Attending a Performance

Theatres

The Royal Court in Sloane Square has two theatre spaces:

The Jerwood Theatre Downstairs is a proscenium-arch theatre seating approximately 370 people over three levels: Stalls, Circle and Balcony.

The Jerwood Theatre Upstairs is a studio space which seats approximately 85 people. Located on the fourth floor of the theatre, it is accessible by lift or stairs.

The Royal Court Box Office will, on occasion, also sell tickets for productions at other venues. Patrons will be notified of this at the time of booking and the address of the venue will be clearly marked on the front of your tickets.

Cloakroom & Bags Policy

The Royal Court operates a strict handbags only policy inside both our auditoriums. Only one, reasonably-sized bag per person may be taken inside and all bags are searched by the theatre staff upon entry. Occasionally, we have productions where no bags may be taken inside the auditorium, due to limited space imposed by set designs. This is more common in the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs and we endeavour to inform patrons attending such performances in advance.

The theatre operates a complimentary Cloakroom service, located on the Stalls level. For security reasons, all bags left in the Cloakroom are subject to inspection by the Cloakroom Attendant. The Cloakroom is secure at all times, however the Royal Court cannot take responsibility for any items left there. The Cloakroom closes fifteen minutes after the last performance ends; if you have not collected your items by the time it shuts, the Bar & Food staff can assist by collecting them for you.

Latecomers

The Royal Court operates a strict no latecomers or re-admittance policy for most shows. This is due to the intimate nature of our theatre spaces and, therefore, for the benefit of the actors on stage. All patrons are informed of this policy at the time of booking and it is clearly printed on all tickets.

For Jerwood Theatre Downstairs productions, we endeavour to accommodate at least one point to admit latecomers, which is decided by the production’s Director. However, this is not always possible. Our Jerwood Theatre Upstairs productions rarely have late admission points as late entry will generally involve crossing the stage. Please note that if we are able to admit latecomers, we will always direct patrons to the nearest available vacant seats inside the auditorium and not necessarily to their actual seats. This is to ensure as little disruption as possible.

Latecomer monitors for both theatres are provided Front of House and latecomers can be given a playtext to follow the play if required.

Returns and Standby Tickets

The waiting list for returned tickets opens one hour before each performance. Tickets are re-sold for cash only, at their original face value.

You need to be at the Box Office in person in order to be put on the waiting list. We advise you to arrive early in order to queue; we will honour your place in the queue when we write the list.

Please note that the number of tickets returned varies greatly from performance to performance. The Royal Court offers no guarantees that, by queuing and joining the waiting list, you will be successful in securing a ticket.

We do not have standby tickets for any performances.

Children and Young People

Most Royal Court productions have a general age recommendation of 14+. Certain productions may have older age recommendations, which will be clearly displayed online and on all marketing print. The Box Office team can advise you of the reasons for these age recommendations for individual productions. There are strictly no children under the age of six permitted inside either of the auditoriums, this includes babes in arms. Under no circumstances can babies or children under the age of sixteen be left under the supervision of theatre staff.

Educational Groups

Education groups are welcome at every performance at the Royal Court and we offer some great schools discounts. For more information, please see our Education section.

Programmes

The Royal Court sells playtexts in place of programmes. These contain the play’s entire script as well as cast and creative biographies. During the run of a production, playtexts are available at the reduced price of £3. After a production closes, they are available from the Bookshop at the publisher’s recommended retail price. Complimentary cast sheets are available from the Bookshop, Front of House staff or ushers as you enter the auditoriums. Large print and Braille versions of cast sheets are available from the Bookshop for all Jerwood Theatre Downstairs productions.

Mobile Phones

All mobile phones must be turned off before entering our auditoriums; this is a condition of entry.

Photography

There is strictly no photography in either of the auditoriums as all Royal Court set designs are copyrighted. Photographs in Front of House areas may be taken with the permission of the Duty Manager.

What to Wear

There is no dress code however, in the summer months, we suggest that you dress appropriately for the weather; whilst both our theatre spaces are air-conditioned, this can achieve limited results against adverse outside temperatures when they are at full capacity.

Customer Feedback

We encourage all feedback and endeavour to respond within three working days. All feedback should be forwarded to info@royalcourttheatre.com. It will then be passed on to the appropriate department.