Witness for the Prosecution at County Hall, London

I don’t generally write up my theatre visits here however I decided to make an exception for Witness for the Prosecution since it is performed in such an interesting location. I’ve read the play and seen other productions – film and TV – but never on stage which is why I was so keen to see it on my last London trip. Rest assured however there will be no spoilers here, though I will say this is Agatha Christie at her best.

The play centres on Leonard Vole facing trial for the murder of a woman for her money. All action takes place in the octagonal council chamber of the Old County Hall which doubles as barristers offices and the courtroom – some of the extremely pricey (£170!) tickets are for the jury box so audience members can participate in the action.

County Hall sits on the River Thames right by the London Eye – the entrance for the theatre is on Belvedere Road the other side of the building to the river. Originally opened by George V and Queen Mary in 1922 it was designed by Ralph Knott and served as the HQ for the local government for London including the Greater London Council until that was abolished by Margaret Thatcher in 1986.

There are seats available in the jury box, chamber and in the galleries. I went for the cheapest unrestricted view seat I could get in the South Gallery – this cost me £32.50. If you don’t care about a bit of restricted view you can get a ticket for around £16. If you go for the galleries be aware that you will have to climb up quite a few stairs (33) and the seats look like this. I personally found them to be qute comfy and felt like I had a great view. The chamber has step free access and a wheelchair space – they do note when booking not to go for a gallery seat if you have trouble with stairs or heights.

The way they changed the set between scenes was very cleverly done and the acting was superb. It really is a fast play with some great twists and turns.

I’d walked to the area from Sir John Soane’s Museum but it’s really easy to get there by tube – Waterloo, Embankment and Westminster stations are all convenient for the theatre. The play lasts approximately 2 hours 15 minutes with a 20 minute interval. There’s the usual opportunity to buy ice creams and some alcoholic and non alcoholic drinks and programmes in the foyer. They also conduct bag searches on entrance.

Best to buy tickets direct from the venue as there are no booking fees that way.

Photography is encouraged before the play starts, at the interval and once the play is finished but obviously don’t go taking photos during the actual performance.