Monte patron’s wheelchair woes

A traffic accident left Marc Greenspan wheelchair-bound, after already booking tickets to visit Montecasino Theatre and Studio.

Greenspan, along with 10 other friends, were booked to watch one of the theatre’s sold-out shows on 16 February.

Knowing he now faced difficulty gaining access to the theatre, his friend Lauren Huntington tried to ensure Greenspan ease of entry, opting to use disabled access at the theatre.

According to Huntington things went awry during their visit. After being reassured by the Box Office at Montecasino that he would be able to get entrance, Huntington said the lift for disabled access was broken on the night, and front of house staff at the theatre were unable to help.

“When we arrived we were confronted with 15 narrow steps. There were 38 more stairs to reach our seats,” Huntington said.

This was due to the party having booked seats on the balcony level of the theatre. Usually disabled access is booked on the floor level.

But, Greenspan’s situation was unique, in that disabled access to the theatre is usually a simple process.

According to theatre manager Mark Sage, visitors need to mention that someone in a wheelchair is part of their party when booking.

“We have two [disabled] seats in our main theatre on the stalls level.”

He added it often happens that people arrive without having mentioned someone in a wheelchair was part of their group.

Wheelchair requests are streamlined according to Sage.

“Wheelchair bookings can only be done through our theatre office to prevent people being sold seats that are not wheelchair-friendly. Computicket staff know to forward any wheelchair requests to us. We hold wheelchair seats up to 24 hours before the show and then release them for general sale if they are not used by a disabled booking. Once we sell the wheelchair seats they are entered in our front of house diary for each performance so that staff know to look someone who might need help.”

Staff are trained to cater to disabled guests.

“When we know a wheelchair is coming to a particular performance we have our ushers and front of house manager on standby in our theatre entrance to help bring the patron up the wheelchair lift and into our foyer area.”

The foyer is equipped with disabled toilets and facilities.

The intimate studio theatre, however, does not offer wheelchair access. This is due to the theatre being built on a higher level. The theatre’s website also clearly states there is no disabled access to this theatre.

Unfortunately, the night of Greenspan’s visit, the lift to the foyer level was indeed broken. Sage said it was fixed on 18 February, due to parts that needed to be ordered.

After Huntington’s complaint, Sage offered the party complimentary tickets for another season of the same show.