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Post by Deleted on Sept 7, 2016 7:26:49 GMT
It's a reasonably small venue, I like it. There are thin pillars dotted throughout the stalls but they're very thin so sitting behind one for £10 can often be a great discount rather than a serious impediment. The seating is flip-down two-person benches which can be annoying if your seatmate isn't very coordinated. They don't often change the seating plan that dramatically (and if they were planning on doing so for Hamlet, we'd have noticed it by now) so if you google Almeida seating plan or check it out on the website then the results will be reasonably accurate. Some seats around the edges might be currently unavailable then come up for sale later, but it is going to be a standard end-on configuration for the audiences at least. I've never sat upstairs so I don't know how the circle compares with the stalls. The café is small but has nice food. The public wifi isn't particularly reliable. The staff are charming, and if you like redheaded men, then one of the ushers is pretty much worth the ticket price on his own frankly.
If you're able, I'd recommend getting on the phone tomorrow (as well as trying to book online, of course). The website is quite good at falling over when it's busy (as tomorrow promises to be), and they have this annoying thing where they won't let you leave a single seat unsold if you're booking online which can make it hard to get the seat you actually want. So if you can phone, then although you'll probably have to redial a lot and/or be on hold for a while, it'll make the purchasing process smoother once you finally get through. I have heard that Mary Stuart is currently selling better than Hamlet, so if I didn't already have a ticket, I'd be willing to take a gamble on just ignoring the whole thing until about 3pm then strolling on in to pick up from what's left, but that does also depend on your flexibility with dates and how much you're willing to spend.
Anyway! Good luck! Also, as you're new to the Almeida, you should definitely register your user account today so tomorrow is a comparatively simple case of logging in to purchase, rather than having to set one up from scratch in all the chaos!
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Post by Deleted on Sept 7, 2016 8:31:03 GMT
Anyway! Good luck! Also, as you're new to the Almeida, you should definitely register your user account today so tomorrow is a comparatively simple case of logging in to purchase, rather than having to set one up from scratch in all the chaos! Yes! And also you can look today at the seating configuration and current seat availability at any performance to members. You're just not permitted to actually book yet! |
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Post by schuttep on Sept 7, 2016 11:06:21 GMT
I'm going to try my luck for this when public booking opens tomorrow. I studied HAMLET for A-Level English, but have never seen a production of it. I wasn't overly enamoured by the play when I read it back then, but seeing it onstage might just bring it alive for me. I've never been to the Almeida. What is it like as a venue? There seems to be no seating plan for it on TheatreMonkey. Gorgeous venue, but the configuration is versatile and will depend on the production's design. Hence, no accurate seating plan. I agree it's gorgeous venue but is it THAT versatile? I've been going for 20 years and it's always been the same configuration. |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 7, 2016 11:23:43 GMT
Gorgeous venue, but the configuration is versatile and will depend on the production's design. Hence, no accurate seating plan. I agree it's gorgeous venue but is it THAT versatile? I've been going for 20 years and it's always been the same configuration. Just recently I was thinking of Game and Boy which were very different. |
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Post by kathryn on Sept 7, 2016 12:09:42 GMT
Anyone else here going to be joining the scrum tomorrow morning? I assume booking opens at 10 am?
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Post by Deleted on Sept 7, 2016 12:15:30 GMT
I agree it's gorgeous venue but is it THAT versatile? I've been going for 20 years and it's always been the same configuration. Just recently I was thinking of Game and Boy which were very different. Yeah, they don't mix it up that often, but they have been known to. And Game and Boy were both under Rupert Goold's watch, so even if they were the first shows ever to have a radically different configuration, the fact that we're still under Rupert Goold's watch means it's not unlikely to happen again, 'cos it's a recent development rather than averaging out to one every ten years.  (Our Town was also different for the record.) |
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Post by rumbledoll on Sept 7, 2016 13:16:05 GMT
Baemax has the description nailed. The only things I'd add are that the legroom in the circle is dire, except on the sides of row B, which are raised benches, and also C. In the stalls, it's cramped for those over 5ft 9 or so from around row G back. Front rows of the stalls are not raked to row D, then are reasonably well stepped after that. Anything behind a pillar is excellent. If it helps, for Hamlet, I've gone for stalls £10 row L22. Nothing in front of it - so unlimited legroom, and a pillar beside it to divide the bench in half. Saw Richard III from there and it was excellent for the price. Thanks for the tip! And what can you say about side seats in the Front Row of Circle in terms of sidelines? (is it rail in sight or pillars or are they reduced to 20 GBP for any other reason?) I don't care much about the legroom since I'm not tall. |
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Post by rumbledoll on Sept 7, 2016 13:20:08 GMT
And which are the best choices among "restricted view" in Rows G and H of stalls? There only thin pillars as far as I remember (never sat behind them though) so it looks weird so many seats are "restricted"..
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Post by Deleted on Sept 7, 2016 13:36:18 GMT
The further back you go, the more you run the risk of being behind two pillars. They're still narrow, they're still not a massive issue, but I'd still rather have one than two. So row G would be preferable to row H, and I think I might favour J and K over H as well, 'cos if I had to be behind two pillars, at least I could be a little further back so they didn't loom as large in my vision. And where there are restricted seats next to each other, I think I'd take the seat that wasn't *as* directly behind the pillar (so H9 rather than H10, K20 rather than K19, etc). But really, I've sat row L behind all the pillars before now, and it was still a bargain at (then) £9. |
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Post by rumbledoll on Sept 7, 2016 14:57:42 GMT
Thank you so much! I'll look what tomorrow brings but the more I think of it the more I tend to decide waiting till they release side Stalls tickets once Previews start.
Besides, I'm not sure which dates in April to choose (it depends on many things) and the blind booking was never my strong point.
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Post by lynette on Sept 7, 2016 15:01:29 GMT
Don't go behind a pillar guys. The seats are benches and you don't know how accommodating your immediate neighbours will be in letting you sidle an inch and Bob your head about.
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Post by AddisonMizner on Sept 7, 2016 15:12:31 GMT
Thank you for all your help.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 7, 2016 15:16:23 GMT
The website does say "There will be a further ticket release at 10am on Monday 20 February 2017 and there will also be Day Seats available from Wednesday 1 March 2017", so there's no need to immediately fret if tomorrow is unsuccessful. And didn't they do a TodayTix lottery for Richard III? Might they do one again for Hamlet?
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Post by Deleted on Sept 7, 2016 17:29:52 GMT
The £20 "slight restriction" seats in the stalls are great - there is a thin pillar but it is at the edge of your view and is really no restriction at all
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Post by kathryn on Sept 8, 2016 8:41:13 GMT
It looks like the Almeida site has already fallen over - I can't log-in.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 8, 2016 8:50:21 GMT
The fact that demand means we can't view this downright offensively ugly website might be a blessing more than a curse.  |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 8, 2016 8:55:54 GMT
i have two ten pound tix in basket and it says it will hold them for 15 mins. Do I click 'continue shopping' or stay staring at this page in hopes it will suddenly change to offer me a payment button?
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Post by kathryn on Sept 8, 2016 8:59:25 GMT
And the phone lines are already engaged,
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Post by Deleted on Sept 8, 2016 9:00:46 GMT
excitement over... I now seem to have lost my basket. Hey ho.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 8, 2016 9:04:37 GMT
Their website really is rather pathetic isn't it? Never known anything like it.
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Post by demelza on Sept 8, 2016 9:05:52 GMT
You would think they'd be prepared to deal with the surge by now!
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Post by Deleted on Sept 8, 2016 9:06:16 GMT
Found the basket again but now have the whirling wheel of death trying to access it... Just as my team calls a meeting. Arghhhhhh
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Post by kathryn on Sept 8, 2016 9:10:55 GMT
Why bother listing the box office no on the crashed web page? If the servers can't cope with the traffic the phones don't stand a chance.
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Post by Polly1 on Sept 8, 2016 9:14:59 GMT
Really wish I'd joined as a member. I know there were problems too but at least you were pretty certain to get tickets. Can't see there being anything left when we do eventually get through. They really need to improve the website!
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Post by schuttep on Sept 8, 2016 9:23:46 GMT
Just recently I was thinking of Game and Boy which were very different. Yeah, they don't mix it up that often, but they have been known to. And Game and Boy were both under Rupert Goold's watch, so even if they were the first shows ever to have a radically different configuration, the fact that we're still under Rupert Goold's watch means it's not unlikely to happen again, 'cos it's a recent development rather than averaging out to one every ten years. (Our Town was also different for the record.) Ah - I'd forgotten about Our Town (didn't see Game and Boy). I stand corrected. I had a song and dance trying to book Mary Stuart as the system refused to accept the password I'd signed in with for years (and even earlier that day!) Hope the guy hired to improve IT deals with the booking system as a priority. |
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(Our Town was also different for the record.)
