Sunderland Empire Theatre — Attraction in Sunderland

We booked tickets for Wicked and we were all excited to see the show. However the full experience and show was ruined because of where our seats were.

We booked tickets in the stalls but didn’t realise these were so close to the toilets. We experienced a constant level of distribution and noise, from people chatting, all be it quietly, to the noise of the hand dryer, the light from the toilets being flashed through to us and the opening and shutting of the bathroom door. This was throughout the full show, making it impossible to enjoy. Having paid over £200 for tickets and waited over a year to see the show we were all left deeply disappointed as we didn’t get to enjoy the show, which did look wonderful when you weren’t distracted.

I spoke to a member of staff at the interval, who advised that they often get complaints about the seats we had. Surely if this is a known complaint, a warning could be present when booking these seats, so at the very least you are expecting the regular disruption and could either accept it or choose to book other seats. The known issue with these seats really felt like a kick in the teeth. They understand that customers experience this but don’t do anything prior to taking their money to warn them.

The theatre was full so we could not be seated elsewhere.

The member of staff advised to write in to inform management of our experience. The Theatre manager replied stating they can’t stop people from using the toilet and offered some vouchers for the bar to use the next time we visit. Totally missing the point that I was not complaining about people using the toilet, it’s natural, but that I was feeling letdown that no warning was given regarding the seats prior to booking. Now we have missed seeing/enjoying the show after waiting so long.

I have given the theatre the opportunity to show that customer experience it’s important to them and requested some replacement tickets for a different night or a discounted ticket for another show. Again I was remind that they can’t stop people going to the toilet and a voucher for the bar was the best they could offer. Missing the point completely about a warning when booking is all that is needed, not stopping people using the bathroom . Overall, disappointing experience and customer service. Happy to take the money and let people experience a distributed show.

So warning to anyone booking tickets, do not waste your money sitting further back in the stalls. If that’s all that is available I recommend you don’t book and look to visit another theatre.

Staff on the day very friendly and polite. Shame management don’t have the same level of empathy and customer service skills.

I personally will keep returning to the Empire, because of the shows it attracts and have had many good experiences here. I will however, be careful about where and what seats I book and expect very little from the management team if I ever experience an...

Sunderland Empire review: The good: Amazingly responsive staff. Beautiful venue. Lots of history throughout the building. The bad: Elevators only go as high as the dress circle. The Gallery is extremely steep.( Not advertised) Ability positives: The offer induction loop services House lights are warm, and at a comfortable brightness inside the theatre. ATG website has a list of suggested seating, and accommodations. Ability issues: You need to research accessibility on the web to find the information. Suggested seating is bookable only on a first come first served basis. Anyone with mobility issues will find it difficult to access seating above dress circle. Gallery is very high for people with fear of heights. Very loud if someone has sound sensitivity Small seats. Suggest to buy 2 if you don’t want to sit next to strangers. Little leg space for taller/longer legged individuals. No quiet room Entrance and corridors are brightly lit with cool lights, and can be very crowded pre show(probably post as well) Show: Hamilton Only really saw most of the first half. Fantastic from what we did get to see. No faults with the production at all. Ability issues for production: Flashing lights, loud effects (Canon and gunfire), not historically accurate. We arrived with ample time to get seated and settled before the house lights went down. The corridors were brightly lit, and crowded with people milling about preshow. We were able to get a lift as far as the dress circle, but had to climb several flights of steps up to the gallery. Once there we discovered that the steps down into the gallery seating were extremely steep. We also didn’t realize that the gallery seating was quite that high up. The pictures on the website do not do justice to the scale of the theatre. Unfortunately our child (13 year old) who is autistic had a panic attack, and needed to leave the situation. At the top of the gallery we were met by an usher who was very supportive and got us in touch with her manager who kindly suggested that there was seating in the upper circle. We did need need to pay the difference. We were escorted us to our new seats by a different usher who was also lovely. The show was quite loud even with ear defenders for myself and the child . Additionally there were lots of flashing lights. Sadly we only made it most of the way to intermission before our child had enough. The staff was helpful on the way out enquiring about the reason for our early departure, and offering solutions. Ultimately we did go home at that point. We had no faults with the staff, but things would have been done differently if we had further information walking in....

Absolutely disgusting staff and doorboys (definitely not men) 10 mins before the show due to end my mum need to use the lady room due to health issues to get to the hallway and ask where the toilets are to get no your leaving no reason apart from her friend look at her phone. So my mum was manhandled out of the venue, no phone coat or bag she beg to use the toilet, which no person should have to do, ask for her stuff to get told no. She said, "What have I done, you drunk was the quick response of a staff member she went yes I've had a glass of wine for them to say no, just get out no point begging. My mum, crying her heart out, goes to the bar over the road if so intoxicated they wouldnt have allowed her in?goes to the toilet, and then stands in the cold rain, hoping to see one of us so she is able to get home. Inside the venue we too were getting thrown out no reason and when I said we'll my mum in the toilet can you wait to get no she already been thrown out excuse me she got no stuff with her next thing I know the staff have pick her stuff up took it out of sight i demanding it back but the girl ran off with it (outside) the bouncer takes my mum stuff and throws it across the street and went there you go and laughed at her reason I called them boys for this reason this is a 50 year old woman that they needed to belittle. Thankfully, she found us, but by this point, she'd was so scared upset and ruined her night. I did contact them about my experience, but the attitude was that we will only deal with the main book leader. excuse me, can you customer service not be for other people who have been effective by your staff only people who book. I go to this theatre often, but never again, I'll stick to Newcastle from now on. I understand why AGT was going into liquidation if this is the service. Stay clear there more...