The Rainforest Cafe - Part 1

Welcome back to Access London everyone. Thanks once again for your continued support, it really does help to spread the word about better access for those with disabilities in London.

Today's post is on The Rainforest Cafe - a really fun, tropical rainforest themed restaurant in the heart of the urban rainforest of London. The Rainforest Cafe can be found on Shaftesbury Avenue, just behind the Trocadero Centre. This entrance leads straight into the Cafe's shop, a great place to visit whether you are going to be dining there or not: with a crocodile and waterfall to your right upon entering and parrots flying above your head, this is a fantastic place to pop into when in Theatreland.

The cafe itself is beneath street level, down a flight of stairs. However, it can also be accessed by an alternative, disbaled access entrance. I would advise booking or ringing the Cafe in advance so that you can be met by a member of staff who can then take you around to the accessible entrance. This entrance needs to be accessed from the front of the Trocadero and a guide will take you round there. Once inside the Trocadero you will be guided through a series of lifts and passages until you reach the lower ground level of the cafe. On this level, you will be greeted by the Cafe's Tropical Experience: fish tanks, jungle, animatronic apes, parrots, butterflies, lizards, streams, waterfalls, frogs and the occasional thunderstorm!

The staff are all extremely helpful at the Cafe and can even tell you the names of the tropical friends that dine beside you. The menu is fairly vast and I would definitely recommend trying one of the cocktails here (non-alcoholic ones are available for younger explorers). The cafe is child and group friendly (although please be aware that they can only accommodate 2 wheelchair/scooter users at any one time due to Health and Safety Laws). There are accessible toilets on the lower level too. The menu itself is well set out, giving you information on vegetarian, gluten-free, lactose-free and low calorie options.

As mentioned above, every 30 minutes or so, the cafe recreates a Rainforest Thunderstorm with sound effects and lightening - but don't worry, you won't need your umbrella!

This is a fun and entertaining night out for the whole family, groups and couples and so centrally located that it makes the perfect location for a late afternoon dinner pre-theatre.

Here is some video I took when visiting.



To make a reservation at The Rainforest Cafe and/or to discuss Access arrangements, please call: 020 7434 3111. You can also visit their website to check out the exciting menu at: href="http://www.therainforestcafe.co.uk/">

Please check back tomorrow as Access London has an exclusive interview with the Marketing Manager from The Rainforest Cafe. Feel free to leave a comment and follow the blog.

COMING NEXT: Rainforest Cafe Part 2
COMING SOON: Love Never Dies and The National Gallery

Phantom of the Opera & Her Majesty's Theatre - Part 3

Welcome back to Access London. Firstly, we would like to say a big Thank You for your continued support of the blog, it means a lot and we really appreciate every one of our readers.

Today sees Access London's final post in its series on Phantom of the Opera. To read more about the show, the access to Her Majesty's Theatre and an interview with the Phantom himself, John Owen Jones, please see out previous posts.

Access London recently had the privilege of interviewing Sofia Escobar who is currently playing Christine Daae in Phantom at Her Majesty's.

Sofia, who was born in Portugal, has played Maria in West Side Story and also performed as Christine as part of the 10,000th performance of Phantom at Her Majesty's.

AL: London is home to actors of many nationalities. Why did you choose London in particular to come and study and perform?
SE: I chose London because of its diversity, its rich cultural life and also because of the reputation of the school I went to, Guildhall School of Music and Dance.

AL: Christine Daae is one (if not the) biggest female roles in musical theatre. What most attracted you to the role?
SE: Christine really is a dream come true for an aspiring musical theatre performer. In my case it's one of the most complete roles: it combines everything to a very high standard - the wonderful music, the dancing and the acting, supported by an amazing script makes Phantom of the Opera the success that it is, running for almost 25 years.

AL: What did it mean to you being part of Phantom's 10,000th performance?
SE: It was surreal to be onstage with Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber and Michael Crawford. It was a moment I'll cherish for the rest of my life. It was unbelieveable and a real honour to have been part of it.

AL: Which scene or song is your favourite to perform in Phantom?
SE: It's hard to say because they are all so beautiful but having to choose one I'd pick 'Wishing' because of the intensity of those words, anyone who has ever lost someone will know exactly what I mean.

AL: If you could choose any other role to play in musical theatre, what would it be?
SE: There are a number of parts I'd still love to play in my career. I really can't choose just one!

AL: How do you prepare yourself before a show?
SE: I usually arrive to my dressing room very early. I like having time to prepare. I do my make-up and hair and start warming up my body with stretching exercises and then vocal warm up. I also like to have time to really focus on the part.

Access London would like to offer a huge Thank You to Sofia for taking the time to talk to us. We hope you enjoyed hearing what she had to say as much as we did.

Phantom of the Opera is a 'Phantastic' night out and Access London would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to the whole cast and crew at Her Majesty's for all their hard work and also to all of the front of house staff who are some of the friendliest and helpful in the West End. To book tickets, please call: 0844 412 4653. To book access tickets, please call: 0844 412 4648.

Access London will be posting about the amazing sequel to Phantom of the Opera, Love Never Dies, very soon.

In the meantime, please feel free to leave a comment and to follow the blog, there is lots more to come!

COMING SOON: The National Gallery, The 39 Steps, Love Never Dies, The Rainforest Cafe

Phantom of the Opera & Her Majesty's Theatre - Part 2

Welcome back to Part 2 of Access London's posts on the fabulous Phantom of the Opera. To read more about the show and also the access to Her Majesty's Theatre, please see our previous post.

Phantom of the Opera opened in London in 1986 with the Phantom played by Michael Crawford and Christine by Sarah Brightman. Since then many amazing actors have taken the parts of these wonderful characters and spent time making the role their own. Previous Phantoms include: Peter Cousens, Dave Willetts, Peter Polycarpou, Earl Carpenter, Ramin Karimloo and Scott Davies. The role of Christine has since been played by: Rebecca Caine, Rachel Barrell, Leila Benn Harris, Robyn North and Gina Beck.

The current cast sees the amazingly talented John Owen Jones reprise the role of the Phantom, having played the role previously between 2001 and 2005. Christine is currently being performed by Sofia Escobar and Raoul by Will Barrett.

Access London had the 'Phantastic' privilege to ask the Phantom himself, John Owen Jones, a few questions recently - so here's what the man behind the mask had to say.

AL: Phantom is a huge role in musical theatre and has been played by some amazing actors. What attracted you most to the role?
JOJ: I thought it would be interesting to explore the reality of a person who's basically a sociopath. It was unlike anything I'd ever done before.

AL: In your opinion, why do you think audiences fall in love with Phantom of the Opera and come to see it time and again?
JOJ: Probably because it's one of the most perfect theatrical experiences that you can have - the music, the story, the design, the direction....

AL: Phantom has lots of technical elements and special effects. Do you have a tale to tell of any mishap during a show?
JOJ: Many things have gone wrong but, one that I remember vividly was when the boat broke down and we had to 'walk on water' to reach The Lair!

AL: You have played two of the biggest roles in West End Theatre (The Phantom and Valjean). If you could choose any other musical role to play, what would it be?
JOJ: Sweeney Todd, Billy Flynn in Chicago, Don Quixote in Man of La Mancha, George in Sunday in the Park with George....

AL: How do you prepare yourself before a show and going on stage to perform?
JOJ: I do a gentle vocal and physical warm up and then I listen to heavy rock music - Very Loud!

Access London would like to offer a huge Thank You to John Owen Jones for taking the time to talk to us and we hope you all enjoyed hearing what he had to say as much as we did.

John also performs alongside other West End stars (of Phantom fame) in The Three Phantoms concerts. To find out more and to see when future events are taking place, please see http://www.threephantoms.me John also has an amazing self-entitled solo albumn out. To find out where you can buy or download the albumn from, please see http://www.johnowenjones.com You can also follow John on Twitter @johnowenjones

John is in Phantom of the Opera until September 2011, so please go and watch him, Sofia and the rest of the cast perform this 'Phantastic' show. For tickets call: 0844 412 4653. For Access tickets call: 0844 412 4648.

Access London continues with Phantom of the Opera for one last post tomorrow, featuring another special interview, this time with Sofia Escobar (Christine Daae), so we hope you will come back and join us for that.

Finally, here is a short video that was filmed during Children in Need 2010 where you can see John performing the famous song from Phantom 'The Music of the Night'.



Please feel free to leave a comment and follow us.

COMING NEXT: Phantom of the Opera Part 3 - Christine's Interview
COMING SOON: The National Gallery and The 39 Steps

Phantom of the Opera & Her Majesty's Theatre - Part 1

The next couple of posts from Access London are on Her Majesty's Theatre and the phenomenon that is The Phantom of the Opera. This first part talks about the theatre, the show and the access to and within the theatre itself. Part 2 will talk about the current cast and even has a Q&A with the Phantom himself, the fabulous John Owen-Jones.

Andrew Lloyd Webber's acclaimed musical is a gothic, thrilling romance, set in the Paris Opera House in the early 1900s and is based on the book by Gaston Leroux. This year sees the 25th anniversary of the Phantom's run in the West End (in October) where it has its home at Her Majesty's Theatre on the Haymarket, a great central location, just down the road from Piccadilly Circus and Leicester Square.

Phantom of the Opera tells the story of a talented musical genius who lives in the bowels of the Paris Opera in a Lair at the edge of an underground lake. The Phantom (the Opera Ghost) is a tragic soul who has been badly disfigured from birth. Yet, he falls in love, and becomes obsessed with, a young ballet dancer and chorus girl, Christine Daae. The Phantom makes it his ambition and work to train Christine and make her the star of the Paris Opera and he will stop at nothing to get her there - not even when she falls in love with the young, new Patron of the opera, Raoul.


As well as the romance and obsession played out amongst the trio, there are also spectacular ensemble pieces, amazing sets, special effects and many comedy moments, especially from the owners of the opera house, Monsieurs Firmin and Andre, and the Prima Donna, Carlotta.

Overall, Phantom has stood the test of time as a musical because of the beauty, mystery and romance that it holds - a superbly, 'Phantastic' night out. To book tickets, call: 0844 412 4653

If you are in a wheelchair or use a mobility scooter then Her Majesty's Theatre is still easily accessible for you. Although the main entrance is on the Haymarket, a level and disabled access entrance can be found around the corner on Charles II Street. Simply inform a member of the front of house team on your arrival and they will escort you around to it. The disabled access entrance leads straight into the stalls area of the theatre. I found that every member of staff that I met at Her Majesty's was warm, welcoming and friendly and happy to help in any way they could.

To book access seats for Phantom and to discuss your requirements, please call 0844 412 4648. There are several seats in the stalls that can be removed to allow for a wheelchair. Please note that mobility scooters cannot be taken into the stalls, but can be left just inside the access enrance and next to the accessible toliet. If you can walk to your seat then any aisle seat in the stalls will be accessible as there are no steps, just a gentle slope - please ask for details when booking your accessible tickets.

Phantom of the Opera is one of the best nights out to the theatre in the West End. The current cast can be found on the next post. The sequel to Phantom, Love Never Dies, will also be posted on shortly as it too is very accessible.

Thank you for your continued support, please feel free to leave a comment and follow.

COMING NEXT: Phantom of the Opera part 2 - The Cast and The Man Behind the Mask!
COMING SOON: The 39 Steps and The National Gallery

The Petrichor Restaurant @ The Cavendish Hotel

For those regular readers of Access London, you will already know about my series of posts on our recommended hotel for 2011 - The Cavendish. If this is your first visit to the blog, you can find out more about The Cavendish in our previous posts.

Today's post focuses on the AA Rosette restaurant at The Cavendish - The Petrichor Restaruant. It also includes an interview with Petrichor's Head Chef, Nitin Padwal.

I have been lucky enough to have dined twice at Petrichor - once for their evening A La Carte menu and the other to take advantage of their Pre-Theatre dinner menu.

Petrichor is located on the first floor of The Cavendish Hotel. If you are in a wheelchair or use a mobility scooter, Petrichor can be accessed by taking one of the lifts to the first floor and then using the restaurant's moveable ramp to get inside. Once on the main restauarnt floor, all of the tables are on the same level.

The restaurant itself is decorated with paintings in the style of Rousseau's jungle paintings. They make a bold yet chic statement on the walls and are a joy to look at. The menu changes bi-monthly but always includes a mouth-watering selection of meat, fish and vegetarian dishes that are presented elegantly and with style. The staff at Petrichor are extremely friendly and helpful and really help to make your evening special.



PETRICHOR Q&A
How would you describe the food and menu served at Petrichor?
Splendid food created with the most seasonal and sustainable ingredients.

Who or what inspires you to create the dishes on your menu?
My Suppliers. I talk to them on a regular basis to understand what's best in season and based on that, we create our bi-monthly menus.



What does the Petrichor do when trying to source and use sustainable ingredients and products? How important is this?
Petrichor has been involved in many sustainable activities over the last year: I took the Food and Beverage Team to visit Wicks Manor Pork Farm in Essex and Garson's Fruit and Vegetable Farm in Surrey (we even picked berries). These trips help us to ensure that our suppliers are providing the most sustainable and environmentally friendly produce. I also organise menu-tasting panels for the Front of House Team to increase their product knowledge.

I think it is particularly important for the business to take these sustainable measures now as I believe in supporting British farmers who are generally more interested in animal welfare and sustainable measures, which in turn results in a better quality product, minimised waste, cost savings and reduced CO2 emissions.



What would your dream 3 course meal be to cook and serve at Petrichor?
There are many dream dishes that we create for our menu. From this bi-monthly menu, I would choose:
STARTER - Wicks Manor creamy smoked ham hock soup with seasonal vegetables.
MAIN - Mildly spiced Scottish cod fillet served with curried potato fritter, baby spinach and creamy coconut sauce
DESSERT - Kent Discovery apple and cranberry crumble with Brandy custard.

Can you sum up in 5 words the Petrichor experience for your diners?
Friendly staff and superb food (I hear that regularly from our customer satisfaction surverys)



Access London would like to say a big thank you to Nitin Padwal for taking the time to answer our questions and to all the restaurant and hotel staff at The Cavendish.

Whether you are looking for a meal with a stylish touch, a pre-theatre dinner to kick off your evening or, celebrate a special occasion, Petrichor is the place to be.

For more information about the current menu, individual requirements and to make a reservation, contact the Petrichor on: 020 7389 3500.

Please feel free to leave a comment and follow the blog.

COMING SOON: The National Gallery and Phantom of the Opera

Interview with The Cavendish Hotel - Disabled Access

Firstly, Thank You to everyone for your continued support of Access London in its promotion for a more accessible city for all.

This is the second in a series of posts on The Cavendish Hotel - Access London's recommended hotel for 2011.

As you may have read in our previous post, The Cavendish Hotel is a luxurious and stylish hotel in a prime location in London (Piccadilly/Mayfair). As well as its luxury and extremely helpful and friendly staff, The Cavendish has also made every effort to make itself accessible to all. Below is an interview with the Business Development Coordinator at The Cavendish on how the hotel is meeting the needs of its guests with disabilities.



THE CAVENDISH Q&A

Who are you and what is your role at The Cavendish?

I am Fabricio Torres and I am the Business Development Coordinator at The Cavendish. I am in charge of all the social media activities for the company as well as the e-marketing (email campaigns), writing blog posts and more.

Can you please explain how The Cavendish is accessible to those with disabilities?

The hotel aims to be completely accessible to persons with physical disabilities. For that reason, we allocate our wheelchair adapted rooms at the time of booking to ensure that our guests will have a smooth experience. Upon arrival everything will be set up to ensure that check-in is easy and trouble-free. Our entrance has electric sliding doors and our reception is 120cm high but we can provide check-in forms on clipboards for those in wheelchairs. The lifts are located just opposite the check-in desk and have easy access from them to the wheelchair adapted rooms. If the guest is not in a wheelchair, we can still allocate rooms near to the lift or on lower floors to accomodate their needs.

In the wheelchair adapted rooms, the doors are wider and the light switches are lower to make things easier. Power sockets are located next to the bed as well as alarm cords for emergencies. All adapted rooms are also inter-connected, meaning that a carer or friend or family member can sleep close by. The fire alarm has a visual as well as audio indication. The rooms can have a double or twin beds as requested and all are en-suite with adapted shower rooms.

The shower rooms are level entry and fitted with horizontal and vertical grab rails and an emergency alarm cord, shower stools are also provided.

In case of assistance needed, guests can always contact the concierge or reception from the room phone and we would be happy to help.

Do you have any concessions available for disabled visitors and/or their carers?

We don't currently have concessions available to our disabled guests. However, all of the adapted rooms are at a discounted rate as they are Superior Rooms that we offer at the price of a Classic Room.

Can you sum up in 5 words The Cavendish experience?

Amazing location and great service!

Access London would like to offer a big Thank You to Fabricio Torres for his time in answering our questions and to all the staff at The Cavendish for a fantastic place to stay. To make a reservation or enquiry at The Cavendish, please call 020 7930 2111.

Please feel free to leave a comment and follow the Access London blog.

COMING SOON: THE PETRICHOR RESTAURANT & PHANTOM OF THE OPERA

Recommended Hotel for 2011 - The Cavendish - Part 1

Hi Everyone. This week is the launch of a series of exciting posts about Access London's recommended hotel for 2011 - The Cavendish.
The Cavendish is located on Jermyn Street and Duke Street in Piccadilly. It is in a prime location for central London attractions such as, restaurants, theatres, galleries, museums and shops - yet once inside, you feel as though you are in an oasis of calm in the middle of the big city.

Some of its nearest attractions are The Royal Academy of Arts, The Criterion Theatre, St James' Park, the prestigious shops of Jermyn and Regent Streets and the world-renowned Fortnum and Masons.

I have been fortunate enough to have stayed at The Cavendish on several occasions and have always enjoyed a fabulous stay. All of the staff are so in tuned to their guest's needs - the porters on arrival, the check-in staff, the concierge team and the restaurant staff. You are made to feel special from the moment you arrive and this continues throughout your stay.


The hotel has its main pick-up/drop-off point and disabled access entrance on Duke Street. On entering, you are met with a fresh and modern reception area that, like most of the other areas in the hotel, has kept its period charm and style. The hotel's lounge is the perfect place to relax after a day's shopping and enjoy afternoon tea. The Cavendish's 'Petrichor' restaurant has been awared with an AA Rosette and is the setting for some of the best food I have tasted in a hotel for a long time. The Petrichor will be the topic of a future post here on Access London.


The Cavendish has several disabled access rooms to stay in which include: walk-in showers, wider doors, lowered sinks, emergency pull cords and many other features you would expect to find in a stylish, adapted room. If you have a disability but are able to step up into a shower and do without the other adapted features mentioned above then, I would definitely recommend a stay in one of the hotel's Executive Rooms, especially if you are there for a special occasion.

The luxurious and stylish Cavendish is the perfect hotel for your stay in London, Pre-Theatre Dinner or afternoon tea. It is extremely accessible and all of the staff are more than happy to help make arrangements for your perfect stay - this is why The Cavendish is Access London's recommended hotel for 2011.

To make a reservation at The Cavendish, please call 020 7930 2111

COMING NEXT: INTERVIEW WITH THE CAVENDISH'S BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT COORDINATOR
COMING SOON: PHANTOM OF THE OPERA/HER MAJESTY'S THEATRE