Stalls at the Gielgud Theatre

Rows A to W, 16 steps down from the foyer, and just over half the theatre. It's one unbroken block with no aisles anywhere, so you reach your seat from the end of the row. The rows fan out as they go back, from sixteen seats in row A to twenty-six at the rear, and the seats are staggered, so you look between two heads rather than at one.

Who it suits

Anyone who wants to be close to the cast, and families bringing a child with a booster seat. It's less good for a shorter adult in the front half, because the floor barely rises until row K, so a tall person in front can take a lot of the stage.

Where we'd put you

The middle of the Stalls, rows F to N. You're past the high stage at the front, and not yet far enough back for the overhang to tell. Sit as central as you can. Inside that block, row J sits lower than row H in front of it, which doesn't help anyone shorter.

Two cheaper ways in sit either side of that block:

• The front four rows, A to D. They put you close, and for Oliver! they're a good value option. The stage is high, though, and rows up to about D lose the final scene, which is played low on the stage.
• Rows P to S, at the back. The overhang has started here and the price has come down with it, but customers in rows P and Q consistently say it makes little difference to what they see. At Oliver! you'll lose a little of what happens on the raised platforms at the top of the set.

What to avoid

• From row T back, if the top of the stage matters to you. The view is quite restricted there, and the back row most of all. The price falls to match, so those rows are a trade rather than a mistake.
• The outer three or four seats of each row from about row D back. The Boxes and Slips above hang over the ends of the rows.
• B13 and B14, for Oliver! A13 to A15 are taken out for the conductor, who stands right in front of them.
• V11, right up against the sound desk. For Oliver! the desk fills the middle of rows V and W.

Legroom and the rake

Legroom is adequate for most people, and there is room to tuck your feet under the seat in front. Anyone over about 5ft 10 will feel it, and rows B to H are tighter than the rest. The rows curve at the ends, which leaves most end seats with noticeably less room. The exceptions are N1, N25, E23 and E24, which have extra space in front of them, though as end seats they see the stage from the side.

The floor hardly rises until about row K, so in the front half you're relying on the staggered seats to see between heads. For a small child, ask for a booster seat in the foyer before the show.

Steps, and getting in

It's 16 steps down, at the back of the auditorium, and there's no lift. The doors are behind the centre of row W and at the sides by rows F and G. With no aisles, a seat in the middle of a long row means a lot of people standing up for you, so if you might need to slip out, pick one near an end.

Drinks and toilets

The Stalls bar is four steps down from the back of the Stalls, and its seats are fixed. There are toilets at Stalls level as well.