Forum Topic

Legally Blonde - the lavatories etc

So, on daughter's insistence, we went to Legally Blonde at the Savoy Theatre last night and it was a pretty good show.But the treatment of the audience was SO RUBBISH.Predictably - for this show - the audience was at least 80% female. But did they make any extra loo provision? No of course not so while the Gents gaped cavernously, there were queues winding up stairs and round corners for the Ladies'Why is this acceptable?And is it OK to charge a small fortune for tickets and then stage it in a theatre with no airconditioning - or obvious ventilation, little public space and many narrow corridors? OK not quite black hole of Calcutta but no fun.Then there's the sheer exploitation: A programme - any programme - was £7 each. No-one seemed to have bought one. Ice-creams £3 each. ditto. No glasses of water available in a hot, crowded, unventilated space. I thought that was illegal.It's not that I couldn't afford to join in but that I loathe being ripped off. And this was. I got quite ratty (not a pleasant sight)Shame because it could have been a great evening and was just an OK one. Does rather put me off the commercial West End theatre.  

Sara Nathan ● 5922d21 Comments

Not only in London it seems. A very good friend of mine in Los Angeles emailed me back in April after an opera he went to:**Recommend L.A. Opera/ Achim Freyer production of Goetterdaemmerung but at 5.5 hours in length they could do with upgrading their restroom facilities. Plus one guy serving coffee to line of 50 people doesn't quite hack it.**

Ellie Rose ● 5922d

at least in the states the programmes are free

David Archer ● 5922d

Years ago my friend and I went to see Sense and Sensibility at the Curzon West End,  queue for loo snaked up stairs around corner on and on.  We quickly nipped into the empty Gents!!

Jen Morty ● 5922d

and air conditioned.....

Ellie Rose ● 5922d

Good thinking - I have done that too but managed without queueing.Have sent top post as feedback to Ambassadors Theatre Group (thought maybe they don't read this site for some reason) and will report back if there is any response.

Sara Nathan ● 5922d

I hardly ever go to the theatre now since, unless it's fantastic, I feel as if I've been mugged. I've certainly nipped into the Gents before now: just call out an apology as you enter and avert your gaze. Why do they have those urinals, anyway? They don't use them at home!

Susan Kelly ● 5922d

Simple. Reduced floor space and faster throughput, so much shorter queues.There were experiments in the US with open plan women's toilets to reduce queues, but they weren't popular.

Ian M Green ● 5922d

The west end theatre's are generally quite old but full of character. i see a lot of shows with Last Minute's 'ticket for a tenner' constant offer. With their age, it is probably a bit difficult to add more rest rooms and maybe even to add A/C without causing some damage to the infrastructure but I am no expert on this to be honest. For the interval, I usually take my own snack and drink with me which you are allowed to do. Instead of buying a programme, every good show has it's own internet page where you can read about the cast etc if you so desire.I am proud of our theatre land, we really are spoiled for live theatre here in London town.

Miriam Kerketta ● 5922d

I've nipped into the Gents at John Lewis in Oxford Street when there was a long queue for the ladies and no-one going in or coming out of the Gents.  Yelled a warning before I went in...  It was absolutely empty.  Hopeless and ridiculous ratios and it is not just the ratios which are a problem. Poor design of cubicles happens to be a bugbear of mine. Stansted Airport loos are an enormous disappointment considering it is such a prestigious airport design (although too small now). I suspect it is a job given to students in the office to do. Drawn to look good on paper with the loo in the middle of the space....and then other necessary items are added to the space which you then end up sitting on because of this. Dreadful. Come on women architects time you kicked some!

Philippa Bond ● 5922d

OK girls....there are the same number of male WCs as there are female ones. Its just that inside we have urinals so we can nip in, do what we have to do quickly and be out in the bar again.So, if you had a ladies room with a row of urinals (see below) would you use them. Somehow, I dont think so.

David Archer ● 5922d

You do know, don't you David, that men and women are constructed differently?I can't quite see how a woman would use the urinal you  depict. Maybe you could explain

Sara Nathan ● 5922d

Haha,,,,well men certainly couldnt use it....here it is from another angle

David Archer ● 5922d

I seem to remember that there were devices invented by feminists. Being of a delicate disposition, I never inquired into details.

Ian M Green ● 5922d

weren't those portable - even blow-up (yeuch) femiloo or something. Amazingly, they didn't catch on.

Sara Nathan ● 5922d

She-Pees or She-Wees are used by women at festivals (so I'm told).When there are cubicles to access it's less problematic.  There is a restaurant in Oxford I often go to where the Gents is a cubicle next to the Ladies and the whb is shared. No probs nipping into the other one.  Isn't one of the problems with a theatre that it isn't necessarily easy to find the loos unless you know the building well?  As people expect one on the ground floor everyone decides to go on the way out, goes down and then finds a huge queue.  (I remember making that mistake when I went to see the Jersey Boys.)

Philippa Bond ● 5921d

At the Savoy there was the less used and more used but still gross underprovision.

Sara Nathan ● 5921d

I always tell the girls waiting to use the ladies in my restaurant to use the gents. True, it's not as nice as the ladies but if it's empty it's better that than waiting crossed legs. I tell them to think the same as when on an aeroplane when you dont hesitate to use the first available one.

David Archer ● 5921d

wholly sensible - not the response at the Savoy however where the staff were wholly unsympathetic.

Sara Nathan ● 5921d

Not much you can do about old theatres.  Unfortunately the newer ones aren't much better in that respect.  Legally Blonde probably has a larger female audience than some shows so it would be worse than many.I always make sure I find a loo before the show, and pre-order an interval drink to avoid queuing in the interval (take note, Broadway - they don't offer this!)As for the high prices, well, there are ways round it.  I paid £10 for my ticket to Legally Blonde on the day.  And last night I saw 'Tap Dogs' for £10 and got bumped up to a better seat than I paid for.  Lastminute.com usually have some good deals.Agree about the programme, though.  If there is a choice of a small one with cast biogs and a big one with pictures, at least you have the choice.  But Legally Blonde didn't give the option.

Gill Hothersall ● 5920d

When the building and management seem a bit old and stuffy do you think we become rather more restrained!?

Philippa Bond ● 5919d

Dear Sara Nathan, Thank you for your e-mail regarding your recent visit to see Legally Blonde: The Musical at the Savoy Theatre.We sincerely regret that you feel that your experience on the evening in question was not an enjoyable one.  As a theatre with a particularly rich history dating back to 1881, the Savoy Theatre is a Grade 2 listed building, which does preclude the alteration of its public facilities and bar areas and therefore the provision of toilet facilities for female members of our audiences in addition to those already in the theatre itself.  However, the Front of House staff do their utmost to direct patrons to the comparatively numerous alternative facilities on different levels of the theatre.Equally, with regard to your comments concerning the lack of adequate ventilation and air-conditioning, the theatre is equipped with an air handling system, which is designed to draw cool air into the theatre and to keep it circulating inside the auditorium.  However, the exceptional weather conditions we are experiencing at the moment means that the system is in fact drawing unusually warm air from outside and thus is not quite producing the desired impact upon the temperature inside the theatre.  Consequently, additional measures to mitigate this have been put into place, including the free distribution of hand held fans to all members of the audience and the provision of electric fans in all the theatre’s public areas, while all doors and vents are kept open whenever possible and both bottles of water and tap water are readily available at all the theatre bars.Please be reassured that we value all of our customers very highly and we hope that you will accept our sincerest thanks for taking the time to offer us your feedback.  Your comments specifically relating to the cost of programmes and merchandise have been passed on to the production’s merchandising company.Yours sincerelyMartin ScorerDuty Manager"Except the staff specifically refused my daughter water and there were no fans of any sort and no attempt at extra ventilation. Apart from that, great response!

Sara Nathan ● 5912d