Hats off to the Cambridge Theatre, on Earlham Street! Located in Neal’s Yard, between Covent Garden and Leicester Square, the theatre is step-free between the street and the stalls section. The theatre was able to remove an end seat in Row N which enables the person in the wheelchair to stay in his/her chair while enjoying a show. Half-price tickets are available for the person who uses the wheelchair and his or her carer.
Ben and family enjoy a theater evening in London
The Elwy family enjoyed Matilda, performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company–the “Matilda” for our show was the magnificent Sophia Kiely. But our favorite was definitely Miss Trunchbull, played by Bertie Carvel.
Ben had been reading Matilda, one of Roald Dahl’s last books, prior to the show–having downloaded a copy from Bookshare, and using the app Read2Go, he was then able to read the book on his iPad. We learned that Mrs. Wormwood was actually fat in the book, but we preferred the thin, dancing type on stage. We also learned that there is no mention of the fantastic Russian mafia scene, which occurs at the end of the show, in the original story–but we all agreed it was a great addition!
We also appreciate the enormous help of Greater London Hire, who we had booked for a large, people-mover car to take us home after Matilda. No large cars, the only kind that would be able to store Ben’s manual wheelchair, were available that night, so at no extra charge, they sent two drivers in two Prius’s, to help us out. Brilliant!
