Royal Court Theatre

HOW? How have I not been to the Royal Court before? It's fantastic. Right next to Sloane Square station it's dead easy to get to. The bar has such a great vibe  and a nice selection of food, We shared a couple of charcuterie/Mezze type platters before the play. After it's lovely as lots of the actors turn up in the bar for a drink and it has a great matey feel. I was surprised to find they didn't do decaffeinated tea but that's a small quibble. It as also nice that there were plenty of toilets and so we didn't have to spend the whole interval queuing.

I am already plotting many many visits back - with my book group, with my children and with any other excuse I can think of and that's without even caring about the plays - but they were great too - see separate reviews!

Great theatre located conveniently beside a tube station. Has a often rotating list of shows at very affordable prices. The acting is top notch and rivals that of the west-end productions. They have 2 theatres inside, one smaller more intimate one upstairs which I much prefer because it allows for closer proximity to the actors. In fact, there is no bad seat at all in the upstairs place and probably hence why the free seating. The downstairs theatre is large and is fixed seating. The larger theatre allows for larger set builds and larger companies.

The Royal Court is one of a handful of London's theatres outside of the West-End that would still be considered top rate by theatre-goers and critics. It is well laid out, well catered for (with the bar and restaurant below), it has good views from most of the seats, adequate leg room and, on a hot day, it is nicely cool compared to many other theatres of the same size (very prevalent at the time of writing this review). It has two performance areas; one stage and a studio above that houses the smaller writing talent or the more out there plays.

The stage is a well sized and has been baron and had entire flat complex sets built on it.  The building isn't that old so you can see it has been designed to deal with the occasional ridiculousness of set design in modern theatre. The programme of the theatre has also changed in recent years with the appointment of Vicky Featherstone as Artistic Director. While Ian Rickson and Dominic Cooke (previous AD's) took a more solid, pragmatic approach to new writing, Vicky's is definitely more up and down. The Royal Court has always been built on a strong vision and programme from the AD and it seems Vicky is intent on bringing it to the forefront of modern exploratory theatre. I think this is a good thing but there have been some noticeably average productions come through in recent years. If this is the trade off for new, different, exciting theatre to be made more mainstream, then that is fine with me. 

£10 tickets on the day for Monday performances and £15 rush tickets means the seats aren't solely there for the well to do in the Sloane Square area but beware, if the production is reviewed well or has a big name in it, chances are the run will be sold out. 

The Royal Court Theatre is a lovely theatre in Sloane Square that looks to be newly refurbished. They have comfy leather seats in the theatre with a good amount of leg room. A large space in the basement makes up the Royal Court Theatre Kitchen. This is a great place for a meal even if you're not seeing a play. There's a mix of couches, tables and bars to sit at and a casual atmosphere where you order at the main bar. The halloumi and mushroom burger that I ordered was delicious as were the chips, fresh from the fryer. There was also a great selection of wines, beers and ciders to choose from. The service was friendly and quick. The only draw back on our visit was that because we went for a pre theatre meal at 6:30, all the seats were taken and we ended up having to stand at a little bar to eat our food. It's best to go earlier or else after 7:30 if possible.

The Royal Court is a brilliant theatre and it's worth a trip just to have a wander around the interesting building. The bar is also a great place to grab a drink or food, even if you're not seeing a play. The main theatre is one of the comfiest in London, with a mixture of mainly new plays and revivals of provocative writing from the last few decades. The upstairs studio often premieres new work from overseas. A great place!