Nice hall, shame about the numb bottom!

What they say: The people of Bristol have been enjoying music at Colston Hall for almost 140 years. As part of our redevelopment project we've been researching the key points of the four Colston Halls that have stood on Colston Street, as well as the many musical highlights experienced along the way What i say: Back in April i was looking at the tour Dave Gorman was doing, and one of the closest places to us was Bristol. I booked the tickets through the Colston hall website which was quick and simple to use. The tickets were £15 each and they arrived within a few weeks of ordering them. I have been to Bristol a few times before, but this was my first time to Colston hall. My first impressions of Colston hall were pretty good. I expected it to be this big old building but it was actually a tall modern building which had gold panels on the front. On the left hand side of the entrance there is a bar, which was very busy and over flowing. We had a drink in another local pub so we didnt need to use this facility but it did look nice in there. Our tickets were for G row in the balcony. We asked one of the members of staff on the ground floor where our seats were likely to be and they directed us with a smile. We walked a few flights of stairs, there are lifts available though. Almost to the top of the building and went to the balcony entrance. Our tickets were taken by a nice friendly member of staff who told us to enjoy the show. When we walked into the balcony area we were greeted by another member of staff. She wasn't so helpful. In fact she looked like she needed a stiff drink! I have never seen such a miserable face. She directed us to our seat (oh no it wasn't our seat it was completely the wrong one). We managed to find it ourselves in the end. Later on this woman was moaning and making faces at some of Gorman's cruder jokes. When we found our seat i couldn't believe how uncomfortable they were. They were wooden and had a very thin sponge top covered in Red material. I may as well have been sat on the hard wood as i could completely feel it through the sponge. The arms were wooden with sharp edges and they didn't go up or have cup holders. The leg room wasn't really too impressive either and my partners knees were pretty much touching the persons shoulders in front. After the first hour of Gorman's show i was in agony and couldn't wait to jump off and run off to the toilet and wiggle around. I was dreading the second half, but luckily the actual show was fantastic, if it had been rubbish i think i would have left due to being so uncomfortable. During the interval someone was selling ice cream and ice lollies. I found it very odd because ususally they have someone both sides, but they literally had one chap over in the corner and to be honest if you didnt see other people queueing there you would have wondered what he was doing. The ice cream prices were ridiculous as always but all of these theatres are the same. A magnum was £3.00 and a tub of ice cream the same price. The whole place looks very smart and modern but it is just a shame about the seats. The lighting and sound system are very good and the whole place is well equipped for a very good show. The toilets were very clean and tidy, there was plenty of them and only a very short queue in the interval. Local to the hall is a Co op newsagents for cheaper drinks and sweets, it is also close to a few bars and restaurants for something before the show. It is also very close to the Hippo drome theatre so you may find it very busy in the area if they both have shows that night. I would probably be quite reluctant to return due to the uncomfortable seating, maybe i will take a cushion next time!

kirsty briant - 16/10/2009 | report this review