An Irish woman has spoken out about how she was refused access to the theatre she had travelled to London to attend as the venue was not wheelchair accessible.
Niamh Ní Hoireabhaird, 26, bought tickets to the Great Gatsby Immersive LDN show for her boyfriend as an anniversary gift.
However, the couple were left upset after they were turned away from the venue, on Davies St in Mayfair.
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Speaking about what happened, Niamh said: “When we got to the location I immediately saw the stairs leading to the venue and was like, 'Oh god, we're in trouble’.
“My boyfriend went inside to ask someone where there was wheelchair entry and at that point, two staff members came out and told me there was no way in.
"Even if there was the possibility of two very strong people carrying me in, it would have been a fire hazard if anything were to happen.
“The staff members were lovely and they were very apologetic, but I understand that they couldn't really do anything about the situation right there and then. I was very upset,” she told MyLondon.
Niamh took to Twitter to speak about what happened, and many people shared similar experiences. Others were outraged and disappointed that she had been turned away.
She said: "When I tweeted it out, a guy I follow who lives in London, asked how the production company had got the permit to conduct such an event at a place which was so inaccessible, the year is 2023, there should be more accessibility.
"Similarly to Dublin, many of the buildings in London are quite old and can't be renovated but then I don't really understand why a different venue couldn't have been sourced if that is the case.
"These things obviously have months of planning that go into them and more consideration could have been taken into how accessibility is organised for the venue. Overall, that whole experience put a bit of a dampener on the week."
Niamh added that she wanted to share her experience to shed light on the inequalities disabled people face daily when provisions are not in place to ensure they have access to spaces.
Got my boyfriend tickets to Immersive LDN's Great Gatsby for our anniversary tonight but was turned away at the door because there's no wheelchair access. This wasn't mentioned on the ticket site or in the emails they sent, so, being naive, I assumed it wasn't an issue. pic.twitter.com/YrbyDsCLMw
— Niamh Ní Hoireabhaird (@niamhnih)
Forward-planning is something that Niamh is used to and she shared that at one point she felt guilty for not having thoroughly checked the website for its accessibility but pointed out that that shouldn't be entirely the responsibility of wheelchair users.
Niamh told MyLondon: "In the vast majority of cases, if I'm going to a show or concert it will say on the website whether there is step-free access or wheelchair space, or something that indicates to me that it's not suitable for a wheelchair.
"I didn't see any information like that on their website so I just assumed that it would be accessible and I did have some feelings of guilt on the night because I was thinking 'oh gosh, I should have researched more, but I don't think the onus should be on wheelchair users - the information should be readily available."
The website for immersive Gatsby states: "Gatsby's Mansion occupies the first floor of IMMERSIVE LDN. Regretfully, it is not currently accessible to wheelchair users."
She added: "The Arts of London company seem to also think that the fault lies with the third party ticket provider because when I looked on their website the special requirements page wasn't available but it seemingly is now - I don't know what that means but I booked through London Theatre Tickets, a third party, and I couldn't see any information from them.
"After the whole thing they asked for my email and got in touch the next morning to say that they were working to get a refund for the original tickets but also tickets to see the Peaky Blinders show in Camden that night, that was a very nice gesture in itself because that show was more accessible.
"That brings you back to the thought, though, why can one show be accessible but another one can't."
Brian Hook, the creator of immersive Gatsby, told MyLondon: "We realise despite our efforts not all third party ticket holders share the FAQs section when supplying show information to agents and the site is on occasion temperamental).
"Talking about access is important and the whole industry needs to be more open and work as hard as it can to do so.
"The Davies Street Building (a temporary use space) is being knocked down, with the last performance of Gatsby on 7th Jan so we are in full get out mode with the building."
Brian also created the Doctor Who Time Fracture show and he Peaky Blinders experience, which Niamh was gifted tickets to, which he says are both physically accessible.
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