Bristol Hippodrome Groups and Access

What is a Group?

Well, for us here at the Bristol Hippodrome a ‘Group’ would be a party of 10 or more. This could be you and a bunch of friends for a Hen Do, the whole family getting on that Christmas vibe with the pantomime, or maybe it’s your local or work Social Club organising a day trip? However your group is made up, you’ll be entitled to some great benefits!

Booking for 10 or more couldn’t be easier; first things first you give us a call on 0117 302 3222. Our dedicated Groups and Access team are on hand from 10am – 6pm, Monday – Friday (excluding Bank Holidays) and will be able to go through all the details with you so you can get the seats you want for the show you cannot wait to come and see! To give you time to organise getting the money in from all your eager theatre goers, we can make you a provisional reservation without taking any payment whatsoever. This also means that if you need to make any changes, or even cancel the booking altogether, you can easily do so! Once you’ve got your final numbers and are ready to pay, then just give us a ring and pay for what you need, easy-peasy. We’re pretty flexible on how you pay too - You can pay via Credit or Debit card, send us a cheque, pay using theatre tokens or vouchers or come into the Box Office and pay by cash.

So there’s the process, what about the benefits?

Well, as we just mentioned you can reserve now and pay later, you don’t have to pay any booking fees and usually there are some really great discounts available on tickets so just ask when you call! So - go get your friends together, round up the family or organise a work social and get booking!

Have you got any Access requirements? No problem!

As recent Bronze winners of VisitEngland’s Access for All Award, we here in the Groups and Access team are on hand to offer you personalised guidance as to what seats might be best for you. We will always listen to what your requirements are and we’ll always look for the best seats for you.

For those with limited mobility, wheelchair users or anyone who needs to be near an exit or accessible toilet, we have an Accessible Entrance. This is located on the left-hand side of our building (as you are facing the main doors) on a road called Denmark Street. Using this entrance means you come straight into the Stalls – avoiding those steps in the foyer! Here we have the seats on the end of the rows that can be used for a variety of different access requirements but usually you’ll find that if you have mobility issues, these are the seats for you. If you are a wheelchair user we have what we call the ‘platform’. This is a raised area with plenty of space that can accommodate four wheelchair users and four buddies. You’ll want to use the same entrance, the only thing difference is that you have to go up a short staircase in our accessible lift in order to get to the platform. Not to worry though – there is always an attendant at the Access Entrance who will be able to assist you and guide you to your seats.

If you have other Access requirements rather than limited mobility, we can potentially get you any seat in the auditorium that you are comfortable with! Do give us a call to get booked in though, we can go through all the details and talk through what might work best for you – something you won’t be able to do if booking online!

For anyone who has a visual or hearing impairment, we hold seats in the front of the stalls specifically for you. Usually these are in Rows B or C, nice and close to the stage so it’s perfect for lip readers or anyone who needs to be a little closer to see the action on stage. Across the auditorium we have an Induction Hearing Loop System. This system amplifies the sounds from on stage and you can patch in directly by using your hearing aid. You can pick this up directly in some of our seats, but for those that don’t have the fixed induction loop you can borrow one of our infra-red neck loops. Just ask a member of staff when you arrive, and switch your hearing aid to T as usual. Just ask us which seats to go for when you make your booking.

As Access Patrons, you guys are entitled to some pretty good discounts. These can vary a lot so give us a call and we can let you know ticket prices for the show that you are interested in.

Assisted Performances?

Yes! We are very proud indeed to offer four types of Assisted Performances which you’ll find on our larger, longer running shows and the pantomime.

The first is a Captioned performance – this is useful for anyone who is hard of hearing. On a captioned performance there are two boards either side of the stage. The Captioner watches the show and makes sure the dialogue and sound effects show up on these boards, in writing, live, very much like subtitles on a TV, so that you can read along and follow the show. Ta Da!

Our second assisted performance is the Signed performance –these are for anyone who is hard of hearing, Deaf or deafened and who use sign language. On these shows, a Signer stands on stage and signs the dialogue as it happens. Wonderful!

The third is our Audio Descried performance – for anyone who has a visual impairment, patrons can borrow a discreet headset to listen live to the spoken word of a Describer who is watching the show as well. The describer simply describes the action happening on stage in as much detail as possible so that you can follow the action and the story as it happens!

Lastly we have our Relaxed performance. Relatively new to the Hippodrome, this assisted performance is only available on the Pantomime (at the moment!). It is geared towards patrons who are on the Autistic spectrum, have sensory and communication disorders, a learning disability or for anyone who may benefit from a more relaxed environment. These performances offer a relaxed attitude to noise in the auditorium in order to reduce anxiety and ensure safe, enjoyable theatre visit. Before the performance itself, we’ll send out a visual story (detailed information and photos) and you’ll be invited to attend a familiarisation meeting in the theatre.
We always have a designated ‘chill-out’ area for use during all performances for anyone who just needs to take a time out and find a quiet space.

Before you make a booking you might prefer to pop down and see the auditorium and just check the seats to see what might work best for you. Just give us a call and we can arrange for you to come and have a look!

So there we have it, our Assisted Performances and all the information you could possibly need on access to the venue! Remember, always call us direct if you’re interested in access bookings for yourself or someone in your group. We can give you real in-depth advice and often get you discounts that you might not see elsewhere!
With many, many years of experience our dedicated Groups and Access team are on hand to answer any questions or give any advice you may need. Either give us a call on 0117 302 3022 or email us if you prefer. For Groups information email bristolgroups@theambassadors.com or for Access information email trishhodson@theambassadors.com