Access and Facilities at the Old Vic

Step-free access is to the Stalls only, through the Waterloo Road entrance and its lift. The Dress Circle, the Stage Dress Circle and the Baylis Circle are all reached by stairs.

Access bookings are handled by the venue, not by us, through the access team on the theatre's official site.

Getting in and getting to your seat

There are two entrances. The main entrance on The Cut has steps up into the building. The Waterloo Road entrance is step-free, with a lift to the Box Office, the inner foyer and Penny, the basement bar and café.

From the lift, the central Stalls door takes you step-free to the first two rows of the Stalls. The Stalls doors at the sides have eight steps down to stage level.

How many steps to each area:

• Stalls: none through the central door; eight through the side doors
• Stage Dress Circle: through the Stalls, then 21 to 30 steps up, depending on the row
• Dress Circle and the Boxes: 29 steps up
• Baylis Circle: 49 steps up

Wheelchair spaces

The wheelchair spaces are in the Stalls, and how many there are depends on the layout. The venue's access team books them, and if you'd like to transfer to a theatre seat, tell them when you book.

Accessible toilets

There's a gender-neutral, wheelchair-accessible toilet in the basement, reached by the lift, and roomier accessible toilets up on the Baylis Circle level, which is up stairs. There's one more wheelchair-accessible toilet inside the auditorium for access bookers.

Hearing and sight

The Old Vic uses the Auri system, with headphones or neck loops for hearing aids with a T-coil setting, or you can bring your own headphones with a standard jack. Sennheiser headsets are also available. Collect them from the cloakroom in the main foyer, and ask in advance. Reception is best in the centre of the Stalls.

Every production has audio-described performances with touch tours, BSL-interpreted, captioned and relaxed performances. The dates for Martin Guerre are on the Martin Guerre page. The theatre also publishes a visual story for this layout.

Assistance dogs

Assistance dogs are welcome. Tell the venue when you book, and the dog can stay with you or be looked after by the staff.

Bars

There are four bars: the foyer bar on the ground floor, Penny in the basement, which is also a café, one in the Dress Circle and one in the Baylis Circle. They open an hour before the show, and you can order drinks for the interval when you arrive. The bars take cash as well as cards, but the staff selling inside the auditorium take cards only.

Next door on Waterloo Road, Backstage is the theatre's own café and bar, and it's step-free with a lift to every floor.

Toilets

The toilets are limited, and they're in two places: the basement, by Penny, and the Baylis Circle level. Stalls and Stage Dress Circle ticket-holders use the basement; the Dress Circle and the Boxes use the Baylis Circle level. At the interval, the basement or Backstage next door is usually quicker.

Bags and coats

Bags are checked at every entrance, and anything bigger than a rucksack isn't allowed into the building. The cloakroom is in the foyer, to the right of the bar, and takes coats and small bags, but not suitcases or bikes.