Fortune Theatre — Attraction in London

Admittedly I am more a popular musicals fan (i.e. Les Miserables, Wicked, Lion King etc) than theatre. However, I got a discount off getintolondontheatre for their annual Jan-Feb event and decided that The Woman In Black was the one I have heard the best about and bought tickets.

I did not know anything except that this was a ghost story (my mum had watched it years ago) but was excited to see how they would portray phantoms in theatre. This play did not disappoint, I was engrossed in the story, which was easy to follow. It was amazing how they could have only 2 speaking actors (and a ghost), made use of very few props and relied on sound effects to scare the audience.

For the first half of the play I was constantly scared and was hiding behind my hands, but since the interval I think the sudden screams, big noises etc was a bit repetitive and although the rest of the audience were still screaming all the same, I personally thought it was a bit overdone by that time.

Still, I would say that this play has a very simple storyline, was told in a very interesting manner and worth a watch if you wanted a good scare as entertainment!

As a last comment on the venue itself, they had a very impolite ice cream lady who was quite rude to guests, there were 3 ladies' toilets only and the one I went to had only two stalls resulting in a long ladies queue outside during the interval, the stalls seating otherwise gave good vantage on the stage.

I also didn't like the fact that the theatre let guests in 20 minutes after the play started meaning my whole row had to stand up to let two people into the row while the play was running (there was a very short 3 second curtain where they let these two...

I had reserved a ticket online to see the dark and ghostly play, "The Woman in Black". I found the Fortune Theatre off Covent Garden quite easily and earlier in the evening than planned. But some of the audience were trickling in and I made my way up to the tiny Dress Circle bar for a drink. I forked out over 8 quid for a bottle of German styled lager type beer brewed in Camden, North London. The young man behind the bar was polite and friendly and happy to chat when not serving other guests.

When we got the calls prior to the show starting I gingerly made my way to my seat in the 2nd row up in the Dress circle. It's certainly true that this is a very small and intimate theatre. But, my goodness, for normal sized adults the legroom was awful. Just like sitting in the back of a cheap discount airline. I really spent the whole performance crunched up, unable to move and started to worry about deep vein thrombosis risks. Only the intermission provided some relief - oh, and then I was lucky enough to find a disabled restroom which didn't appear to have been discovered by the crowds. Which reminds me - there is no cloakroom so any large coats or, heaven forbid, bags have to be accommodated within your miniscule seat space. How some people managed it I just don't know.

This review is all about the theatre - not the excellent two man show (well, there is a woman in black as well) but she didn't even get to join in the curtain calls at the end. So my review is focused on the theatre, which while it is very quaint, just isn't set up for a comfortable evening for normal sized...

MOST MISERABLE NIGHT OF MY LIFE!! The production was fantastic - five stars for Operation Mincemeat. Unfortunately, the seats in this theater are so small that an average human is forced to contort their legs, bend them under their seat, or twist and turn throughout the production in impossibly painful positions. I live here and have been to several productions in the West End. I know London theater seats can be tight. This is by far the worst theater seating I've experienced in the city.

About halfway through the second act my legs cramped so painfully I almost cried out. The guy in front of me glared back because I'm sure I was jostling his seat, and I would have been annoyed if I were him too, but I could not help it. The only saving grace was that we were in the back row, so I watched the last part of the production standing up. I noticed a woman in our same row was also standing because she could not fit in the seat. After the production, my family members had to help me walk home because my legs were still quivering in pain.

A shame for the production. If I were a production company I would never put on my play at this theater, and I won't be going back, no matter what is playing and how amazing the reviews are. If you go, either pay for box seats or bring some heavy duty pain killer for intermission. ...