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New Linbury Theatre seating plan - and sightlines


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18 minutes ago, bridiem said:

I contacted Customer Services on Friday night about the sightlines (from A41/42 in Upper Circle). I received a reply today saying that they are sorry to hear of my experience and will contact the Royal Ballet about this and get back to me. I find that rather strange. Surely the RB was only one participant in the planning of the new Linbury? The sightlines relate to the theatre itself, not to the particular company performing at the time. The same problem will occur whoever is performing. (I have replied to this effect.)

 

That sounds like a typical buck-passing response.

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Surely the only thing that can be done about restricted view seating for dance performances in the Linbury (and remember it's designed to be a flexible performance space, so the seats with limited view for a traditional stage setting may be better seats for something that is in the round) is to reflect that in the price; I very much doubt they're going to rip up the seats in a new theatre to change sightlines.  That is something that should, of course, be discussed with the Royal Ballet.

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1 minute ago, bangorballetboy said:

Surely the only thing that can be done about restricted view seating for dance performances in the Linbury (and remember it's designed to be a flexible performance space, so the seats with limited view for a traditional stage setting may be better seats for something that is in the round) is to reflect that in the price; I very much doubt they're going to rip up the seats in a new theatre to change sightlines.  That is something that should, of course, be discussed with the Royal Ballet.

 

Yes, but it should be discussed in the first instance - or at least at the same time - with whoever programmes the Linbury for the range of performances of which dance is only one (but not the only one that would be affected by sightlines). In fact I'd be surprised if the RB decides on pricing for seats in the theatre when it's performing there.

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6 hours ago, bangorballetboy said:

Surely the only thing that can be done about restricted view seating for dance performances in the Linbury (and remember it's designed to be a flexible performance space, so the seats with limited view for a traditional stage setting may be better seats for something that is in the round) is to reflect that in the price; I very much doubt they're going to rip up the seats in a new theatre to change sightlines.  That is something that should, of course, be discussed with the Royal Ballet.

Surely that is something that should have been discussed before the layout for the seating was finalised.

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I've received another email from Customer Services about the view from Upper Circle A41 and A42. They say that the producers of the Royal Ballet performance have revisited the sightlines and are happy to give me a 50% Gift Certificate in relation to my booking. I assume (hope) that this means that the seats (and other similar ones) will be acknowledged to have a restricted view and set at correspondingly lower prices in future. I'm obviously glad to be receiving a partial refund, but it still all seems bizarre to me that a) the theatre was designed in this way when it is usually going to involve performances (by the Royal Ballet or anyone else) where being able to see matters; and b) the sightlines were either not tested in advance and priced accordingly, or (even worse) were known to be bad in advance but not priced accordingly on the grounds that the audience probably wouldn't complain. I wonder how many seats will now be re-priced? And how will that affect the projected income for the Linbury??

 

 

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I have been 3 times and sat on all levels now. Pretty good legroom in stalls. What I would warn is the centre of the front row in circle and upper circle especially the middle 10-12 seats has appalling legroom. As it starts to curve round at the sides this improves notably. Be warned. Take a torch to find the number on your seat too😊

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I agree about the need to take a torch, I was unable to find my seat number in the circle (cataracts don't help!) and had to rely on people sat in the vicinity.

However, I emailed customer services about the difficulty in finding both the location and the seat number and they promptly sent a response stating that they are looking at improving signage (my word but I presume that's what they meant) and the placing of seat numbers so that it was easier to find seats.

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I made a mental note of where my seat was from the plan when booking my ticket, which was useful as I found my seat no problem that way. I couldn’t tell you where the actual seat number was, though, because I never saw it and it did all seem a bit dim in there. 😂

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For the opening night of New Works I had circle A44, could see about 2/3 of the stage.

I was told the right hand end two seats of circle central row B were empty in first half, so went and stood next to them towards end of interval.

When Alex Beard and guests returned to take their places in that row he asked me "Are you sitting here?" to which I replied I hoped to be as where I had been sitting I couldn't see. He replied that certainly I may sit there, then. Might this be a case of my action speaking louder than words?

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Just received from the ROH

 

"Following feedback from our audiences, we have taken the decision to re-designate some of the seats/standing spaces in the Linbury Theatre as having a restricted view. This means that audience members in these spaces may not be able to see all of the stage. As your seat/standing space has an affected sightline, we would like to offer you the opportunity to exchange or refund your ticket should you wish. 

If you have any questions or would like us to refund or exchange your ticket please contact our Box Office team on +44 (0)20 7304 4000 (Monday–Saturday: 10am–8pm) with details of your booking. We apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused."

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8 minutes ago, Bluebird said:

Just received from the ROH

 

"Following feedback from our audiences, we have taken the decision to re-designate some of the seats/standing spaces in the Linbury Theatre as having a restricted view. This means that audience members in these spaces may not be able to see all of the stage. As your seat/standing space has an affected sightline, we would like to offer you the opportunity to exchange or refund your ticket should you wish. 

If you have any questions or would like us to refund or exchange your ticket please contact our Box Office team on +44 (0)20 7304 4000 (Monday–Saturday: 10am–8pm) with details of your booking. We apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused."

 

Well, that's good, I suppose. Not sure why it took audience feedback though.

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Notice they haven't reconsidered their price ... Perhaps that will follow at a later time. The standing issue could in part be resolved with a ledge for standees to stand upon although I suspect this may have health and safety issues of its own. Poor show from the chosen architects I say  .. Although they may simply have been following orders of ROH chiefs. In any event this sad state of affairs speaks for itself. 

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Just now, LinMM said:

Yes but will they be offering these seats at reduced prices for future purchases?

 

Or offering partial refunds to those who've already booked? For sold out shows, exchange isn't really an option, and it seems a little unfair to say "take it or leave it" when a seat was booked in good faith.

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I wanted to add: I seem to do nothing but moan about the ROH (as opposed to the RB) recently and I don't like having to! It just seems as if over the last year the box office/marketing decision makers - whose jobs, lest we forget, are to look after the interface with the public - have been doing a first rate job of burning the good will which they once had in abundance. I don't know whether that's down to changes in personnel, policies or strategy, but I hope it's not irreversible.

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Just had the email- and am now wondering whether to return my side Upper Circle tickets for Berenice. What a shame- but I really wanted to see as well as hear this production and after reading the thread it sounds a rather hopeless case.

 

The ROH website currently has a warning notice that they are unable to display prices for the summer - perhaps because Linbury prices are all being changed? I suppose that is something.

 

But what a very poor show: poor planning, terrible work by the architect, bad communication, apparently complete ignorance by the theatre management that this situation existed- how can that be-? and  the whole thing just not professional.

 

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21 minutes ago, Mary said:

But what a very poor show: poor planning, terrible work by the architect, bad communication, apparently complete ignorance by the theatre management that this situation existed- how can that be-? and  the whole thing just not professional.

 

 

Yes - I've had an increasing feeling since the autumn that the ROH (as opposed to the RB) no longer seems to know what it's doing. Awful PR with statements then being denied/contradicted, poor new cast sheets subsequently replaced by the old ones, awful problems with the new website, incorrect casting info and inadequate notice of cast changes with some attempts then made to rectify the situation, the Linbury sightlines problems and apparently only knowing about them after the event; etc. After my (extremely dispiriting) visit to the Linbury on 8th Feb, we emerged on the ground floor and made for the exit into the Piazza only to find that it was locked (even though they must have known that the Linbury audience hadn't yet left). It was really the last straw and left me feeling that I was in a poorly run amateur venue.

 

And yes, I take no pleasure at all in saying all this. And I don't know why it's happening.

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Hot on the heels of the email telling me I wouldn't be able to see from the seat I had bought and offering my money back.....comes an email inviting me to pay a large sum to 'name a seat' in the new Linbury !

 

A few possible names for the seats have sprung to mind.......

 

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This morning's email from ROH

'With limited tickets available, book now to avoid missing...this spectacular new production of la Forza del destino..'

 

have they recently appointed a new head of Tact and Diplomacy ( Irony-Black-out) at ROH?

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1 hour ago, Mary said:

This morning's email from ROH

'With limited tickets available, book now to avoid missing...this spectacular new production of la Forza del destino..'

 

have they recently appointed a new head of Tact and Diplomacy ( Irony-Black-out) at ROH?

I received this as well. Either the ROH is particularly thick skinned, or they are blind/deaf to comments received, as is the case with your invitation to name a seat. I just wish I could believe that there was someone there who cared, even a tiny bit, about the comments made by their customers. 

 

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I’d like to give assurances to ninamargaret and others that from my experience heads of service and other senior managers do care very much about comments made by audience members.  I’ve had conversations and email exchanges where heads of service clearly see the gap between the excellent standards achieved on stage and other aspects of attending the Royal Opera House where there are acknowledged problems.  I think some are being addressed (the return to better sized cast sheets and notification of cast changes) but others may take a little time.  I would urge people to express their views: it’s good to say what has worked well (The Nutcracker Cinema Relay Cast Sheet - so why was DonQ so poor?); and equally highlight the need for improvements (admittedly quite a long list, a particular bugbear for me being the lack of answers to questions asked on the website - the use of scrims and the Forza ticketing saga).

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5 hours ago, Mary said:

This morning's email from ROH

'With limited tickets available, book now to avoid missing...this spectacular new production of la Forza del destino..'

 

have they recently appointed a new head of Tact and Diplomacy ( Irony-Black-out) at ROH?

 

Well, there ARE plenty of tickets... as long as you don’t want to see Kaufmann and Netrebko...

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  • 11 months later...

Bumping this up, as I am planning what to try and book for the Heritage programme, which will no doubt be popular as well as needing good sightlines. As a year has passed since the last post, I wonder if the ROH is now better at designating seats according to how much one can see?

 

And have people got more information on where it is good / bad to sit?

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10 hours ago, Geoff said:

Bumping this up, as I am planning what to try and book for the Heritage programme, which will no doubt be popular as well as needing good sightlines. As a year has passed since the last post, I wonder if the ROH is now better at designating seats according to how much one can see?

 

And have people got more information on where it is good / bad to sit?

Wanted to ask the same question. Where should I avoid sitting? 

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I hope ROH are considering doing a 'view from the seat' photo for the Linbury as they do for the main stage! I too would be interested re sightlines for the Heritage programme, although I wonder if any tickets will be available for general booking. I really hope so! I see they are yet to release pricing as well so hopefully that will come soon. 

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