ROH - Behind the Scenes Tour

[solotheatregoer]

Has anyone done this before?  The description is pretty vague on the website so thought I'd check with others if it's worth doing.  What specific areas do you get to see?

[Blossom]

I have done it a couple of times over the years but before they seemed to introduce headsets in addition to a walk around guide. I assume this is for content consistency. In the 'old' days (before Covid) this didn't go into the auditorium but you get to see costume making space, peek into rehearsal rooms and see what is happening behind the main stage in terms of how they store and move scenery. You also learn more about the history of the building and front of house areas.

 

[oncnp]

When I've done the tours, the headsets are for amplification, so the guide doesn't have to shout.

 

I've done post COVID and it has included the auditorium as well as a stop by one of the dance studios as well as costumes and lighting.  You may see dancers in passing. I believe the tours changes based on what's going in the house that day.  I've been on several of the generic tours and always enjoyed them.

 

The Tea & Tour is all ballet oriented and gets you into the shoe room as well. The tea in the Crush Room is pretty nice but the tour is very expensive. 

Edited August 21 by oncnp

[MJW]

I went some years ago and took my mother - she has no interest at all in ballet but she found it fascinating (as did I). ROH seem to do lots of slightly different tours but mine included the auditorium, rehearsal studios, costume department etc.

[SugarPlumpFairy]

When we went in April last year, we went into the amphitheatre as there was a suitable gap in the rehearsal of Aida taking place, they pointed out things like the royal box. We got to watch part of a rehearsal in an upstairs studio, it was Natalia Osipova and Reece Clarke (I think?) doing a bit from Cinderella - we saw through a window so couldn’t hear anything!  They had old pointe shoes here that we could touch.  We saw some costumes, they were old ones so we were allowed to touch - it was a mixture of opera and ballet ones. We went to a lighting storage room and they demonstrated some different types of lights.  

[StillSewingShoes]

My daughter and I took the regular behind the scenes tour last summer, but when the guide found out that my daughter was a dancer, she recommended that we return for the ballet-specific tour. We loved both tours but especially loved the ballet-specific one where she talked about and let us touch the costumes, showed the huge costume room, pointe shoe room, and rehearsal space. Both my daughter and the guide caught their breath when an RBS Principal Dancer walked by. It was wonderful. 

[solotheatregoer]

Thanks so much for your responses!  This is really helpful.  I think I'm going to book the Behind the Scenes tour when I'm there for Alice in October.  Will let you know how it goes. 

[OnePigeon]

We went to the general tour last week.  It was in the middle of their summer renovations, but we still got to sit in the amphitheatre, see the props department, stand outside a rehearsal studio - where we were treated to a brilliantly invigorating  impromptu performance of the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party, see a few dancers in the canteen and get the history of the building and some intel on operations that was really informative.  It was really interesting and I’d like to go another time when the company is not on summer break.  The ballet tour sounds brilliant- I’m definitely keeping an eye out for that.