Stalls at the Gillian Lynne Theatre

Rows A to U, using both I and O, with a cross aisle after row H that splits the level into a front bowl and a rear one. Row A is the front row. The rear section breaks into a centre block and two side blocks, and there are narrow side strips outside the main horseshoe with their own rows A to E, so check which block your seat is in as well as which row.

This is the step-free level, reached by lift from the foyer, and it is the level the premium bands sit on.

What the top price buys

The middle of rows D to M. That is where premium runs, and on busier performances a higher band again sits on the middle of G to J. You're close enough to read faces and far enough back that the whole width of the thrust stage is in front of you rather than around you, so if you're spending the money, spend it centrally.

For a little less, rows I to K at the cheaper end of the row see the stage at a better angle than L and M do, so paying less here doesn't mean sitting further back. Further back again, row T is the one to know about. It sees what central row S sees and costs less, so book T and skip central S.

The cheap seats worth having

The ends of rows K to M go at third price and are usually where the singles and pairs survive when everything else has gone. The view from them is good, not compromised, and on a sold-out date they are the seats we would look for first.

Legroom varies more than you'd expect. Row I has as much as anyone needs, and so do the aisle seats in row M.

What we would not book at any price

Avoid roughly the last four seats at either end of a row. When a set has walls on the near side they cost you up to a quarter of the stage, because you end up looking past the edge of the staging rather than into it.

The centre of row I sits too low behind row H, so heads get in the way. In row N, the seats behind the stairwell walls are fine for most adults and have generous legroom, but a low rail sits right in the eyeline of a child or anyone under about five foot, so don't put a child there. Where row H curves, the two seats on the bend are tight on legroom for anyone much over 5ft 6. And skip central row S, because row T behind it sees the same and costs less.

The overhang costs you nothing

The Circle reaches over the back of the Stalls from row P, and it does not take the stage off any seat underneath it. An overhang usually takes the top of the set off the seats beneath it, and this one does not. The back rows here are cheaper for their distance, so the money you save is not coming out of what you see. The wheelchair platform behind row P has the Circle above it, and it isn't a problem for most productions.

Comfort is not the same all the way down

The front section draws consistent complaints: under-padded, upright and short of legroom. The rear Stalls were refurbished and draw the opposite reports. Anyone under 5ft 10 is comfortable almost anywhere back there. If you are paying front-section money to be close, that is what you are buying, and the seat itself is the trade.

Getting down here, and the bar

Lifts run from the foyer to the Stalls, so this is the level to book if stairs are a problem. There are bars on the public floors and all of them are reached by the lifts, and drinks can be brought to your seat if a bar or kiosk is out of reach. The access route has the detail.

Arrive 15 to 20 minutes before the performance, no later. Bags are searched on the way in and everyone in the Stalls goes up by lift, so allow for both.