The Shaftesbury Theatre has a capacity of 1393 seats, including 750 seats in the Stalls, 380 seats in the Royal Circle and 263 seats in the Grand Circle. Use our interactive seating plan to view 2393 seat reviews and 1323 photos of views from seat.
Note: After the close of Motown, some changes were made to the layout including the removal of the gangway in front of Row M, meaning older reviews may be slightly inaccurate.
The Shaftesbury Theatre was designed by Bertie Crewe and opened as the New Prince's Theatre in 1911. It was the last theatre to be built on Shaftesbury Avenue. After hosting a number of Broadway transfers, the ceiling collapsed during a performance of Hair in 1973, forcing the long-running show to close after just under 2,000 performances. The theatre went under a major refurbishment in 2006, and upon reopening it has hosted Hairspray, Flashdance, Rock of Ages and Motown the Musical amongst many more.
With a seating capacity of 1,400, the Shaftesbury Theatre is a mid-sized venue split across three levels. The front Stalls are split into two sections, with the two aisles in the rear Stalls splitting the back into a further three. The Royal and Grand Circles suffer from some sight-line problems in certain rows which causes the back of the stage to be obscured.
Bargains can be found towards the rear of the Royal Circle, which can feel distant from the stage but still offers an overall good view. Seats in the Grand Circle are often reduced, but try to sit centrally in seats 14-24 to avoid as much restriction as possible.
The best in the Shaftesbury Theatre are located in the centre of the Stalls, in rows D-H, seats 10-26. Sitting centrally allows for the best overall experience as you can see the entire stage. The front rows of the Royal Circle also offer great views, particularly in rows A-D, seats 12-24.
The benefit of the back row is that you're able to lean forward as far as you want without disturbing anyone behind you, so I recommend this seat if you want the cheapest seats available. There's a huge amount of legroom too. More
Saw & Juliet & Juliet on 20 December 2019
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I felt so lucky with these seats, I got them at a special flash sale price and the view was exceptional! The leg room was fine for me, not massively spacious but comfortable. The seats themselves are comfortable but aren’t the roomiest so you are a... More
Saw & Juliet & Juliet on 07 March 2020
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This seat has limited legroom but I found it quite comfortable nonetheless. This is pretty much centre stage so you see the action face on and although it's marked as restricted view, it's very good value. There is a ledge within eye-line but if you're... More
Saw & Juliet & Juliet on 21 February 2020
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