Grand Opera House, York

The Grand Opera House stands on the corner of Clifford Street and Cumberland Street in the centre of York, a short walk from the city's medieval lanes and the river. A Grade II listed building that began life as a corn exchange before opening as a theatre in 1902, it now hosts touring plays and musicals, opera and ballet, comedy, music and one-off talks. Run by ATG Entertainment, it is a compact and characterful auditorium with Stalls, Dress Circle, Grand Circle and boxes, plus a bar and the Ambassador Lounge for pre-show drinks.

The front section of the building was not built as a theatre at all. It was commissioned as a corn exchange, designed by George Alfred Dean in the Italianate style, built in red brick and officially opened on 28 October 1868. Its asymmetrical frontage faced Clifford Street, with a run of linked round-headed windows at first floor level and a main hall measuring 74 feet by 63 feet. Trade dwindled during the agricultural depression of the late nineteenth century, and the building's days as an exchange were numbered.

In the early years of the twentieth century William Peacock bought the corn exchange along with a warehouse directly behind it. At a cost of £24,000 and to designs by John Priestley Briggs, the two were knitted together as a music hall with a raked auditorium, proscenium arch and stage. It opened as the Grand Theatre and Opera House on 20 January 1902 with a pantomime, Little Red Riding Hood, starring Florrie Forde, and was renamed the Grand Opera House and Empire Theatre in 1903 in a bid to widen its appeal. Over the decades the stage saw performers including Charlie Chaplin, Laurel and Hardy, Morecambe and Wise, Dame Judi Dench and Sir Ian McKellen.

Silent films were shown from early on, and the theatre became simply the Empire Theatre in 1916. FJB Theatres, the business of Frederick Butterworth, bought it in 1945 and closed it in 1956, blaming the Entertainment Tax. Ernest Shepherd, whose offices were in the Shambles, took it on in 1958 and renamed it the S. S. Empire, standing for Shepherd of the Shambles. He stripped out the raked seating and the stage so the space could serve as a bingo hall and roller skating rink, a role it kept until closure in 1985.

Rescue came in 1987, when the India Pru Company bought the building and spent £4 million putting back the raked seating and the stage. It reopened as the Grand Opera House on 26 September 1989 with a production of Macbeth. Financial trouble forced a brief closure in 1991 before the theatre returned in 1993, and in November 2009 it was bought by the Ambassador Theatre Group as part of a wider deal. The building is Grade II listed.

The theatre is committed to making live performance accessible, and access seats and services should be requested when you book.

• Step-free access: the Stalls are the only level with step-free access, reached via the King Street entrance. That road is cobbled and slopes down towards the river, so allow extra time. Ring the bell to the right of the door and a member of staff will come to assist.
• Lift: there is no lift. The bars, Dress Circle and Grand Circle are reached by stairs only, and the number of steps to each level is shown on the online seat plan.
• Wheelchair spaces: six spaces in the Stalls at the ends of rows H, M, N and R, plus transfer to seat positions on rows G, N and R. Maximum chair dimensions vary by space, so check when booking. If you use a motorised wheelchair or scooter, call the access team first to find the best position.
• Accessible toilet: a left-hand transfer, gender-neutral accessible toilet with baby changing is inside the King Street access entrance, at the rear of the Stalls behind seat R18. The nearest Changing Places toilet is at Silver Street Public Toilets.
• Visually impaired audiences: audio description is delivered through the Mobile Connect app on your own device, so any seating area works for described performances. Touch tours are offered with some shows. Stalls seats are recommended for a closer view.
• D/deaf and hard of hearing audiences: Mobile Connect provides sound enhancement. For BSL signed performances, the front middle Stalls are recommended, as the interpreter usually stands to the right of the stage as you look at it.
• Assistance dogs: welcome in the auditorium, and staff can look after your dog during the performance if arranged in advance or on arrival.
• Arrival: the auditorium opens 30 minutes before the performance, so wheelchair users and others needing immediate seating are asked to arrive no earlier than that. Wheelchairs, mobility aids and pushchairs can be stored outside the auditorium.
• Access booking line: 0333 009 5399, or via Typetalk on 1800 1 0333 009 5399.