La bohème | Opera North | Dementia friendly experience pack

Thank you for booking tickets for our dementia friendly performance of La bohème on Thursday 24 October, 2.30pm Ahead of your visit, we thought you might like to know what you can expect on the day. We’ve worked closely with organisations, people living with dementia and their supporters to make sure your experience is as good as it possibly can be. Their feedback has been invaluable in our planning.

Thursday 24th October

2.30pm — 4.55pm

If you have any feedback you’d like to share about your experience, please do get in touch. Details are on the last page of this document.

Arriving at Leeds Grand Theatre If you need step-free access, please do contact us and we’ll provide you with your step-free guide.

Level access via Box Office Entrance

• Public transport Located a few minutes’ walk from both Vicar Lane and The Headrow, there are bus drop off points near the theatre, including some opposite the theatre on New Briggate. There is a step-free walking route from the main train and bus stations. The bus station is approximately 10 minutes’ walk or 650m with an incline. And Leeds Train station is around a 12 minute walk, or 850m.

• Car parking The closest multi-storey car parks to Leeds Grand Theatre are: St. John’s (Merrion Street, Leeds, LS2 8LQ): There are 4 disabled parking bays.

Car parking charges apply. Up to three hours will cost £9.50. (Blue on the map).

Merrion Street (5 Merrion Way, Leeds, LS2 8BT): Disabled bays available. Car parking charges apply. Up to three hours will cost £8.00. (Red on the map.)

The Light (The Light, Headrow, Leeds, LS1 8TL): There are 24 disabled parking bays available. Car parking charges apply. Up to three hours will cost £9.50.

(Not included on map).

Leeds Grand Theatre

• Coaches, mini buses and taxis Coaches, mini buses and taxis can drop off just outside the Grand Theatre entrance, but due to the busy nature of New Briggate, they cannot park outside the venue.

If you need level access, you can enter via Leeds Grand Theatre Box Office where there is a lift. Once inside, if you are seated in the dress circle, there is another lift just down the side corridor that will take you up to that level press number 2 in the lift. Or if your seats are in the stalls, carry straight on across the main foyer to the corridor which leads down the left hand side.

Leeds Grand Theatre foyer

Inside the Auditorium

Front of house The theatre will be open from 1.30pm to give you plenty of time to get to your seats. And the bars will be open for drinks including teas and coffees.

There are accessible toilets at Stalls and Dress Circle levels.

All front of house staff and volunteers have attended a Dementia Friends information session and taken part in in-house training. If you need any help, look for a volunteer wearing a pale blue t-shirt, or a member of Leeds Grand Theatre staff who wear black.

We have placed additional signage and visual markers in our front of house areas to help you find your way around the venue more easily.

Quiet spaces can be found in the Wilson Barrett room just outside the stalls, and the Emerald Grand Hall which is up a short flight of stairs from the dress circle. The staff will show you where these are.

We also have a designated meeting point in case anyone cannot find their way back to their seat or to their companions. This will be the Wilson Barrett room which is just outside the stalls.

In the auditorium There are 6 wheelchair spaces: four in the Stalls and two in the Dress Circle.

Please request a wheelchair space at the time of booking to avoid disappointment. If you wish to transfer from a wheelchair, walking frame or mobility scooter into a theatre seat, we can store your mobility equipment for you.

We ask that you do not take photos during the show, but please feel free to do so at the end during the curtain calls.

For the comfort of customers, we have not sold every seat in the auditorium.

That way, it should feel calmer and less noisy than usual. If you feel the need to have a little more personal space, please mention this to staff on the day or call Box Office in advance and request the seat next to you remain unsold.

During the show The first half is 55-minutes long. The second half is 56-minutes long.

There will be a 30-minute interval to allow customers extra time to use the toilet facilities or buy refreshments. You can either pre-order your ice creams or buy on the day as there will be points of purchase inside the auditorium.

Ice-creams cost ÂŁ2.50. And there will be tea and coffee available for sale in both bar areas.

Low lighting will remain on in the auditorium during the performance. This means you will be able to see what is going on around you. And there will be a relaxed attitude to people needing to leave or return to the auditorium during the show or making any involuntary noise.

After the show The show will finish at 4.55pm.

We recommend you book your return transport no earlier than 5.15pm to allow plenty of time to exit the theatre.

Get in touch‌ If you have any questions, please contact Alice Gilmour, Community Partnerships and Access Officer, contact details below.

And we’d love to hear your feedback, so please fill in and return the feedback forms, or just contact Alice directly.

0113 22 33 629

access@operanorth.co.uk

Opera North 46 New Briggate Leeds LS1 6NU