Accessibility report
Mixed Doable, but with caveats worth knowing first.
- Step-free entrance Partly
- Accessible toilet Partly
- Blue badge parking nearby Yes
- Getting there (boarding & alighting) Partly
- Staff knew what they were doing Yes
What was good
Good prices and a strong programme. Getting in and getting seated is easy, staff are always friendly, disabled parking sits right by the venue, and they don’t usually stop you bringing your own food. Licensed bar with a full range of drinks.
What was bad
Wheelchair spaces are at the back of the stalls under the balcony overhang, no higher than the ordinary seats — anything aerial vanishes, and when the audience stands (Rocky Horror’s Time Warp) you lose the stage completely. The step-free entrance is round the side near the cast entrance, not the main doors. The merchandise store is never wheelchair accessible — some nights they bring items down, other nights you’re told to send an able-bodied companion. The two accessible toilets get used by everyone at the interval, so go fast.
We love coming to shows here. The prices are good, the programme is strong, and access is OK — getting in and getting seated is not the problem. The problem is where they put you once you are in, and what happens to your view when the show leaves the stage floor or the audience leaves their seats.
We are regulars — multiple times a year, and sometimes multiple times a month, depending on what is on. We are not panto people, but there are plenty of good shows through the year, so skipping Christmas and the six-week summer holidays is no great loss.
The wheelchair seating, and the overhang
Wheelchair spaces are at the back of the stalls, underneath the overhang of the upstairs seating. For most shows this is genuinely fine — when all the action happens at ground level, you see everything and the seats are perfectly decent.
But the moment a show goes upwards, the overhang takes it away from you. Circus acts on ropes and trapezes, the flying sequences in things like The Wizard of Oz — anything that happens above head height simply vanishes behind the ceiling. Everyone else gasps; we find out what happened at the interval.
Audience participation: the view disappears entirely
Worse is anything with audience participation, because the wheelchair section is no higher than the ordinary seats. At Rocky Horror, when the Time Warp came on, the whole house was asked to stand up and dance — which they rightly did, and we spent the number looking at the backs of dancing strangers. We could not see past them to the stage at all. When a cast asks people to stand, the wheelchair section effectively loses the show until everyone sits down again.
A raised platform for the wheelchair spaces — even a modest one — would fix both problems at a stroke. Plenty of venues have one. It is the single change we would ask the Alhambra for.
Getting there and parking
One thing to know before your first visit: the step-free entrance is round the side of the building, near the cast entrance — not through the main doors. It works fine once you know, but nobody tells you until you are looking at the steps, so head for the side on arrival.
The theatre is a decent walk from both the bus and train stations, though for the most part it is flat, so it is doable rather than difficult — just allow the time. Parking immediately near the venue is mainly disabled parking, which is exactly the right way round, and there are plenty of ordinary car parks close by for those who can walk the last stretch.
Toilets: be quick at the interval
There are two wheelchair-accessible toilets just outside the main theatre. The trouble is the able-bodied toilets are a short walk from the main doors — so at the interval, everyone uses the accessible ones. Be quick out of your seat when the lights come up, because with that much traffic they can end up nasty quite quickly.
The merchandise stand
The merchandise store is never wheelchair accessible. What happens next depends entirely on who is on that night: sometimes staff will kindly bring merchandise down for you to look at; other times you are asked to send an able-bodied member of your party up to buy it for you. When it is your money they are taking, being told to send someone else to spend it is not a great feeling — a fold-out table at the accessible level on show nights would solve it entirely.
Food and drink
Food and drink inside is expensive, but they do not usually stop you bringing your own in, which softens it considerably. The theatre is licensed, with a range of alcoholic and soft drinks.
Our advice for booking
Think about the show before you book. A ground-level play, musical or comedy night: book with confidence, enjoy the good prices. Anything aerial, and anything famous for getting the audience on its feet: know what you are trading away, ring the box office, and ask exactly what you will and will not be able to see from the wheelchair spaces.
Need to know
- Address: Morley Street, Bradford, BD7 1AJ
- Website: bradford-theatres.co.uk/alhambra-theatre
- Box office: 01274 432000
- Prices: good value, and own food is not usually challenged.
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