forsythe evening (sorry for the slight subject change here) they opened CC/DD. Don't know if there's a thread for this yet. I haven't seen William Forsythe works live ever, but I saw the ENB's YouTube clips and I see that this is a highly technical performance with lots of interesting footwork and so on, so it would probably be very bad to miss the feet! If they've opened DD and CC that would imply there isn't an orchestra. I would be tempted to go for row A or further back as I think there is a lesser rake on the double-lettered rows. I have sat on rows D and F before now and found them OK (just dredging my memory banks). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted May 20, 2023 Share Posted May 20, 2023 3 hours ago, Fonty said: Even more annoying is someone weaving their head in, say, Sadlers Wells, where the sight lines are excellent and there really is no need, even for a short person like me. I think some people have either a nervous tick, or they like to sway to the music. 3 hours ago, Sim said: They aren't always excellent at SW....I was there the other day (at the back of the stalls) and there was a very tall man right in front of me. The seat wasn't staggered so my view was blocked. Luckily I spotted a free seat a couple of rows ahead and grabbed it. That seat WAS staggered with the one in front so the view was fine. 3 hours ago, Lizbie1 said: I've had this problem at SW too - the seats further back in the 2nd circle aren't staggered either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fonty Posted May 21, 2023 Share Posted May 21, 2023 As I said on the other thread, I have never sat in the stalls at Sadlers Wells. I usually go upstairs. Maybe I have just been lucky in my choice of seats whenever I have been but I do tend to go for the ones where I know the view is great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ondine Posted May 21, 2023 Share Posted May 21, 2023 While on the subject of the Wells, this is sneaky. A 50p per seat extra levy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted May 21, 2023 Share Posted May 21, 2023 Yes, I saw something about it somewhere on their website, I presume. It's scarcely the first theatre in London to do so - although most of the others are rather older. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnnabelCharles Posted May 22, 2023 Share Posted May 22, 2023 The 50p buildings levy is explained in the terms and conditions - and you don't pay the transaction fee of £3.50 if you book in person - so it all seems very open, clear and reasonable to me. I paid £28.00 (as a member, including fees) for a seat in the second circle to see The Great Gatsby, with an excellent view. This is cheaper than my local theatre - and very good value for money, in my opinion. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ondine Posted May 22, 2023 Share Posted May 22, 2023 It's fine for those able to book in person, but not everyone is able to do that. It's all these add ons which make theatre (and cinema) going more and more expensive and many are having now to cut back. However, I do feel 50p per person added on for the building is really pushing it TBH. I would have hoped that was factored in to ticket prices for all. It won't end at 50 will it? 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sim Posted May 22, 2023 Share Posted May 22, 2023 25 minutes ago, Ondine said: It's fine for those able to book in person, but not everyone is able to do that. It's all these add ons which make theatre (and cinema) going more and more expensive and many are having now to cut back. However, I do feel 50p per person added on for the building is really pushing it TBH. I would have hoped that was factored in to ticket prices for all. It won't end at 50 will it? Not per person...per seat! I booked three seats for Black Sabbath on Friday and in addition to the £3.50 booking fee I was charged £1.50 for the 'building maintenance' fee. So an extra fiver on top of the ticket price. As I am a member of SW I had saved some money on the ticket price but the savings on one of the tickets cost me the extra fees, so it was cancelled out. Kind of defeats the object.... 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zxDaveM Posted May 22, 2023 Share Posted May 22, 2023 These transaction/booking/ripoff extra fees are particularly galling these days, as you do all the work yourself. No longer does someone print out the ticket for you, pop it in an envelope, run it through the franking machine, pop it along to the post box, etc. No, you get an electronic version; which you may print yourself, with your own inks and paper that you have paid for, or just flash it on your electronic device, using stored electricity you've paid for, along with the fees for internet access you've paid for, etc - and they charge you £3.50 for the privilege! We should be charging them! 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zxDaveM Posted May 22, 2023 Share Posted May 22, 2023 (you might be able to tell that this is something that has incensed me over the recent past!!!!) 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizbie1 Posted May 22, 2023 Share Posted May 22, 2023 One tip for SW booking: the Peacock box office is open for I think an hour before each show there. If you're in luck with the timing while in the area - maybe for something at ROH - you can buy your SW tickets in person there. (I don't know if they'll be charging the 50p "levy" in person.) I realise that this won't work for everyone (it doesn't always work out for me!) but it could help some. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted May 22, 2023 Share Posted May 22, 2023 5 minutes ago, Lizbie1 said: One tip for SW booking: the Peacock box office is open for I think an hour before each show there. If you're in luck with the timing while in the area - maybe for something at ROH - you can buy your SW tickets in person there. (I don't know if they'll be charging the 50p "levy" in person.) I realise that this won't work for everyone (it doesn't always work out for me!) but it could help some. I used to be able to do that with ATG theatres. I could get the bus into town (Liverpool) and book at the Empire box office, in person, for Manchester and Sunderland (or any other ATG theatre). Sadly they closed that loophole quite a few years ago now. If you think SW's charges are bad try booking ATG tickets! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sim Posted May 22, 2023 Share Posted May 22, 2023 39 minutes ago, zxDaveM said: These transaction/booking/ripoff extra fees are particularly galling these days, as you do all the work yourself. No longer does someone print out the ticket for you, pop it in an envelope, run it through the franking machine, pop it along to the post box, etc. No, you get an electronic version; which you may print yourself, with your own inks and paper that you have paid for, or just flash it on your electronic device, using stored electricity you've paid for, along with the fees for internet access you've paid for, etc - and they charge you £3.50 for the privilege! We should be charging them! I have long wondered how they can charge a booking fee when everything is done electronically....or am I missing something?? So when you go to the box office and a human being is involved, there is no booking fee. When you do it from your own computer, no human being is involved and the ticket arrives within a minute, and for this we have to pay. Perhaps it's to cover bank charges...but then surely these also apply if you use a card to pay when purchasing in person?? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizbie1 Posted May 22, 2023 Share Posted May 22, 2023 13 minutes ago, Sim said: I have long wondered how they can charge a booking fee when everything is done electronically....or am I missing something?? So when you go to the box office and a human being is involved, there is no booking fee. When you do it from your own computer, no human being is involved and the ticket arrives within a minute, and for this we have to pay. Perhaps it's to cover bank charges...but then surely these also apply if you use a card to pay when purchasing in person?? My theory (and I don't really understand the law in this area) is that it's to exploit a loophole that says that if you leave a means open via which the fees don't have to be paid, they don't need to be rolled into the ticket price. It does make me appreciate ROH's very straightforward policy, though I live in fear that some bright spark will suggest they start loading fees onto the ticket price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zxDaveM Posted May 22, 2023 Share Posted May 22, 2023 2 hours ago, Sim said: Perhaps it's to cover bank charges...but then surely these also apply if you use a card to pay when purchasing in person?? There may be an element in that (excessive cc charges from the banks are definitely a ripoff against vendors imo) I remember back in the day, that if you could get to the box office and pay cash (proper readies) you could avoid all the fees for gigs, as my trips to the likes of the Astoria can atest. You did run the risk of getting the 'sold out' shutter, as getting them online was always faster (as the touts proved) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted May 22, 2023 Share Posted May 22, 2023 I was told many years ago that ticket prices in receiving theatres are split between the theatre and the visiting company. The charges applied and shown separately all go to the theatre so it is a way for the theatre to gain extra income. (That has just been dredged up from somewhere in my memory banks.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted May 22, 2023 Share Posted May 22, 2023 If it's per seat, then why not include it in the seat price? "Total ... including 50 p building maintenance levy"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnePigeon Posted May 22, 2023 Share Posted May 22, 2023 Just looking at booking the ENB performance and wondering if anyone knows what the sight line is like at the side of the stalls seats? I’m looking at D8 and 9 (the green ones for £55). It’s been years since I sat in the stalls there so wondering if it’s safer to just go central but high as I usually do. The extra levy is very annoying, especially as I was there on Saturday and the new booking season has only opened today so couldn’t book in person. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
San Perregrino Posted May 22, 2023 Share Posted May 22, 2023 7 hours ago, Sim said: I have long wondered how they can charge a booking fee when everything is done electronically....or am I missing something?? So when you go to the box office and a human being is involved, there is no booking fee. When you do it from your own computer, no human being is involved and the ticket arrives within a minute, and for this we have to pay. Perhaps it's to cover bank charges...but then surely these also apply if you use a card to pay when purchasing in person?? technology seems ultimately to cost more to build, maintain and run than people imho. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizbie1 Posted June 3, 2023 Share Posted June 3, 2023 On 22/05/2023 at 13:13, Lizbie1 said: One tip for SW booking: the Peacock box office is open for I think an hour before each show there. If you're in luck with the timing while in the area - maybe for something at ROH - you can buy your SW tickets in person there. (I don't know if they'll be charging the 50p "levy" in person.) I realise that this won't work for everyone (it doesn't always work out for me!) but it could help some. The 50p per ticket levy was indeed added, but no other charges. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JNC Posted June 3, 2023 Share Posted June 3, 2023 Regarding seat views, not foolproof but I use this website: https://seatplan.com/london/sadlers-wells-theatre/seating-plan/ Not every seat will have a photo/review as it relies on uploads from the audience but overall I find it generally quite helpful (and better than nothing!). 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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