What Is It Like to See a Concert at Scarborough Open Air Theatre?

Picture a natural bowl with the stage at the bottom. Right in front of the stage is a deck built over what used to be a lake. Behind the deck rises one big bank of steep fixed seats, split into colour-coded blocks; fans and the venue mention Red, Blue, Yellow, Orange, Purple and White. No source we found pins each colour to a side, so check the seating map on your ticket rather than guessing. There are two raised wheelchair platforms, and the toilets sit at each end.

Old reviews will confuse you. Before the lake was filled in, it sat between the stage and the front row of seats. "Having 4th row tickets I was expecting a good view I was so far away," one fan wrote in January 2016, and another called the stage "so remote." Those reviews describe a layout that's gone. The deck now fills that gap, so the front of the fixed seating sits behind the deck rather than at the water's edge.

The Deck: Standing or Flat Seats Over the Old Lake

This is the only place that's genuinely close to the stage. At standing shows the deck is the general admission area; at fully seated shows it's laid out with flat rows of chairs instead. The decking first went down for Elton John in 2011, came back as a 2,000-capacity standing area in 2015, and has since been made permanent.

Children aged 10 and under aren't allowed in the standing area. If you're bringing a younger kid, buy seats in the tiers, because they won't be let onto the deck.

The deck is flat. At a standing show that's the normal trade-off of being close. We found no fan reports on how the flat seated rows work at seated shows, so don't assume deck seats beat the tiers on view.

Deaf and hard of hearing ticket holders are placed in the area nearest the BSL interpreter. One Tripadvisor reviewer called the interpreting "absolutely excellent."

Single-Letter Rows: The Steep Middle

These are the rows most people end up in, and the ones fans praise. The rake is steep enough that a tall person in front doesn't wreck your view. "We try to sit mid way up to get the best view," one regular wrote on Tripadvisor, and that's the sweet spot here: close enough to see faces, high enough to see the whole stage.

Block reports are positive across the board. A reviewer in White block row D called them "great seats." Another in the purple section reported "excellent views." Someone in orange said the seats worked well, though getting there meant steps for a disabled companion.

Row A of the Red and Blue blocks holds the ambulant seats, and the venue warns they're "up a number of steps and is not level access."

The venue also warns that people around you may stand during the performance. Fans on Trustpilot have complained about it in 2017 and again in July 2026, when a woman standing blocked one reviewer's view. The steep rake limits the damage, but it happens, especially at singalong shows.

Double-Letter Rows (AA, BB and Up)

Read your ticket carefully. A double-letter row isn't next to its single-letter twin. Row BB is at the back, behind row Z, and the venue says plainly that you "will have to climb steep stairs to get there."

The view up there holds up. A reviewer who sat "fairly high up" said it was "no detriment to the view," which fits how steep the tiers are. You lose distance, not sightline.

The climb is the real cost. One reviewer described "a bit of a steep climb to get to the seating access and then back down some steep steps to get to our actual seats." If stairs are hard for anyone in your group, avoid double-letter rows.

You're also the most exposed up here, and one of the venue's three smoking areas is at the top of the venue.

Block Ends and the Side Blocks

Side seats are better than you'd expect. "Even though we were sat on the end, still a good view," a Trustpilot reviewer wrote in August 2025. A Tripadvisor reviewer in the yellow block, off to the side, called them "still good seats" with "superb" sound. Nobody in the reviews we found names a block they'd avoid, and one fan summed it up as "every seat is a good one."

The Rooftop VIP

The venue is adding a raised, covered viewing deck with club furniture, a private bar, private toilets and food brought to you from the on-site vendors. It's sold to groups of up to 40. The venue's own page says it'll be available on 2027 shows and hasn't published a price. Once it opens, it'll be the only covered place to watch from.

Accessibility Seating

There are two raised wheelchair platforms, ramped, with what the venue describes as a prime view of the stage, chairs for mobility ticket holders and accessible toilets close by. Space is limited to the ticket holder plus one companion, and you don't pay for an Essential Companion ticket if you send supporting documents.

Ambulant seating depends on the show. At fully seated shows it's end-of-row seating on the deck. At standing shows it moves to the wheelchair platform. Red and Blue Block Row A are also sold as mobility seats, but they're up steps.

The route from the entrance to the platforms is step-free paving with a slight incline. The venue holds Silver status under the Attitude is Everything Live Events Access Charter.

Best Value and What to Avoid

• Best value: single-letter rows about halfway up the tiers. Steep rake, clear view, a manageable climb.
• Avoid with limited mobility: double-letter rows, and Red or Blue Block Row A if you can't manage steps. Book the platforms instead.
• Avoid with a child aged 10 or under: standing tickets on the deck.
• No restricted-view blocks: nothing in the reviews or venue information we found is sold as restricted view.