I have been bringing my children here for over 25 years even though i now live in badminton its always worth the drive down to london.This year it starred Jerry Hall and she looked great .The rest of the cast i didnt recognise except for some of the little people from last year always very funny.I found that some of the jokes this year were only for the adults thank goodness my 10 year old daughter did not understand them. As far as theaters go in my book richmond is way above most . you are very close the stage and it feels cosy i would recommend it to anyone you wont be dissapointed .Looking forward to next year . A MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU ALL. ho ho ho
Have been to this theatre before and enjoyed that visit. A delight to visit intimate and quite grand !Stalls are the best and allows you to look in awe at the decor quite stunning.The productions here all seem very professionally undertaken, lighting and sound is very good.The bar area is rather small but adequate for a theatre.Parking can be a problem. We use a local NCP which isn't cheap but convenient and you can always find a space.
What a great theater,just seen east is east with the wonderful jane horrocks,great seats and a small bar for pre show drinks and the staff did a great job to serve everyone in the break,all the staff were very friendly will be watching to see what else is coming on as a return visit is a must
I enjoyed a performance of Swan Lake by the Moscow City Ballet. It was a great show and the theatre was amazing. Friendly staff and comfortable seats. Well worth a trek out to Richmond.
Was a great venue, super viewing from all seats and Jerry Hall as the evil queen in a snow white pant - a real blast.
Love this theatre. Visit often. Staff always welcoming & pleasant. Drinks a little pricey. Please, please, please clean the folds in the velvet curtains. I know it can't be easy but it's the thing that bothers me each & every visit
Being my closest theatre I am a regular visitor. (Went this month and have tickets booked for the next 2) its a comfortable well located theatre with no restricted veiws as far as I know. Highly recommend. Theres always a variety of shows so generally somthing for everyone
A lovely theatre where you can get the full London's theatre experience, away from Shaftesbury Avenue traffic!
Throughout my childhood my sister and I always visited Richmond Theatre during the Christmas Panto season. I always enjoyed it and my family and I always looked forward to it.This year my father decided to book tickets as a surprise for my mother, me and my nearly four year old daughter. To be honest it was a bit of a disaster. This year’s show is entitles ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarves’ but it really should read more like ‘ Gerry Hall and the remaining seven cast members’ or so. Before booking the tickets my father specifically asked about the age group that the Panto was suitable for and was told that my daughter would be fine. However I must say there is a very disturbing scene towards the end of the show where they show Gerry Hall’s face turn into a gruesome mask in the magic mirror which she then turns and shows to the crowd. My daughter actually held her hands over her eyes as soon as the cracking of this face in the magic mirror occurred and it has been the main thing she has remembered as it was ‘too scary’ and I feel not well placed in a Panto aimed at children.Having said that the Panto was filled with adult jokes and sexual innuendos that was just not appropriate and although I did giggle at a few it made me notice that there were not as many children as there had always been nor was the theatre packed as it once had been.Snow White who is supposed to be the lead is totally lost as it is all very focused around Gerry Hall. Gerry Hall’s performance is not bad but all her songs are pre-recorded and she mimes them whilst her legs are a focal point every time she appears from her outfit down to the way she sits on her throne to the references in her speeches and songs. It gets very dull after a while. It feels very disconnected as a show and just drags on after a while.I remember Panto being brilliant and focused on the children but they have tried to focus on adults and shoved a character called Muddles into the mix that is in charge of keeping the children involved by signalling with their thumbs and calling out his name whenever he appears on the stage. I can’t begin to explain how disappointed I am for the children as the magic really has been ripped away by celebrities and the focus on the parents. A highlight is the dwarves and the jokes by ‘Muddles’ but they were very focused on adults. Some of the jokes were done to death and all the bouncing around of words just went over the heads of the children from the Parcel Delivery Services to the references about the waiters in Weatherspoon’s. The stage was beautiful and the outfits in the last song of the show in the end scene are magnificent but Panto just isn’t what is used to be and a tradition that I had hoped to carry on with my daughter at Christmas at Richmond Theatre will be stopping here as to avoid further disappointment.One other thing that I found really irritating was the advertising by Littlewoods I mean when did all that happen? A screen comes down before the show and after the break where Mylene Klass encourages you to ‘order anything you like that you have seen’ in their advert whilst you are sitting there I mean come on Richmond Theatre you do not need to stoop to that level especially when you have already forked out enough for a seat! Gerry Hall must also learn the words to the song at the end that all the cast(including very small children) know the words too and not just sway your hips around the stage hoping no-one notices that you don’t know the words, everyone else does! Well done to the stage decorators but Panto needs to be much more interactive as it once was and focus on the children NOT on the adults. Some things are better left unchanged and as the saying goes you can’t be all things to all people so please Richmond Theatre go back to the way it once was and don’t disappoint the children or the parents who wish that the magic from their childhoods is passed onto the next generation in Panto productions.
Wonderful theatre,near Richmond station.the only downside is the most expensive bar in theatre History, 3 Becks and a 175cl average wine £19.happy to pay the ticket price but picking the pocket of theatregoers who like a drink is a poor show. will have to get in the Orange Tree pre show.