The front of our building, a Victorian town hall, with pale stone on the ground floor, red bricks on the first floor with pale columns and outlines on the windows, and a balcony around the roof. Our red, blue and yellow sign is at the front. Bollards and lamposts separate the pavement from the road. In the background the sky is blue with a few clouds.

Access

An image of a couple in a wheelchair laying on one and other. They both wearing dark glasses.

Battersea Arts Centre understands disability within the Social Model. This means we are committed to making our venue accessible to everyone and to creating equal experiences for all people. It affects all our activity including our theatre programmes, family activities, social action projects and heritage work.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT RELAXED VENUES

GETTING TO BATTERSEA ARTS CENTRE

The closest station to Battersea Arts Centre is Clapham Junction, which has good wheelchair access and is 0.5 miles away from the venue. Up-to-date information on lift service at Clapham Junction is available here.

The nearest disabled parking spaces to Battersea Arts Centre are in the Asda Car Park on Lavender Hill. Between Battersea Arts Centre and the Asda Car Park there is some rough pavement and a small incline.  

Find out more about parking with a Blue Badge in Wandsworth. 

 

DOWNLOAD A VISUAL GUIDE TO OUR BUILDING

Find out how to get to BAC from the station of bus stop:

FACILITIES

A view from the pavement outside our building, with a ramp leading up to the foyer, and a backlit banister alongside

STEP-FREE ACCESS

There is step free access to the main foyer, The Scratch Bar and ground floor public spaces. The first floor performance spaces can be reached via a lift.  

Our chillout space - the walls are pale blue and the skirting boards are dark blue. There is an out-of-use fireplace. On the floor are a variety of cushions, weighted blankets and ear defenders, and a red emergency cord

CHILL-OUT SPACE

The first floor has a designated chill-out space that is available whenever the building is open.  

TOILETS

Battersea Arts Centre has a range of toilet facilities available including all-gender toilets, accessible toilets on all floors and baby-change facilities.  

SERVICE DOGS

We welcome service dogs everywhere and our Bar can provide water bowls if required. 

PERFORMANCES

RELAXED PERFORMANCES

Relaxed Performances at Battersea Arts Centre offer a more relaxed performance environment. There is a relaxed attitude to noise and movement in the auditorium. No changes are made to the lights and sound. Around 90% of all performances at Battersea Arts Centre are Relaxed. 

SENSORY ADAPTED PERFORMANCES

Sensory Adapted Performances at Battersea Arts Centre are always Relaxed. In addition, we soften any loud noises, remove any flashing or strobe lights and avoid sudden or surprising moments. House lights will be up at a low level throughout the performance. We will also provide a visual guide to the show that you can access on our website a couple of days before the performance. If you would find another familiarization tool helpful please email us at access@bac.org.uk.

There will be Sensory Adapated performances of The Holly King and the Oak King on the following dates and times:-

  • Thurs 5 Dec – 10am to 12:30pm
  • Thurs 12 Dec – 10am to 12:30pm
  • Sat 14 Dec – 10am to 12:30pm
  • Sun 22 Dec – 10am to 12:30pm

BSL INTERPRETED PERFORMANCES

We offer British Sign Language interpreted performances for certain shows, with a signer on stage describing the performance, and provide information on which seating areas have best visibility of the signer.

There will be a BSL interpreted performances of TESTO on the following dates and times:

  • Thursday 13 Feb at 7:30pm
  • Thursday 20 Feb at 7:30pm

There will be BSL interpreted performances of Paradise Lost (lies unopened beside me) on the following dates and times:

  • Friday 28 Mar at 7:30pm
  • Friday 4 Apr at 7:30pm

There will be BSL interpreted performances of Goner on the following dates and times:

  • Wednesday 7 May at 7:30pm
  • Saturday 10 May at 2pm

CAPTIONED PERFORMANCES

We offer captioned performances for certain shows, with a screen on stage showing text which describes the performance. This service may be useful for people who are D/deaf, deafened or hard of hearing.

All performances of WRESTLELADSWRESTLE will be captioned – this show runs from 4-8 March at 7:30pm each day.

AUDIO DESCRIBED PERFORMANCES

Audio description gives additional commentary during a performances through headphones, describing things like body language and facial expressions, costume, scenery and action sequences. This service may be useful for people who are blind or partially sighted. Touch tours may also be offered alongside these performances. 

There will be audio-described performances of TESTO on the following dates and times:

  • Tuesday 18 Feb at 7:30pm
  • Wednesday 19 Feb at 7:30pm
  • Thursday 20 Feb at 7:30pm
  • Friday 21 Feb at 7:30pm
  • Saturday 22 Feb at 7:30pm

There will be an audio-described performance of Goner on Friday 9 May at 7:30pm

TOUCH TOURS

Touch tours let audience members using audio description explore the space, props and costumes. They give extra details to help engage with the performance.

 

FAMILIARIZATION TOURS

Familiarization tours are for anyone who is new to theatre or who might need a little more time in the space or a little more information about the performance. In the tour, you can see the theatre without other people. We can also talk to you about the performance and answer any questions you or your family might have about the performance.

PERSONAL ASSISTANT/COMPANION TICKETS

If you require the assistance of a friend or helper to attend, we can make a free ticket available for your companion. You can book access companion tickets online or contact the Box Office to book by emailing access@bac.org.uk. 

To book a free access companion online:

  • log in to your account here
  • go to ‘Other preferences’ and tick ‘I require a personal assistant/companion’.
  • Choose the performance, date and seats you would like and if you add at least 2 tickets to your basket, then one of these will automatically become free.

3D tour presented by HeadBox
The front of our building, a Victorian town hall, with pale stone on the ground floor, red bricks on the first floor with pale columns and outlines on the windows, and a balcony around the roof. Our red, blue and yellow sign is at the front. Bollards and lamposts separate the pavement from the road, where the pedestrian crossing is painted in rainbow colours. The sky is grey.

GET IN TOUCH

If you feel you might need help to get around, have any ideas about what we could do better or just want to know more about our access facilities, please contact us at access@bac.org.uk.