Letter: Incompetent EIF doesn't care about disabled theatre-goers

The Edinburgh International Festival is underway in the Capital. Picture: Johnston Press

I feel I need to express my anger at the lack of a view at the King’s Theatre of a recent performance of Cold Blood and warn people of the incompetence of the EIF.

In the show, onstage performers use their fingers to choreograph the story in a miniature set, which is then filmed live and projected onto a cinema screen above them.

But the EIF organisers overlooked something, such as: if, like myself, you had a seat in the back of the stalls, it was impossible to see the cinema screen above the performers.

I counted three to four rows of people moving en masse, clambering over seats to gain access to a better view, mainly sitting in the aisles.

My wife is a wheelchair user, so we had no option but to leave the theatre. Management of the theatre company were apologetic and offered to move us but couldn’t guarantee we would be sitting together – not an option for someone dependent on their carer/husband.

It is very seldom we can find the time to spend an evening out together. In this case a lot of forward planning and huge effort was involved only to be massively disappointed.

How can an organisation sell tickets to a wheelchair user knowing full well they will not be able see the performance?

Surely something can be done to prevent an experience like ours.

David Bissett, Edinburgh