Indoors

York Theatre Royal

Name: York Theatre Royal
Address: St Leonard's Place, York, YO1 7HD, GB
Telephone: 01904 623568

York

Courtesy of York Theatre Royal

SETTING

Indoors

WHERE

York

What it’s like

Live pantomime and family theatre in the middle of York, with a foyer play area and a free board game café to fill the time before curtain up.

This is the big pantomime venue in York, but there's more going on than just the main shows. There's a play area in the foyer for younger kids to potter about in, and a youth theatre running for ages 5 to 19 if yours fancies more than just watching. On top of the family productions, they run a Theatre Tour & Tea, which gets you into the bits of the building the public don't normally see, and comes with a voucher for cake and a drink afterwards. At £20 a head it's not a casual add-on, more of a treat for a theatre-mad kid.

If you've got time to kill before a show, the Board Game Cafe is worth knowing about. It's free, no booking, and runs 4pm to 6.30pm, so you can turn up early, grab a game and let the evening performance sneak up on you. The café itself does freshly ground coffee and locally sourced food through the day until 4.30pm, plus pre-show food and drink on performance nights.

It's bang in the centre of York on St Leonard's Place, about a ten minute walk from the railway station. If you do drive, the nearest car parks are Bootham Row, Marygate and Union Terrace, and the site's honest that space there can be tight, especially on show days. The building is wheelchair accessible and there's a genuinely good spread of access performances, including BSL, captioned, audio described, relaxed and dementia friendly showings, which not every theatre bothers with.

The box office keeps slightly different hours depending on the day, open until 8pm Tuesday to Saturday on show days but only 5pm otherwise.

Facilities

Bike parking

Café

Indoor play

Wheelchair accessible

Wi-Fi

Need to know

Best for: Youth theatre runs 5 to 19, though pantomime and shows suit a broad age mix
Parking: Nearby car parks with limited space
Food: Friendly café serving freshly ground coffee and delicious locally sourced, freshly prepared food
Getting there by bus or train: York railway station 10 minutes' walk away with excellent rail connections along East Coast mainline

Box office hours change depending on whether it's a show day, so check which you're booking around.
Board Game Cafe is free and needs no booking, but only runs 4pm to 6.30pm.
Bicycle parking is on Duncombe Place if you're cycling in.
Theatre Tour & Tea is a paid extra at £20 a head, not part of a normal ticket.

Plan your visit

What can kids do while we wait for the show?

There's a play area in the foyer, and the Board Game Cafe runs free from 4pm to 6.30pm, no booking needed.

Is there a youth theatre?

Yes, for ages 5 to 19.

What's the Theatre Tour & Tea?

A £20 per person tour into parts of the theatre the public doesn't usually see, plus a voucher for cake and a drink afterwards.

Is there parking?

Not right outside. The nearest car parks are Bootham Row, Marygate and Union Terrace, and they warn space can be limited, so the ten minute walk from the railway station is often the easier option.