Review Guidelines
Table of Contents
What Makes a Good Photo?
You’ve booked your tickets (hopefully through SeatPlan for the best last-minute London theatre offers and New York show discounts) and are ready to attend the show, take your view-from-seat photo and upload a review to earn even more Rewards points! But what makes the perfect photo?
A Clear View of the Stage
- Make sure your photo isn’t blurry or out of focus.
- Don’t block the stage with your playbill or programme!

An Accurate Idea of the View
- Don’t zoom in – this makes the view look closer than it actually is.
- Take the photo sitting in the seat, roughly at your eyeline. Standing up or taking a photo from the aisle gives a misleading view!
- Include any obstructions in the photo. If there’s a safety rail or pillar in the way, we want to know!

Take Photos Before the Show (No Performers!)
- Take your photos before the show, with the safety curtain down if possible.
- Some shows will have the safety curtain up and the set visible before the show starts. So long as there are no performers on stage, photos that include the set will be allowed.
- Any photos taken during the performance will be removed (and you may earn yourself a talking to from the front of house staff during the show!). This includes photos taken during the bows. Even if the venue allows this, our site does not.
- There are exceptions for some shows that have an actor on stage before it starts, but only if it is not at all possible to take a photograph without the actor present. On these occasions, we’d advise taking a photograph in the interval or at the end of the show where possible.

Real Photos Only
- Please don’t upload CGI or AI-generated images.
- Don’t upload other people’s photos or copyrighted material taken from other websites (including social media).
- We like to see other audience members in your photos as it gives more of a sense of the real view.
- Upload the original photo – we don’t allow screenshots of photos.
- Don’t include social media handles, stickers or emojis on your photos. Images containing these will be removed.

What Makes a Good Seat Comment?
Leaving a seat comment is optional, but it’s a great way to help our community of theatregoers and earn maximum Reward points. Think about what you’d want to know if you were choosing a seat, and always try to keep your comments helpful, clear and relevant.
Comfort and Legroom
- How comfy was the seat? Was it too hard? Soft? Were there armrests? How was the back support?
- Would the seat be comfortable for a longer show?
- Let us know how the leg room was, particularly if you’re tall. You can also pop your height in your profile so other users can see this when they read your review!

How Was the View?
- Did you have to look up or down to see the stage?
- Was the view obstructed at any point? Was there a pillar or bar in your line of sight, and how did this affect the view?

Keep It Relevant, Keep It Kind!
- Keep it relevant. For example, info about how close the toilets or bars are, or how easy it is to leave the venue after the show, are helpful.
- Please don’t make rude comments about theatre staff or other theatregoers. It’s fine to say that the heads of people in front may block the view, or that the seat was a little cramped, but commenting on other people’s size, hairstyles or bodies is unacceptable.
- If you’re not sure, think how you’d want to be mentioned in a review, even in passing – keep it kind!
- Check our Community Guidelines and make sure your review follows them, as we may need to remove politicised or offensive comments.
Star Ratings
- Did you know you can rate the view, comfort and legroom out of five stars? A 1 is the worst rating, and a 5 is the best.
- Make sure that your rating matches the content of your comment to avoid confusion!

Grammar and Spelling
- While we all make the odd typo, it really helps our community if they know exactly what you mean. Having a quick scan for spelling errors or autocorrections before you submit your review can be super helpful!
- Try not to use text speak in your reviews – full sentences are best when possible.
- We love when reviews are full of personality, but try to keep it clean! We’d prefer if reviews didn’t contain strong language – if in doubt, we recommend using a cheeky * to censor any bad language.
What Makes a Good Show Review?
Show reviews are optional, but we love it when customers choose to review a performance. It helps our community of theatre-lovers choose what to see next!
Here are some things to bear in mind when leaving a show review:
- The review can be as long or short as you like.
- Mention the things you liked or disliked about the production. This could be the set, the costumes, or the performers.
- Check that your star rating matches the review! A rave review with a one-star rating is confusing, so double-check before you submit.
- Make sure your review is about the show rather than your experience. We all know it can be annoying if people are chatting or eating sweets during the show, but these comments are best kept to verbal feedback to the front of house staff at the venue, rather than in your review.
- Be respectful. It’s completely fine to dislike a production or a performance, but rude, personal or hateful comments about a show’s content or individual performers won’t be tolerated. Please keep our community guidelines in mind when you write your review.

Don’t Do This!
Here are some of the key no-nos when leaving a review on our site. Uploading a review or photo that does any of the following can result in it being removed and your account being banned. Please don’t add:
- CGI, AI generated, copyrighted or fake images.
- Photos taken from another user’s SeatPlan account or social media account or another website.
- Selfies – even if the stage is still visible.
- Photos with performers on stage (even during curtain calls).
- Photos with Playbills or programmes blocking the stage.
- Out-of-focus or blurry images.
- The price of tickets in your reviews. Prices are always changing and this is the quickest way for your review to become out of date. If price is mentioned, we may edit it out of your comment.
- Rude or inappropriate comments that don’t follow our community guidelines.
- The incorrect ticket stub – our team may need to amend the seat number to match the stub.
- The seat photo to the wrong seat number.
- The same seat comment for multiple seats, even if they are next to each other. This makes us think the review may be fraudulent.
- Photos that have social media handles, stickers or emojis.
- Screenshots of your photo gallery.
Why Has My Review Been Removed?
Sometimes, our team might need to remove photos or reviews. This is at our discretion, and you can always reach out at help@seatplan.com if you think your photo or review has been deleted in error. Please bear in mind that if your review needs to be removed, this may mean your reward points are also removed, so check our tips on helpful and relevant seat reviews and photos before you submit.

The main reasons that reviews or photos are removed include:
- Comments that are against our community guidelines.
- Duplicate reviews.
- Photos that have performers on stage.
- Playbills, programmes or tickets blocking the majority of the stage.
- Photographs that are too blurry or out of focus.

Flagging Reviews
Did you know you can flag other users’ reviews or mark them as helpful? To mark a review as helpful, click the thumbs-up icon on the left beneath the review.

To report a review, click the flag that says ‘report’ to the right of the review, and fill in the form that pops up.

Please only genuinely unhelpful flag reviews. Don’t flag a review just because you disagree with their opinion on your favourite show or seat!
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