The Other Palace — Attraction in London

It’s disappointing that the venue would not allow us to switch our tickets, even though one of our group is very unwell. I asked if we could move our booking to another night, and would accept any transactional cost in doing so, especially as every performance I looked at still has plenty of seats available, but was told this was against policy. The only options given were to attend anyway with sickness or to give the tickets away.

Neither of these feels reasonable. Expecting someone who is unwell to sit shoulder to shoulder with others risks spreading illness, while suggesting we simply give the tickets away ignores how expensive theatre has become and how inaccessible it already is for many.

I am writing this review because, as winter approaches, I think others should be aware that there is no flexibility here. For many people, the theatre is a rare treat, a birthday present, or a special occasion. To be told that you must simply forfeit tickets worth over £100 if someone is too unwell to attend feels exclusionary and out of touch. And if a show is simply not selling out, it isn’t even necessary.

I have only had to reschedule a show once before in my life, and on that occasion I was happy to pay a transaction fee. I don’t expect venues to lose out, but when no performances are sold out, refusing any kind of accommodation only hurts the theatre goer and the cast of the show performing to a smaller audience.

In the end, the choice we were left with was to either lose a significant amount of money or bring sickness into the theatre, and I don’t think either of those outcomes reflects well on the venue.

Of course venues have to have policies in place to manage losses. But no one was asking for a refund. The request was simply to attend in another night which had space (of which they are MANY) so as not to disturb theatre goers with a cough or give them a sickness!

Happy to delete this review if the situation changes.

Support the arts, support theatres! Just might be worth seeking out options with a human touch as everyone works hard for their money and would be hopeful not to sit next to a hacking cough for two hours because the purchaser is...

Located a little off the beaten track and away from the traditional huddle of theatre's, The Other Palace is a clear beacon of shiny-new modernity.

The theatre itself has only a fairly steep bank of stalls (no circle or boxes, etc) with significantly less seats than those found in London's older, grander theatre's. The stage is equally compact, with the musicians on-view high at the back of the stage. There was only a single multi-level set, with no scene changes. This made for a more stripped-down production, which necessitated effective use of the set and lighting.

The experience was unsurprisingly intimate and we had a great view from seats 11 & 12 of row E. I imagine those with 6/6 vision could probably see the whites of the performers eyes from the back.

Incidentally we saw Eugenius, which was a fantastic, fun and entertaining slice of a comic book and film reference-fest of the 1980's. Good work Warwick, but I cannot believe Kevin the robot was voiced by Mark Hamil. Albeit I suppose he...

If you plan to see a show at The Other Palace, I strongly recommend you do not book seats that are at the sides of the stage. We were looking forward to seeing Heathers and are hugely disappointed that watching from seats A1 and A2 was like trying to watch a performance aimed at other people from the wings. We didn't know what the audience was laughing at or reacting to because we just couldn't see it, and this wasn't on the odd occasion, but throughout the performance. The performance was directed as a proscenium arch piece but we were sitting partially in the round, so it should have been directed as such. It could be fairly simply remedied, but our dissatisfaction and disappointment has been further compounded by a reluctance from both the theatre itself and Love Theatre (who we bought the tickets through) to acknowledge the problem and that our view was severely restricted. I'm shocked that this has happened at a professional show and have never experienced anything...