Royal Court Theatre – A Theatregoer’s Guide
Where is Royal Court Theatre?
It’s located in Chelsea so it’s not in the centre of London but it is right next door to Sloane Square tube station. The address is Sloane Square
London SW1W 8AS.
How do I book tickets for Royal Court Theatre?
The official telephone booking line is 020 7565 5000. You can also book through the Royal Court theatre website royalcourttheatre.com
The Royal Court describes itself as the ‘writers’ theatre’. It specialises in new or, occasionally, revived plays by often radical upcoming and established playwrights.
INSIDER TIP: Even if you’re not going to the theatre, the downstairs bar and restaurant offers tasty food that is excellent value compared with other eateries in the area. Meals are served from noon to 8pm.
There’s also a specialist theatre bookshop Samuel French on the first floor where you can get a coffee and enjoy a great view of Sloane Square.
Where are the best seats at Royal Court Theatre?
The theatre has two auditoria called the Jerwood Downstairs and the Jerwood Upstairs. Both are small.
The Jerwood Downstairs is the bigger one, with 380 seats. There are three levels of seating- the Stalls which is accessed from downstairs, the smaller circle accessed at ground floor level and the tiny balcony on the first floor. The view is good from all of the stalls and Circle but go for as central seats as you can and avoid seats right at the side. I haven’t been in the Balcony so I don’t know about the view but I can say the prices are good there.
I was impressed that when I saw The Cane recently the front rows had been taken out because they would have had a restricted view.
The Jerwood Upstairs which is on the second floor is tiny with only 85 seats- but it has some tremendous productions at brilliant prices. It’s unreserved seating so get there in good time.
What are the toilets like at Royal Court Theatre?
The Royal Court does well for men’s toilets but rather poorly for women. INSIDER TIP: go to the toilets at Balcony level.
The last time I visited the Royal Court, the toilets had been rebranded ‘Cubicles’ (formerly the Ladies) and ‘Urinals & Cubicles’ (formerly the Gents). If this is a permanent arrangement, while it avoids questions of gender (which is good), it is likely to mean that men will take up some of the precious women’s cubicles, making it even harder for women to get relief. On the other hand, if a woman wants to take advantage of the small number of cubicles in the former Gents toilets (2 downstairs, one upstairs), she will have to walk past a line of men standing at the urinals, which may cause a wee embarrassment.
There are some accessible toilets and there is an accessible lift to all floors.