Phoenix Theatre

"Stalls: "Once" (February 2013). I have sat in front Dress Circle, and concluded then that I really want to see this show from the front of the stalls (my second visit was courtesy one of the group booking agencies in mid stalls so could hardly complain. but it confirmed my view about sitting down front). This is not a place I normally want to be but this show has such an intimate feel with simple staging, musicians on stage etc. I want to feel I’m sitting in the shop/bar with the actors."

"Row AA: "Come From Away" (February 2019). I was allowed to buy THREE (day seat) tickets, for the matinee performance for £20 each. Front row of stalls. High stage, so couldn't see actors feet/shins, but still wonderful seats for this show."

"Row AA: "Come From Away" (February 2019). Sat in Row AA and felt included in almost every way, and, in a small way, I was."

"Row AA: "Come From Away" (February 2019). My least favourite day seat. As a very short human all I could see was a set of speakers in front of the stage!"

"AA1: "Come From Away" (February 2019), (Taljaard). Day seat for £20 at 4.30pm. This seat is very restricted. So much so that I had to sign the back of my ticket to acknowledge I'd been given the warning. Could see three fifths of the stage, but was really up close. As it was my 4th time it was not a problem. Do not buy this seat if it's your first visit to this amazing show."

"AA6: "Once" (March 2013). There are great day seats (£19.50), EXCEPT AA6, typically the seat I was in! There is a small floor heater on the stage right in front of this seat, whilst I don't feel I missed anything it was very annoying to have black square in the centre of your vision. I'm 5'11 and some bits I missed but anyone shorter will miss out a lot more. Even more annoying is the fact it doesn't even get used as a prop, I don't know what the point of it is! It does get taken off the stage for act 2 anyway."

"AA 9 and 10: "Come From Away" (February 2019), (Bob Pickett). Foot fetishists, do not buy these seats! As The Monkey says, for the current production the stage is raised, meaning you are craning your neck. That said, you miss precious little: You can just about see the table tops of 'Tim Hortons' in the opening scene, but other than that you still get a good view of the stage. Be warned, Come From Away has no interval, so your head is tilted back for an hour and forty minutes. AA9 has the least leg room, but at 5' 10" I was comfortable.
The flip side of such proximity is you get to see in close up things you can't pick up on from further back: Jonathan Andrew Hume's genuine tears (how he draws upon such raw emotion is so moving), and a tiny throwaway when an elderly resident of Gander is talking to the Rabbi from one of the aircraft; they pray after which he goes to give the prayer cap back to the rabbi who folds it into the gentleman's hand and gently closes it, was so special at that range.
Row AA is sold as day seats: at £20 per ticket we felt they were great value, though one of our friends thought they should cost a little less. Sorry, can't agree: at almost a quarter of the nearest "normal" price (row A behind is £75 on a Saturday and they had to crane their necks; the Phoenix rake is quite shallow), but losing such a small amount of the show is worth a little neck-ache.
(When you buy these tickets, you are warned, at least twice, about the stage height and have to sign the tickets to show you understand the issues)."

"AA 9 and 10: "Once" (March 2013). The view was perfect. The stage is not very high so you can see absolutely everything and there's a decent amount of leg room. SPOILER ALERT But don't stretch your legs too much at the very beginning as the leading actress walks through the central aisle and then turns to the right just in front of you in order to reach the stairs which lead to the stage."

"AA 15: "Once" (March 2013). I am a big guy, 6.3" and many seats are usually pretty crappy for me, but this time around I was fairly lucky. Got day seats for £25 for the Saturday Evening performance. The stage is high and was a little under eye-level but that was fine. View was great, sound was pretty good, you could make out the singers' voices individually since they sung in your face. The legroom is a bit tight and it was a bit uncomfortable after a while. For the price and view I would always go back to these though, especially since one can grab a drink on stage fairly quick in the interval."

“Row A: “Blood Brothers” (October 2004), (Emma). Far, far too close to the stage for comfort - your knees are touching it, we had to move otherwise it would have been unbearable. I think you should consider making all Row A seats at the Phoenix Theatre bad value for money and colour them a nice shade of red."

"Row A: "Bend It Like Beckham" (June 2015). I was there at 10am to buy the cheap tickets for row A from the box office. I have done it before to watch other musicals and never was that bad for the price... normally the orchestra space gives you a bit of distance from the stage of at least 2 metres... but if you buy row A stalls in the Phoenix Theatre, you are just about 30 cm from the stage what is quite disturbing. Also, because the stage is too high, I swear, after 20 minutes you really feel some neck pain... in some scenes the actors that speaks is so close they spit on you, I'm not exaggerating!!! People on row B were sorry for us. For this play I don't think it's worth paying for those seats, they should be sold for 5 pounds or not sold at all!! Even row B is too close - you can not see much of what happens on the back!! I think they should cut the sharp edge of the stage to give a bit more of view for row A in the stalls. You miss about 30% of what happens because you don't have view. First time I watched it, I was on the seat F central, what was perfect!! But you can't complain, they warn you and make you sign the back of the ticket at the box office, so don't ask for a seat upgrade, they don't accept complaints!!"

"Row A: "Bend It Like Beckham" (June 2015). A7, A10 and A15. The view from these seats was pretty similar so I’ll just group them together. These seats are my favourite in the theatre – the very front row of the stalls means you can see every emotion and interaction between the cast. The height of the stage means you do miss some of the footwork which is a shame in a show about football, and also a little of the action at the back of the stage is hard to see, but personally I find it’s worth sacrificing the view of the back of the stage to be in such close proximity to the actors, especially worth it when you consider these seats are being sold for £15! Legroom is fine here as there is only the stage in front of you."

"A 11: "Guys and Dolls" (March 2016). Front row was offered as day seats (£15). Got my favourite, A11, right at the middle aisle. The stage is fairly low. Very good view, okay legroom, couldn’t be happier."

"A11: "Bend It Like Beckham" (June 2015).  Day seat, surprisingly for only £13.50 including an ice cream voucher (promotion at the time - editor). Access to the seat from the centre aisle is possible even with the staircase, although I won’t get any points for elegance (I fear my best climbing days are behind me…). The stage is very high indeed. Even at 6‘2‘‘ I needed to raise myself a little once or twice to be able to see the stage floor. Sound took some getting used to at first, because a speaker was slightly to my left, while the actor speaking might stand to my right. But even with minor inconveniences, I can only recommend dayseating. For that amount of money there are no better seats in the house."

"A11 and 12: "Bend It Like Beckham" (June 2015). We got day seat tickets in the front row right in the middle by the staircase (A 11 and 12). We were close to the action but I found the seats still pretty awful. I'm a 5'11 and had trouble seeing. There were two smaller kids who couldn't see anything. When we asked the ushers if we could move to the completely empty second or third row they basically said we should have paid more. During the interval they moved a student group from the circle to these rows. The students told us they would have preferred to stay up there since the sightlines were better there. The small kids in front row got seat cushions so they could at least see the second half (couldn't they have thought of this earlier?). I know I can't expect much from tickets that cost £15 pounds and to be fair the box office warned us when we bought the tickets, but I was still hoping for more."

"AA12: "Come From Away" (February 2019). Day seat for £20. Note that there is a very high stage right in front of the day seats (legroom isn't a problem). I'd recommend a cushion or soft prop-up, even though I am 5ft 10."

"A 16 and 17: "The Girls" (March 2017), (Mark). Dayseats £20. I was initially worried about the high stage but it was OK (and for mum who's 5 ft 6). Really great to be up close and personal. Would highly recommend these seats."

"B 10 and 11: "Come From Away" (February 2019). 

B10 and 11. The monkey was right in that you couldn't see the actors' feet due to the height of the stage but that didn't matter for this show at all.  Perversely, having to look up at the stage, your view wasn't obstructed by folk sitting in front of you in rows A and AA!
So, we had an excellent view from row B, but due to the height of the stage you probably wouldn't be able to see the stage floor until rows E or F.  The seats weren't particularly comfortable, but legroom was good."

"B 18 to 21: "The Last Tango" (September 2016). There was a peculiarity about the seating plan currently in use by the theatre in that it isn't quite accurate. Row B only goes up to seat 21 (not seat 22 as shown), so if you are looking for an end of row seat, it's worth double checking with the Box Office the layout of whatever show you are going to see. Our seats had plenty of legroom (even more if you stretch your legs out under the seats in front), but B21 is even better, since it has nothing at all in front. B20 has about a third of the seat with nothing in front. The seats weren't the most comfortable we had ever sat in, and gave us a slight sensation of being tipped forward rather than sitting back and relaxing. Row B is very close to the stage and on the same level as Row A. The seats are offset, but even so we were very pleased that the seats in front of us were empty, which ensured we had a perfect view. You can see the whole stage from both B18 and B19, and if you are about 5'6" tall and sit up straight (as opposed to slouching down in your seat) seeing the dancers' footwork didn't involve any element of neck craning."

“C2: I found excellent as row B only starts at "3" (not any longer - editor) so I could stretch my legs out (although the seat was a bit lumpy and I as usual had to cheek shuffle!). OK, the view would have been detrimental if there had been much going on stage right, but only an odd part was there so I could see almost everything. There were a couple of close PA speakers but they were not excessive."

C7: "The Girls" (February 2017), (Tonyloco). Excellent, except for the stage spotlights that shone directly into my eyes for most of the first act."

"C9: "Bend It Like Beckham" (March 2016). This is probably the closest row to the stage where you have a clear view – the high stage means that even here you lose some of the stage but not a significant amount. A great seat for being up close to the action and legroom was decent too."

"C24: "The Girls" (February 2017). Classed as restricted view but not too bad really, just a sideways view. Occasional missed bits when they are in the flower shop." (Got this one at £20 reduced at the last moment, but there are definitely better seats to be had at full price!)."

"Row D: "Once" (March 2013). I recall the monkey admonished me to sit close - so we sat on the aisle (where I usually try to land). It was great. Thanks."

"D2: "The Girls" (March 2017).  £20 at day seat rate. It was a slightly restricted view, but the leg room was good and there was a clear view of 98% of the stage."

"D2, 3 and 4: "Once" (March 2013). These three seats incur a significant discount when compared to other seats in the same area (D1 I believe also discounts substantially). When booking, there is a specific warning that D2 is “side facing”. D2 loses a section of the stage. For ‘Once’ this meant the drum kit could not be seen (which does slightly spoil one scene), but does just allow a wide enough view to see [SPOILER ALERT] ‘ex-girlfriend’ talk on the tape of the recording of ‘boy’s’ music. The drum kit can be seen from D3 by leaning slightly to the side. D4 would appear to have an unencumbered view, making it a real bargain. All three of these seats are worth every penny and any slight loss of view. You are so close to the stage you can pick up on every expression."

"D6: "Once" (March 2013). It cost £21.50 (plus £2.50 booking fee) discounted, and was a great seat."

"D10: "Come From Away" (February 2019). Seems lovely - on a bit of a rake, and almost central."

"D24 and 25: "The Girls" (March 2017). Managed day seats, £20 for D24/25. We got them at around 5pm. Absolute bargain. Great seats at this price."

"D26: "Once" (March 2013). For the price it is a fantastic bargain! Only for the first couple of scenes does it feel like the performers have their backs to you a little more but after about 10 minutes it was fine. I would take this higher numbers over the lower ones as there is a heater onstage for act one that is in view. (it was moved in the interval, not sure why it was there). For £20 the view was barely restricted and I would certainly recommend to people if they want a good seat at a good price."

“Rows E, F and G: (Alison – group visit). Sight lines lost of scenery if sitting at outside extremities of rows, but not the action as most is centre stage or areas which can be viewed by all. I found the leg room ample as I am only 5' 3" - some of the 6' + complained of being cramped but they did not view this as a big problem as they were so absorbed in the show!"

"E1: "Come From Away" (February 2019), (Mark). Stalls E1 - great seat, nothing really missed with the viewing angle for the show."

“E 5 to 11: (Lizzie Loves the Theatre). Bought on monkey recommendation and were excellent. Probably couldn’t have been better. The Monkey comes up trumps again!"

"E13 and E14: "Once" (October 2013). By the centre aisle, pretty much based on your advice "Theatremonkey chooses centre aisle seats in rows E to H first", paid £69.50 through ATG. Excellent seats, great view of the stage, could hear and see everything perfectly. Legroom fine. Would recommend these seats without reservation."

"E19 and 20: "Once" (October 2013), (Katherine). We had a perfect view of the stage and the actors."

"F 7 and 8: "Come From Away" (February 2019). The stage floor seemed very high – perhaps to accommodate the revolve. I wouldn’t want to sit in the front row at this show, even at £20 Day seat price. From our vantage point the row seemed very close to the front of the stage and I’m not sure how much you would see beyond the front ¼-1/3 of the stage – perhaps I’m exaggerating. Our eyeline was level with/marginally above the stage floor. Very good view of the stage, good offset etc (helped by the seat in front of me being empty), but I would recommend not being any further forward than row E for this show.

"F14: "Guys and Dolls" (June 2016). Got this as a "day seat" for £34.50 which I was delighted with! Great view from there."

"F17: "Once" (October 2014) (Iris). Perfect view, Thee seats from the aisle, not too close or too far from the stage. The ticket was only £40 (£37.50 + £2.5 fee) for this fantastic seat. I must have got the matinee discount, usually seats like that would be sold for £65+ (!)."

"E27 and E28: We paid £28 each for these seats through lastminute.com on a '50% offer for best available seats' and so didn't know which seats we'd end up with. I'm 6ft tall and felt legroom was just about tolerable in E27 while my friend had the aisle to stretch out in on E28. I can see why these seats are marked as red because you're not able to see scenery on the left side of the stage though you still see all the actors. I don't think these should be marked as top price, but we loved Blood Brothers (my fourth time watching, my friends first) so didn't mind too much for what we paid."

“Row F: (Fiona). An outstanding view! Could even see Amy's tears!)."

"F 6 to 8: "Come From Away" (February 2019). Oh my word, we felt exactly the same as you. Our current strategy for these big shows is to sit close to the Premium seats while not paying Premium prices! These were terrific. Good legroom, good sightlines, good price."

"F11: Got for £20 for on the day student ticket from the box office. Was a fantastic view, no complaints."

“F19: “Blood Brothers”, (James). A fantastic seat. You certainly don’t feel you’re craning your neck event though you are very close. Personally, I prefer to sit in the 15+ numbers for this show. You definitely feel more involved in the Stalls here, although I’ve seen the show from Dress Circle central Row D and the view was also good… perhaps if you prefer to see more of the stage rather than be closer to the action then the Dress Circle might be preferable."

"G 3, 4, 5: "Chicago" (April 2018). Seats were OK, not brilliant legroom but acceptable. Almost no rake so a bit of dodging back and forth."

“G7: (Mark) Amazing.”

"G14 and 15: "Come From Away" (February 2019). These are normally marked up as premium seats for £125 but due to a chance meeting we paid £50 which was great. G14 is on the centre aisle and totally clear view. However there is very little rake in this theatre and my Dad did end up having his view obscured by the person in front. Not great if you had of paid full price."

"G17: (Ian). (Which I got for just £20 from the box office about an hour before curtain-up in January 2010): Excellent seat, just the right distance from the stage and height relative to the stage. For the second half I moved a few rows further forward so I had some space on either side for my lengthy legs, but that proved to be a mistake as the amplified parts were a bit too loud that little bit nearer the speakers."

"G23 and 24: "Once: A New Musical" (May 2013), Tony. Gave a good view and decent leg room. However, I wouldn't want to be any further towards the end of the row as it might impede the view of anything happening extreme stage right."

"H17 and 18: I wasn't sure that I was going to be particularly comfortable sitting so far back from the stage, as I'm used to sitting in the first few rows so I get a close view of all the action, but with these particular seats I felt that we were just a stone's throw from the action and we could see everything up close (and personal :)). The legroom was actually pretty generous and the seats were comfortable enough (although as with every show I see I did get a slightly numb derriere towards the end!"

"G2 "The Girls" (March 2017). Discounted, felt it was a very good seat and being to the side didn't really affect the view."

"J10: "Come From Away" (February 2019). Definitely better than the row N seats I had last time, as benefited from being a few rows closer and more central. Comfortable leg room and a decent view from here."

"J 10 and 11: "Come From Away" (February 2019). I think our seats this time (not at full price) ) were just about perfect."

“J14: Legroom was very good and could have accommodated someone quite a bit taller than me (I’m 5’ 6”). Sightlines were fine provided I leant out a bit – the very tall and broad individual in front of me had quite a blocking effect on the centre of the stage, but as the action takes place all over the stage it really didn’t matter much."

"J26: "The Exorcist" (December 2017). I was there as a guest, and they gave me stalls J26, so not my choice! I see from your site that it is full price, it shouldn't be, because I felt I was missing a lot of things that were happening on the left hand side of the stage, particularly to do with the way the set changes to represent whether they are currently upstairs or downstairs. Certainly couldn't see all of the projections properly. Also a lot of the show (the bedroom scenes) all happen on the extreme right of the stage, and I felt a long way removed from them, despite being quite far forward.
Worth mentioning that there are a lot of *total* blackout scenes in this (with fire exit signs off for those parts as well) so maybe not a show for people who don't like the darkness. Also, a scene near the end does have some nifty lighting effects around the auditorium which you probably miss out on in the front few rows."

"K1: "A Streetcar Named Desire" (March 2023). Your seat recommendation for K1 in the stalls was spot on. Because there was no seat directly in front, I was able to comfortably extend both legs into the breach. I would say for most people (monkeys?) your caution that 50% is unobstructed is correct but, with a bit of gymnastics, both legs were comfortably accommodated."

"K1: "The Girls" (March 2017). At 6' 1'', I think I would have struggled with a mid-row seat, even in the stalls, but this was perfect. Not only is it on the aisle, but because row J is offset, there is no seat fully in front, giving almost unlimited legroom with a little manoeuvring. There was also an usher sitting nearby throughout, keeping a check on any bad behaviour."

"K11 and 12: "Come From Away" (February 2019). I think our seats this time were just about perfect."

“L3 and 4: “Blood Brothers” (September 2012), (Chris B). These seats feel close enough to the stage to feel part of this very intense musical. Although they are quite far to the right, didn't feel any of the set was missed and as there is quite a good rake, you get a clear view over the heads in front. There is plenty of legroom too and the seats feel more comfortable than some others. An added bonus is that there is a central aisle so the times you need to stand up to let those pesky late comers through is halved.”

"L15: (Diego). Had a fantastic view."

"L 17 and 18: "Once" (March 2013), (Matt & Sam). We had a great view of the stage. There is a slight overhang from the dress circle but it doesn't impede the view so these seats are really good."

“M3 and 4: We could see everything, but would say that if you were any smaller you might have struggled. Legroom was at a premium though and would be uncomfortable for anyone taller."

"M20: I could see very well (the joys of being 6ft 2) but some of my more averagely heighted friends struggled to see over peoples' heads when tall people were in front of them. The way in which the stalls rake makes it harder to see the stage as you go back."

“Row N: The view was great, however my mum had a bad view as a very large and tall lady sat in front of her."

"N 5 and 6: "Come From Away" (February 2019). "Rush Tickets" on Today Tix so a bargain for these seats, especially at Saturday prices. A really good view despite being over to one side a bit, but still close enough to see faces clearly.  The rake isn't great in there at all, but didn't have anyone overly tall in front so we were happy.  Legroom not bad at all."

"N13 and 14: "Come From Away" (February 2019). Unfortunately I had someone tall in front of me - so it made seeing a portion of the stage difficult. There does not seem to be much of a rake to the stalls so if you get someone tall in front of you it will be a struggle." 

"N15,16, 17: (Brianj). Pricey, and the view was not the best."

"N27 and 28. "Come From Away" (February 2019). Despite our seats being right on the outside we had a good view of the stage not missing anything at all. The rake was quite good and you could easily see the stage floor. Legroom was just about reasonable."

"O 15, 16, 17: "Bend It Like Beckham" (June 2015). Very good seats with a clear view of the whole stage and excellent sound. The circle overhang didn't obscure any part of the view and the rake was good. Leg-room was better than a lot of seats I've sat in. I'd happily sit there again."

"O15 to 18: (Regular contributor). We paid £25 each for our tickets through an agency. I had a tall person sat directly in front of me and so had to keep moving from side to side to properly see the stage (I myself am 6' tall). Legroom was OK for me in O16. My friend in O15 had the luxury of the aisle being next to him so he could stretch his leg out, and could also lean towards the aisle to see around the tall person sat in front of him. Our other two friends in O17 and O18 had no one sat directly in front of them and reported a perfect view of the entire stage and great legroom (both are 5' tall)."

"O19 and O20: "Once" (March 2103). We got these seats based on Monkey's suggestions, and the tickets available online the night before the matinee show. I can see why the back rows are good value since you can still get a very good view of the stage. Our seats were great. I had a rather large man in front of me, so needed to lean most of the show, but luckily the seat next to me was empty. There were quite a few seats free actually, so we moved over to O23 and O24 I think. Also great views. For £39.50 each, I think they are good value."

"P26: "Bend It Like Beckham" (June 2015). OK view, though not the greatest rake, so some bobbing about needed. Leg room good."

"Q1 and 2: "Come From Away" (March 2019). Good rake and good view of the whole stage. Circle overhang no issue. Generous leg room (for the West End) and having an end seat made these seats good value for money."

"Q 7 and 8: "Come From Away" (March 2019). Got them for £35. The view was fine and great for the price, I could see faces pretty well and the overhang didn't obscure anything. I had no problem with the offset in Q7 (I'm quite short, but then the people in front weren't especially tall either). Q8 seemed less well offset to me but apparently the view was also fine. There seems to be more legroom the further from the central aisle you get, and we had plenty of room in 7 and 8."

"Q25: "A Streetcar Named Desire" (March 2023), (Taaljard). A good view and comfy enough for a play that runs 2 hours 45 minutes. The provision of toilets and their size is a complete joke."

"R 3 and 4: "The Girls" (March 2017). Second row from the back of the stalls but you'd never know it, the view was absolutely fine, from the perspective of being to the side, and to the rear. No part of the top of the stage was lost for this production, as a cheaper option I was more than happy with these. The leg room was more than adequate too."

R15 and 16: "Come From Away" (February 2019), (Bob Pickett): The seats are comfortable and legroom is reasonable.  And the offset is OK.  And this far back the overhang has an impact (fine for Come From Away, for Once with it’s balcony and ‘Czech surtitles' strip it would have caused a real issue).

 But… the rake, which up to Q is decent, levels out in row R.  If you’re a smaller person, I highly recommend getting a booster seat before sitting down.  Row S seemed even worse.

I went for a stroll during the interval, I’d recommend booking M or closer, as this is where the overhang ceases to have an impact."

R17 to 20: "Come From Away" (February 2019). We paid full price on a Friday night and they were worth every penny. Overhang was not an issue at all; I didn’t even notice it once the show started. Good offset between seats in rows Q and R, and elevated enough that the patron with the serious bouffant in row P was no problem."

"R19, 20 and 21: (Paul). Got to say that even though this is almost the back row these seats were absolutely fine, clear view of the stage and we could clearly see the actors faces and expressions and hear all the music and talking. Having said that I am not sure I would have been amused if I had paid full price for them. "

"R35: "Come From Away" (February 2019). Didn’t miss anything. :)"

"S 1 and 2: "Midnight Tango" (February 2013). Could see clearly and legroom generous but top of stage seriously cut-off (didn't really matter for much of this particular show which was great). However, wouldn't book these seats again since usual seat off-set was out of sync and as such our view was blocked by heads in front. Row R seemed to suffer from exactly the same problem to us but Row Q forwards was OK. Would have consequently been very unhappy if we'd paid full price!"