ROH Open Up changes

[Lynette H]

Just received an email today about changes to access in the ROH amphi 

 

"Key changes from 15 November

Work will start on the Amphitheatre Level to create a fresh and contemporary restaurant and bar. The current Amphitheatre bar will relocate to the Clore Studio (during intervals only) so that we can continue to provide you with refreshments. There are a number of Insights events that will need to be moved to alternate venues and audiences who have already booked tickets for these will be contacted shortly.

To help you enjoy your visit we recommend that you make use of the bars in the Paul Hamlyn Hall and Dorfman Conservatory before the performance as there will be no bar service on the Amphitheatre level pre-performance. You will also be able to leave your coat in the Paul Hamlyn Hall temporary cloakroom, and we do ask that you avoid bringing bags.

If you are seated in the Amphitheatre please place your interval drinks order in the Amphitheatre Corridor before the performance and collect them in the Clore Studio during the interval. There will be a limited selection of refreshments available to all our Amphitheatre audience members during this period.

From Monday 8 January 2018, the Amphitheatre Restaurant will also close."

 

There is no indication of how long this closure lasts (or at least I didn't spot it). 

 

Further detail in a second mail indicated that the following Insights are relocated 

 

"Insights: In conversation with Arthur Pita, Tuesday 14 November

This event is moving to the Crush Room at the Royal Opera House. You will not need a new ticket for this event and our ushers will be on hand to direct you to the new venue.

Insights: What’s the Future of Opera?, Wednesday 22 November          

This event is moving to St Paul’s Church, Bedford Street, Covent Garden, WC2E 9ED. Tickets to this event will be reissued in the coming week.

Insights: Joyce DiDonato – National Opera Studio Masterclass, Thursday 14 December

This event is moving to the Linden Studio at the Royal Ballet School in Floral Street, Covent Garden and will now start at 7.30pm and conclude at approximately 9.30pm. Tickets to this event will be reissued in the coming week. 
 
Please note that all events will now be general admission rather than allocated seating and unfortunately there will not be refreshments available at venues outside the Royal Opera House."

 

This looks rather hurried doesn't give the appearance of being particularly well thought through. 

 

 

 

[Lynette H]

It seems from the ROH web site that the Insight evening on 24 November on Benesh notation has been cancelled. It's not clear if this is related to the other venue changes. 

[penelopesimpson]

I have to say that it is all going on a bit.  Fed up with the Flral Hall looking a wreck and closing the Ampitheatre Restaurant is going to be a pain.  Who is Dorfman, he of Conservatory fame?

[bridiem]

I never use the bar or restaurant so in that sense this won't affect me; but clearly a lot of people do and I think this will cause a degree of chaos. Is it really necessary to create a new 'modern' bar and restaurant when the existing ones were shiny and new (and very expensive-looking) only at the re-opening of the new House at the turn of the century? It's not as if the current facilities are a hang-over from the 1950s or whenever.

[Pulcinella]

7 hours ago, penelopesimpson said:

I have to say that it is all going on a bit.  Fed up with the Flral Hall looking a wreck and closing the Ampitheatre Restaurant is going to be a pain.  Who is Dorfman, he of Conservatory fame?

 

I assume the same one that the Dorfman Theatre at the National Theatre is named after.

[John Mallinson]

This must be he (or him) Lloyd Marshall Dorfman of Travelex.

 

[jm365]

I hope the loos on the Amphi level are not affected by all this.  As they are not specifically mentioned, I am hoping for the best!

[capybara]

Well, I didn't get an e-mail about all these changes. Should I be feeling miffed?

[penelopesimpson]

4 hours ago, bridiem said:

I never use the bar or restaurant so in that sense this won't affect me; but clearly a lot of people do and I think this will cause a degree of chaos. Is it really necessary to create a new 'modern' bar and restaurant when the existing ones were shiny and new (and very expensive-looking) only at the re-opening of the new House at the turn of the century? It's not as if the current facilities are a hang-over from the 1950s or whenever.

Well, quite.  I do use them and they seem absolutely fine to me.  And the closure of the Ampitheatre is, as you say, going to be disruptive.  I was wondering what the seating proportions of the house are.  How many people does the Balcony and Ampitheatre accommodate?

[Lizbie1]

30 minutes ago, penelopesimpson said:

How many people does the Balcony and Ampitheatre accommodate?

 

About half the total capacity is in the Amphi I believe.

 

One thing they should perhaps have addressed but apparently haven't is the access to the amphitheatre - it's not really good enough that 1000 or more people (I know there are a couple of poorly signposted shortcuts) have to make the same painfully slow shuffle down a single corridor.

[jules_skichick]

i always thought that the people at the back of the amphi would never get out in time in the event of a fire - stuck behind slow staircase hoggers - getting out can take an age as there is only one stairs which is already full of people from down below

[penelopesimpson]

1 hour ago, Lizbie1 said:

 

About half the total capacity is in the Amphi I believe.

 

One thing they should perhaps have addressed but apparently haven't is the access to the amphitheatre - it's not really good enough that 1000 or more people (I know there are a couple of poorly signposted shortcuts) have to make the same painfully slow shuffle down a single corridor.

You are absolutely right.  I can’t use the escalator and that corridor is a deadly bottleneck

[alison]

9 hours ago, penelopesimpson said:

Well, quite.  I do use them and they seem absolutely fine to me.  And the closure of the Ampitheatre is, as you say, going to be disruptive.  I was wondering what the seating proportions of the house are.  How many people does the Balcony and Ampitheatre accommodate?

 

The amphi is 500+, IIRC.  Not sure about the balcony.  It used to say at one time on the seating plan/pricing table in the booking brochure, but I'm not sure it still does.

[lollylamb1]

The link in the email to Open Up doesn’t work either, someone typed it in incorrectly!

[Bluebird]

15 hours ago, alison said:

 

The amphi is 500+, IIRC.  Not sure about the balcony.  It used to say at one time on the seating plan/pricing table in the booking brochure, but I'm not sure it still does.

 

I’ve dug out an old booking leaflet.  Capacity is given for each section of the amphitheatre.  Assuming I’ve added the separate sections correctly, here are the figures:

 

Amphitheatre Seating 700

Rear Amphitheatre Standing 21

Lower and Upper Slips Seating 200

Lower Slips Standing 20

 

The leaflet is an old one so doesn’t give the current figures for Balcony Standing.  The original Balcony Sides Seating is now Balcony Standing.  Taking account of that, I’ve come up with the following figures for the Balcony:

 

Balcony Seating 167

Balcony Standing 28

 

I can't guarantee these figures are 100% accurate but I hope they answer the original question.

Edited November 12, 2017 by Bluebird

[penelopesimpson]

Thank you Bluebird.  That's an enormous amount of people to get out through that corridor.

[bangorballetboy]

Just now, penelopesimpson said:

Thank you Bluebird.  That's an enormous amount of people to get out through that corridor.

 

Though, of course, *that* corridor is not the only exit from the amphitheatre/slips

[penelopesimpson]

I'm sure you're right but I don't really know my way around up there!  I can't sit in the Ampi because of the slope.

[Lizbie1]

6 hours ago, bangorballetboy said:

 

Though, of course, *that* corridor is not the only exit from the amphitheatre/slips

 

But the alternatives aren't exactly pushed are they? And that's presumably for good reason, as the side staircases would quicky fill and make egress more difficult for those in the Balcony and Grand Tier if they were to be better publicised. (That's not a swipe at the ROH's attitude to those in the more expensive seats, by the way.) I'm lucky enough usually to sit within easy reach of one or the other, but unless I'm making a dash for a train, the staircases are always on go-slow by Balcony level. And I'm shameless enough to barge through the Crush Room on the way out but I'm apparently one of very few who are a. aware of and b. willing to take that option - not that I'm complaining

 

Does anyone know whether better access to and from the Amphi has simply been ruled out because structural reasons make it impossible? Or is it an opportunity missed?

Edited November 12, 2017 by Lizbie1
Unwanted automatic emoji when I type "b)" - changed to"b."

[zxDaveM]

11 hours ago, Lizbie1 said:

 

 

Does anyone know whether better access to and from the Amphi has simply been ruled out because structural reasons make it impossible? Or is it an opportunity missed?

 

well, the big escalators to the bar area make it much easier than it used to be (apparently - before my time though, for me to quote from personal experience). The corridor beneath/at the back of the amphi I don't think they can expand much due to the nature of the building's listed status

[alison]

It was a darned sight quicker getting out of the amphi before the rebuilding

[penelopesimpson]

I am not good with escalators at any time, but the ROH ones are v. steep.

[Fonty]

I've also eaten several times in the Amphitheatre Restaurant, and always enjoyed it.  Can't see anything wrong with it, it certainly didn't need a long and no doubt expensive makeover.  hat exactly do they mean by "fresh and contemporary"? 

 

Have they got lots of spare money they need to use up by a certain date or something?

[zxDaveM]

40 minutes ago, Fonty said:

Can't see anything wrong with it, it certainly didn't need a long and no doubt expensive makeover. 

 

 What exactly do they mean by "fresh and contemporary"? 

 

 

fresh and contemporary = even more expensive, but served on anything that isn't a plate

[bangorballetboy]

1 hour ago, Fonty said:

I've also eaten several times in the Amphitheatre Restaurant, and always enjoyed it.  Can't see anything wrong with it, it certainly didn't need a long and no doubt expensive makeover.  hat exactly do they mean by "fresh and contemporary"? 

 

Have they got lots of spare money they need to use up by a certain date or something?

 

The restaurant and bar are being merged into a flexible space so that there's more room in the bar when the restaurant is quiet and vice versa.

[alison]

Well, that makes some sort of sense. Taking out the amphi terrace to increase the size of the whole thing is a debatable measure, though.

[bangorballetboy]

4 minutes ago, alison said:

Well, that makes some sort of sense. Taking out the amphi terrace to increase the size of the whole thing is a debatable measure, though.

 

Taking out part of the amphi terrace...

[MargaretN7]

30 minutes ago, bangorballetboy said:

 

The restaurant and bar are being merged into a flexible space so that there's more room in the bar when the restaurant is quiet and vice versa.

That's what we were told with the Conservatory/Crush Room as well, but no sign of any merging yet

[bangorballetboy]

8 minutes ago, MargaretN7 said:

That's what we were told with the Conservatory/Crush Room as well, but no sign of any merging yet

 

I don't remember that being in the proposal and it's not there now.

 

The new terrace over the Bow Street extension is taking shape though.

[alison]

46 minutes ago, bangorballetboy said:

 

Taking out part of the amphi terrace...

 

Well, yes, the adjacent part - which is a significant amount of it - obviously no point in taking out the rest.

[alison]

I think this is an update:

 

"Open Up
Building for the future

Important changes to your visit

While we make improvements to the Royal Opera House to create an even more dynamic and exciting place you may notice a few changes in some of our public areas.

We have begun our work to  the Amphitheatre level to deliver a fresh and contemporary restaurant and bar for September 2018. We are committed to delivering the best service to all of our audiences and therefore we have decided to open the Clore ballet studio exclusively for our Amphitheatre ticket holders for interval refreshments. If you would like a drink before the show we would like to invite our Amphitheatre ticket holders to use the Paul Hamlyn Hall bar and the newly opened Dorfman Conservatory bar where we have increased staffing to provide an efficient service.

There will be no cloakroom on the Amphitheatre level during this period of works. We have created a new cloakroom in the Paul Hamlyn Hall for Amphitheatre ticket holders. As usual, we ask that you do not bring bags to the venue as cloakroom space is limited and bag checks can cause delays.

If you are seated in the Amphitheatre we encourage you to order interval drinks at the desk in the Amphitheatre Corridor before the performance and collect them in the Clore Studio during the interval. 

Many thanks for your co-operation and understanding."

[Bluebird]

We found out tonight that the closure of the Amphitheatre Bar will mean that the Amphitheatre Terrace will no longer be accessible.  Apparently the whole area will be blocked off leaving a corridor to enable audience members to get from the escalator to the auditorium.   

[alison]

Brilliant.  Guess that means we have to go and stand on Bow Street to get our fresh air - after all, it's not as if there are any other options, are there?