Gala Theatre & Cinema Reviews Summary

Theatre Performances

Pros:

• "The Gala also puts on an array of excellent theatrical and musical performances which are worth keeping a track of, and has been known to host vintage fairs and even a small comic convention!"
• "Cinderella was absolutely amazing. The cast were all brilliant with great voices."
• "Another great night at the pantomime. We do this every year and to us it's one of the best in the North East."
• "The current (Christmas 2022) panto is a must-see event. It is very well written and most definitely very well performed, with all the classic slapstick mayhem comedy and more."
• "What a fantastic night we had at the panto last night my 8yr old loved it as well as my 25yr old and myself it appealed to all of us making us laugh out loud and get involved with the dancing absolutely fantastic cast well done everyone !!!"
• "Absolutely brilliant. Another fantastic panto, great atmosphere, hilarious script."
• "The pantomime was excellent. The acting by local people was first class."

Cons:

• "Went to see Sleeping Beauty Pantomime. Worst panto I've ever seen!."
• "Panto not as good as previous years due to a different cast. Too much singing and not enough story."
• "Nice theatre, we went to see midsummer nights dream by Durham Opera ensemble which to be frank was quite poor and people left throughout the performance."

Cinema Experience

Pros:

• "Cinema very good value now there is competition in the city."
• "As an independent cinema, this is a lovely venue."
• "Every ticket is only £5 each so much cheaper than the Odeon."
• "Great cinema. Incredibly cheap compared to the odeon, this cost me £5 to watch Fast and Furious for example, while the Odeon cost nearly £25 per person."
• "A fantastic little cinema with 2 large screens and comfortable seating. The staff are helpful and polite, and the small counter serves a good selection of food, drinks and confectionary. Tickets are very reasonably priced."
• "An independent cinema. Movies sometimes take a bit longer to come here than the larger cinemas in Newcastle and selection is limited. But seating is nice and the venue is clean, well worth the money!"
• "Great place to watch films, generally only £5 a ticket which is much better than any of the big corporate ones."

Cons:

• "The cinema only has two screens that are both very very average."
• "Only 2 small screens located in the basement, but adequate enough."
• "Good place to see a movie, a cozy but little cinema. You can’t find a large variety of food just the basics, what you can find has good taste, and the screens are not really big."
• "Not the biggest screen, quite poor sound quality and the seats and leg space very uncomfortable."
• "The viewings are often peppered with cackling teenagers so that you can't hear the actual film, and no reporting this to staff will help."
• "The distance between screen and seats is too short to have a clear and focused viewing."
• "The seats are very uncomfortable very small with absolutely no legroom whatsoever and no cup holders."

Facilities & Accessibility

Pros:

• "Modern building which is fully wheelchair accessible."
• "City centre location, close to bars and restaurants, and also has bars within the theatre/cinema."
• "It is a beautiful and new building with cinema, theatre, cafe and a room for the children with somethings to play and draw from the play is in the Theatre."
• "Modern style theatre. Comfy seating and right in the centre of the night life. Would recommend a visit. Disable facilities good too."
• "Staff friendly, facilities as you'd expect at a modern venue."
• "The Gala theatre and cinema has parking close by (multi-storey car park), and is only a couple of minutes walk from the city centre Premier Inn."
• "The theatre is comfortable with good seating. A fairly steep slope to the auditorium means that most seats have unrestricted views of the stage."

Cons:

• "Nice location however theatre was smaller than expected."
• "You have to go down what feels like 20 flights of stairs to reach the cramped cinema in their basement."
• "Busy that's ok but not when disabled loo being used by an abled person, I am disabled so had to wait n they did not even say sorry just walked past with their head held low, not happy at all."
• "Confectionery is a little bit pricey, toilets are too small for the size of the venue and cinema screens. Decent sized large cinema screen and comfy seats."
• "The approach to the Gala is up flights of stairs which will be a challenge to anyone with any appreciable disabilities."
• "Nice theatre but when I attended for a brass band competition it was a bit overcrowded as the upstairs bar was closed."
• "The toilets are truly awful. Pokey, dingy and grotty looking, and not to too graphic, some of the toilets were not clean........🤢 Total let down compared to rest of building."

Staff & Service

Pros:

• "The staff were fantastic we were seated in the back row high up but I could not sit that high up so was willing just to go home but the staff went above and beyond to help."
• "All staff were very friendly and helpful 👍"
• "The ushers on the evening were very friendly and professional assisting us to our seats."
• "Staff as friendly as ever, and easy access into and out of the theatre."
• "Staff attentive and friendly."
• "Staff very helpful and friendly too."
• "Staff are always very patient and kind. Always a smile!"

Cons:

• "Did not like the falling out of lift! Did not expect two doors to open at same time so stumbled as I was making room for people to get in from front."
• "Came here for a concert this evening. Beautiful surroundings and amazing venue. The staff, however, leave a lot to be desired."
• "The staff, however, leave a lot to be desired, particularly the ushers in the concert hall."
• "Also, the security guard wouldn't let us wait inside after the film for our life home."
• "Hi don't try to phone for bookings as it a waste of time I was on the phone twice the first time 10 mins and the Secord was for 12mins and 30 seconds in the end just hung up all I got was thank you for continue to hand and why not visit the web site."
• "The service could have been a lot better."

Food & Confectionery

Pros:

• "There's a good choice of snacks and drinks."
• "Very tasty food from the cafe."
• "Called in today to get out of the rain and had a sausage sandwich and coffee for £3.50, very nice."
• "Went to see the new wonka movie. 4 popcorn and 4 drinks 16 quid so bargain."
• "The food was good as was the coffee."
• "It's café is also pleasant independent of everything else, with excellent natural light, good food and drinks."
• "Friendly staff, cheap food and comfy seats."

Cons:

• "Confectionery is very expensive which is normal at the theatre."
• "Prices of popcorn, sweets, drinks, are expensive, so if it's a family trip out prepare to spend quite a bit."
• "The bar was a little over priced but that's to be expected."
• "However, the food counter is expensive and only accepts cash payment."
• "The popcorn was bad."