Stratford East — Attraction in London

I have visited here 2 times in the space of 2 weeks to see Abigail’s party - so good. Such a great play with Tamzin Outhwaite as the star. I must commend this theatre and its staff, especially the two young lads working on the upper circle on evening of 5th October. They went above and beyond to try to get us better seats for me and my elderly mother. The story behind this is we were meant to attend the matinee that day but the journey by car (as my mother is disabled), became a nightmare and the traffic was so bad, we weren’t going to make the 2.30pm time. I called the box office at 2.20pm to explain and asked if there was any chance we could swap our tickets for that evening show instead? They kindly agreed but gave us Upper circle row E, which are not great seats. They are very high up and they were the very last seats at the back. My mother has mobility issues so she almost hit her head as she climbed the steps to this seat. We were told this was all they had. Then one of lads working at the Upper circle suggested that I go to speak to the box office to see if there were any other seats. Whilst we were sitting there, I had a quick look at the booking page and saw there were still other seats they could have given us considering I had purchased seats in the Circle. So the other young lad called me over as I was about to go down to the box office and said he had arranged for us to sit in row C in the Upper circle but I showed him on the bookings page there were other seats available. He radio down but was told for me to go to the box office. I left my mum in the Upper circle as the show was about to start, but I was told by the box office the seats in the Circle that I wanted had been given away even though I had reserved them. However, they kindly gave me seats in my second choice, row P at the Stalls. I called my mum and the young man saw my mum into lift to come down to me. He had to press the button and jump out as the doors were about the close. Very kind of him to look after her. They were much better seats and we thoroughly enjoyed the show. I am grateful for these lads very caring attitude. Thankful to the theatre for agreeing to swapping our tickets and grateful to the staff at the box office for then swapping our seats. Many theatres would not have swapped the theatres in the first place. Well done Stratford East for accommodating us as it was a special day out...

Overall experience I would rate it a 3/5. I would go again but not in a rush. Firstly, when we arrived the ushers/staff were friendly and showed us where our screening will be and directed us to the bar as we got there about half an hour. The bar lady wasn’t that friendly at first as she got quite defensive as she made the incorrect drink for me and had to correct it. After that issue was resolved she was ok.

I booked the disability seat via the phone no problem with at all. When I got there the staff member said you’re not allowed to use the toilet only during the interval. This should be made clear from the start as my disability revolves around my bladder. This should be stated on the website and when booking seats. I explained to her that I booked the disability seat and aisle seat due to my bladder frequency. I also explained that i can have to urge to go 1 minute, 5 minutes, half an hour, one hour or two hours. It just depends. She said the screening will only be on for 45 minutes then there will be an interval. It was a young black girl I would say around 16-22. I think she needs to be made aware about types of disabilities and how you deliver information to customers because I found that quite offensive, using the word “only”. She could have simply said I need to speak to my manager about this.. then pass on the information to me.

Anyways, we asked another member of staff and he said it’s ok if I need to go just go and he will let me back into the screen ( this is how is should have been done in the first place) If these two issues never arose then I would rate my experience 5/5.

I watched The Women of Llanrumney. I highly...

Special Gifts Theatre is an amazing organization that gives individuals with any physical or mental challenges an arena to shine and feel important. Everyone is treated with the utmost respect and given a wealth of self-esteem to carry on in their everyday lives. The staff and administration are always willing to listen to any concerns or questions from not only the participants, but their parents/legal guardians as well. The mentor program is a two fold plus. The individuals that participate in this program and their mentors (buddies) all learn nothing but positive attributes that help build and nurture better adults in the future. This program is a definite must for any individual with special challenges in their lives to "be the best they can be." Disability Awareness: Welcoming, Talked directly to the person/people with disability, Friendly, Gave choices, Gave extra time, Respectful, Helpful with assistance or accommodation, Flexible service, Physically accessible,...