The Stage

Culture minister Follett joins queue of complaints about theatre facilities

Published Tuesday 16 June 2009 at 14:30 by Lalayn Baluch

Culture minister Barbara Follett has joined the long-running argument about the lack of women’s toilets in old theatres, after warning that poor facilities and long queues are marring audiences’ theatre-going experiences.

Speaking at the Theatres Trust annual conference, Follett also complained of cramped seating in older venues and welcomed refurbishment schemes undertaken at venues such as the Southbank Centre in London.

She said: “Theatres for me are wonderful, magical places, but there are elements of the theatre that make it less magical. Women take a longer time to go to the loo, and I am tired of spending most of the interval in the loo queue.

“My second grump are the seats, because very often the seats are so close together in older theatres. When you go to the Southbank Centre and Royal Festival Hall it is wonderful, because you don’t have to sit with your knees up to your ears.”

Her concerns were echoed by playwright Bonnie Greer, who despite praising the UK for being the “greatest creator of theatre in the world”, revealed that she no longer attended live performances because the experience was too uncomfortable.

According to Adam Kenwright, managing director of marketing and promotions agency AKA, women comprise 68% of the West End’s audience numbers.

He said: “We have to be looking at our audiences, caring passionately about the audiences, getting feedback from them. Women don’t have such a great experience when they come to the theatre, because they have to stand in a line to use the facilities for too long. It is ridiculous.

“Perhaps theatres can open a little bit earlier so we don’t have that crush 20 minutes between the doors opening and the show starting.”