Sondheim Theatre Reviews Summary

Theatre Experience

Pros:

• "It's a lovely theatre. Staff were helpful and pleasant."
• "Very pretty little theatre, polite, friendly staff."
• "The theatre is clean, beautiful and comfortable."
• "Such a beautiful theatre. My husband surprised me with tickets to watch Les Miserables."
• "The Sondheim is stunning after it's face lift truly beautiful inside."
• "The theatre has been spectacularly refurbished."
• "Such a beautiful theatre! Very historic and beautifully maintained."

Cons:

• "This theater is old and therefore has some small problems, such as small bathrooms, many stairs, no elevator and the corridor between the seats are narrow."
• "Theatre itself is not the best, poor ventilation and lacking of space. Audio system is a bit quiet for such a performance."
• "An old theatre with odd layout."
• "The dress circle does have a little bit of a restricted view on the far right."
• "The seating in the grand circle does feel just a little difficult to see as the front of the stage is not visible from the top seating area."
• "Seats for audiences are not so comfortable and with small spaces to sit, the aisles are also a bit narrow."
• "Only downfall is it got very hot due to no air conditioning to the point it got quite stifling."

Staff and Service

Pros:

• "Staff were very friendly."
• "Quick and easy to get through security, the staff are friendly and very willing to help."
• "Staff was also fantastic and very helpful. Explained to me when there would be load bangs and sounds and where I could go if I should need a quiet space."
• "Cannot speak highly enough of the staff at this venue."
• "The staff were amazing - so helpful with my disabled husband."
• "Staff super helpful with finding your seats."
• "Fantastic staff who couldn't do enough for us."

Cons:

• "Staff wandering too much during performance as well as letting folk in late, hence loss of a star."
• "Quite busy before the show and service was rather slow which saw a bit of a panic prior to the show starting."
• "The musical was fantastic but the staff was horrible, especially the security guards, in very bad taste."
• "I was subjected to a racist search by the theater staff."
• "A staff named Yuki was very mean and impatient."
• "I would not revisit this show here because of that. People talking throughout, getting thrown out for phone usage, popping cans open, singing along... It was a pretty horrendous experience."
• "It's a shame some members of the public are so inconsiderate, rustling bags of sweets, opening cans of pop through the quietest parts and whispering all the way through!!"

Performance Quality

Pros:

• "Les Miserable is performed since 2019 in the Sondheim theatre and it was an excellent performance of the crew."
• "Prepare to be moved, inspired, and enthralled by this timeless production."
• "Watching Les Misérables for the first time in the center of the front row in the West End is a lifelong memory."
• "The cast are incredible, the singing marvellous & the set design incredible."
• "The performance was outstanding, and every voice was incredible! I especially enjoyed the set design and effects."
• "Absolutely amazing musical. Les Miserable is definitely one of the best shows I've seen 😍 Highly recommend."
• "The show was absolutely fantastic."

Cons:

• "Lés Miserables is a very boring theatre production."
• "I have watched Les Mis a number of times... Very frustrating and annoying that the theatre did nothing."
• "There were other patrons going in and out of the auditorium during the show, however, and that was a bit frustrating."
• "Minor disappointment was the extreme amount of people that went to the bathroom during the play."
• "The only thing as a disabled person I should point out (and it’s a big bug bear in the disabled world) that people direct all their questions/answers at the person with us and not to us directly."
• "I must have watched Les Miserables for the 10th time and this is the first time watching it in a new set. I appreciate the progressive update with the use of stage design, projection and lots of lighting drama."
• "The production itself was wonderful, but I am not sure that the stage is big enough for such an iconic show."

Facilities and Comfort

Pros:

• "Show programmes were only £4.50, and our interval ice creams were only £3.00 each, both things very reasonable for the West End."
• "Bonus points - plenty of restrooms. No lines during intermission."
• "Good facilities from the theatre."
• "The theatre is air conditioned and the atmosphere was relaxed."
• "The theatre was extremely comfortable with great sight lines."
• "Beautiful theater with comfortable, spacious seating in the stalls. The set and production were superb."
• "Fairly recently renovated it boats plenty of toilets, comfortable seats, and the front of house staff have always been lovely to deal with."

Cons:

• "We booked seats all the way up - top last row. The leg space was inadequate even for me and I'm 5 foot 2."
• "Only issue was how much you had to lean forward to see the stage."
• "Not enough toilets so don't have too much to drink before hand!"
• "The toilets were severely lacking too."
• "I was up in the God's, in the Grand Circle. I have had more legroom on a Sleazyjet flight."
• "Avoid the top left seats, you can't see the front left where a few things take place."
• "I'd say close to half of the seats have limited visibility... how is that even allowed? And at those prices?!"