点评:Contact before the visit? Actually surprisingly decent. Gold star for replying quickly… slight deduction for the “we don’t do familiarisation visits” part. Apparently the concept of helping anxious or disabled patrons see the venue beforehand is just too modern for a venue built sometime shortly after dinosaurs stopped roaming Kent.
They did, however, tell me about a “quiet exit” I could use to avoid the crowds — not alarmed, just push and go. Lovely! Except when we actually tried to leave, there was a staff member guarding it like it was the Crown Jewels and we were criminals attempting a heist. Nothing says “accessible experience” like a man looking personally offended that you’re trying to use the exact door his colleagues told you to.
Inside, the place is… vintage. Let’s go with vintage. Stairs everywhere. Corridors narrower than my patience. If you’re ambulatory disabled like me, it feels a bit like navigating an escape room that nobody warned you was happening.
There are lifts. I didn’t use them, because technically my legs still work, but from what I’ve been told, they’re small, they need a staff member to operate them, and the whole vibe seems very “1960s submarine”, so good luck to anyone trying to squeeze mobility aids, dignity, and hope in there simultaneously.
Overall? A charming theatre with lovely staff (minus Door Guy) — but accessibility-wise, it’s giving “heritage site,” not “21st century venue.”
Would I go again? Yes. Would I bring a map, an accessibility strategy, and possibly a sherpa? Also yes.
翻译:参观前有联系吗?其实还算不错,出乎意料的好。回复迅速,值得表扬……不过“我们不提供参观前的熟悉环境服务”这一点略有不足。显然,对于一个建于恐龙在肯特郡灭绝后不久的场所来说,帮助焦虑或行动不便的顾客提前了解场地似乎太过现代了。
不过,他们确实告诉我一个可以避开人群的“安静出口”——不用惊慌,直接推开就能走。真好!然而,当我们真正想离开时,却发现有个工作人员像守着皇冠珠宝一样守在那里,好像我们是试图抢劫的罪犯。还有什么比一个男人因为你试图使用他同事告诉你的那扇门而显得格外生气更能体现“无障碍体验”的呢?
里面……很复古。就用“复古”这个词吧。到处都是楼梯。走廊比我的耐心还窄。如果你像我一样行动不便,感觉就像在玩一个没人提醒你的密室逃脱游戏。
剧院里有电梯。我没用,因为我腿脚还算灵活,但据我所知,电梯很小,需要工作人员操作,而且整个剧院的氛围感觉很像“上世纪60年代的潜艇”,所以祝那些想同时兼顾行动辅助设备、尊严和希望的人好运。
总的来说?剧院本身很有魅力,工作人员也很可爱(除了那个门卫)——但就无障碍设施而言,它更像是“历史遗迹”,而不是“21世纪的现代化场所”。
我会再去吗?会。我会带上地图、无障碍出行指南,甚至可能还会带个向导吗?当然会。