Haymarket, Theatre Royal
Venue Information
- How to book (Phone)
- 020 7930 8800
- [email protected]
- Guide dogs
- Guide dogs are not allowed into the auditorium but up to 6 can be looked after in the manager’s office.
- Wheelchairs
- No steps to the auditorium through EXIT doors to the left and righthand side of the main entrance - please tell the Box Office in advance and they will be opened for you. 1 space for a wheelchair user at X18. The venue is suitable for scooters. Transfer seating available to any aisle seat for 1 scooter and 4 wheelchairs. The theatre can store 1 scooter and 4 wheelchairs per performance.
- Sound amplification
- Sennheiser infra-red system with 20 headsets.
- Audio description
- Main entrance up three 15cm steps (staircases have handrails on both sides and are highlighted) through a set of double swing doors. Box Office counter to the right of the entrance. 18 steps down from the foyer to the Stalls, 28 steps up to the Royal Circle, and 60+ steps up to the Upper Circle and Gallery, through a separate entrance to the right of the main entrance. 4 steps in to each box.
- Street to foyer
- Steps
- Foyer to seat
- 28 up to Royal Circle, 60+ to Upper Circle and Gallery
- Level access
- Stalls
- Bars
- 1 licensed bar. Drinks in plastic cups can be brought to disabled customers in the auditorium. Stalls bar is 11 steps down from the foyer, Royal Circle bar is 28 steps up from the foyer, and there is another bar at Upper Circle level. No seating.
- Toilets
- Adapted toilet at Stalls entrance on street level.
- Parking
50% off parking with Q-Park. Meters and 1 disabled parking space in Suffolk Place.
- Air conditioning
- Yes
- Accepts Theatre Tokens
- Yes
The Theatre Royal Haymarket is the third-oldest playhouse still in use. The venue can be dated back to 1720. In 1747, it is established that Samuel Foots acquired a lease for the site, subsequently gaining a licence to perform drama in 1766. The current structure was extensively rebuilt in 1821 with the addition of a proscenium and removal of the pit, and opened with a production of Richard Brinsley Sheridan’s The Rivals.
The venue has a capacity of 888 that is spread over the theatre’s four levels. In 1994, the theatre was closed for a £1.3 million refurbishment and reopened later that year with a production of Arcadia by the acclaimed playwright Tom Stoppard. In more recent years, Theatre Royal Haymarket has seen many well-known actors perform on its stage including Bradley Cooper, Ralph Fiennes, Ian McKellen, and Patrick Stewart.
The theatre has seen many theatrical innovations, but it is most famous for staging the first scheduled matinee performance, a custom that is now a staple part of the West End.
The current chairman of the Theatre Royal Haymarket is Arnold M Crook, and the theatre has played host to plenty of new writing and reimaginings of classic texts in recent years. Notable recent productions include The Goat, Or Who Is Sylvia? starring Damian Lewis and Sophie Okonedo, and a production of Venus In Fur starring Natalie Dormer.