Building work is currently ongoing at the OT in order to make our venue a Theatre for Everyone, and this will affect some aspects of your visit.
We are doing our best to keep any disruption to a minimum and are very grateful for your patience in the meantime! Thank you for your support and understanding.
Entrance
Our usual entrance will not be in use during the building work and will be completely covered by hoardings.
Instead, audiences will enter the building by our scene dock entrance (anyone who visited us during the pandemic may remember using this entrance then) which is to the left of where the theatre’s steps used to be. There will be signage outside the theatre guiding the way.
Our pre-show box office will be just inside the scene dock entrance, where one of our lovely team members will be on hand to check your tickets and show you through to the auditorium which remains exactly the same.
Audiences will also exit the theatre through the scene dock door.
This entrance/exit is step-free; however, if you are a wheelchair user you will need to use the entrance via the carpark in order to access the wheelchair accessible seats within the auditorium. Please contact our box office team (via email at box.office@orangetreetheatre.co.uk or on 020 8940 3633) to book access tickets, including wheelchair seats.
Toilets
During our building development our usual toilets will be out of action. Instead there are six toilets housed in what we call the Attenborough Room.
The Attenborough Room is on the upper level and is accessed via the balcony. For those seated on the balcony, there is clear signage showing the route to the door through to the toilets. For those seated on the ground level, please exit the auditorium through the doors directly opposite the entrance, follow the signs up the stairs, enter the door to the balcony, and follow the signage. We will be operating a one-way system in the balcony level in order to manage congestion, and a staff member will be on hand to direct.
For each performance, there will be a member of our front of house team available to assist anybody who needs to use the accessible facilities. Please let us know when you arrive if you require the accessible bathroom. This is situated on the first floor and can be accessed via the lift, but please inform a member of staff who can assist you. You can enter the lift on the Ground Floor, just outside the exit from the auditorium, closest to the accessible seats. The lift is button operated.
Theatre & auditorium opening times
There is no bar area whilst our development is ongoing which means unfortunately there is nowhere to wait before the auditorium opens.
As such, we’ll be opening the theatre entrance 45 minutes before the show starts and audience will be able to access to the auditorium at this time as well, and go straight to their seats.
Food & Drink
We may have no bar area but we will still be serving a (more limited) selection of food and drink to accompany your visit. We will be operating a nifty drinks trolley where you’ll be able to buy drinks, snacks and programmes both before the show and in the interval. The drinks trolley will be situated within the auditorium itself.
You can see our food and drink menu here.
You can still pre-order drinks for the interval (you’ll get a text message the day before through which you can do this, or you can order from a member of the bar team pre-show) and they will be brought to your seat in the interval. You will also be able to pre-order pre-show drinks which will be waiting for you on your seat when you arrive; again, this is via the text message you’ll receive the day before your visit, which includes a link to our pre-ordering site. No queuing, no waiting, no fuss.
Please note that we will not be selling from the trolley post-show – but there are heaps of wonderful pubs and bars in Richmond where you can have that all-important post-show debrief. We recommend our lovely neighbours Bacco, situated just across the road from us.
Bacco are also offering a special Pre-Theatre Drink & Bites offer; guests are invited to visit Bacco up to one hour before the show and enjoy a 175ml glass of house red or white wine served with two appetizer skewers for £9 per person – a nice light option before heading to the theatre.
Latecomers
Please note that while we normally try our very best to get late-comers into a performance, during our building work it will be logistically impossible to admit any late-comers to the theatre without causing major disruption.
As such, we’re very sorry but late-comers will not be able to be admitted.
Take a look at our Visual journey for a more detailed look at your journey through the theatre whilst our development is taking place.
Please see our FAQs webpage for any further information, and if you have any concerns or questions which aren’t covered, please get in touch with our team at box.office@orangetreetheatre.co.uk or by calling 020 8940 3633 (open Monday to Saturday 10am to 6pm).