Well ...went for a night out for the first time in a long while.
With the daughter as carer/chairpusher we ordered up the taxis and trundled off to the Waterside Arts Centre, Sale to see the play 'Fat Brenda' starring Steve Huison ex of Corrie and damn fine egg all round.It was a one hander and Steve was brilliant, throughly enjoyed it, as did the daughter whose first proper play at the theatre it was ...I don't think I'll ever hear Sir Cliff 's 'Some People 'in the same way again :D but throughly recommend it if you see it coming around!
Now to the other stuff.....the venue and accessibility and all that shizz.... full marks to the box office, discounted tix with free carer ticket sorted out with the minimum of fuss and without being made to feel a) that you are very s-l-o-w and b) that you are a nuisance.
The venue itself was quite tricky to get into ..quite a steep ramp up to the entrance that needed a strong taxi driver to shove me along ..neither myself nor my daughter would've managed it alone.There was apparently a lift but we didn't see it so obviously it wasn't well sign posted . Once inside facilites were ok ..a basic bar on the flat,and offering herbal teas was a nice touch (as a teetotaller I do get a bit bored with just the same soft drinks all the time) but the toilets were not good. The accessible toilet was inside the ladies which you had to access througnh a narrow corridor and of course my chair got jammed and stuck several times,we found it funny at the time ,and luckily other people came to help, but I could see if someone was unwell or needed the toilet in a hurry, it could've been disasterous .
The seats for watching the play were good I had plenty of space and wasn't in anyone's way therefore wasn't knocked about or used as a coat stand (yes it's happened before!) and the carer's seat was directly next to me so all was good.
To go home again the steep ramp was just as tricky as we had to be careful I didn't build up a head of steam and roll out into the traffic :P but there was taxi rank directly on the main road, with plenty of cabs, so getting back was nice and easy.
Overall an enoyable evening 10/10 for Fat Brenda, 6 1/2 for the venue...so be aware if you are a wheelchair punter going there, it can be a tricky.
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