Accessibility at the Theatre and on Tour
Here you can read about accessibility in our various spaces. At the bottom of the page you will find information about surtitles, hearing loop systems, audio description and fragrance-free performances.
Our venues have different entrances and varying levels of accessibility. Your ticket indicates which venue the performance takes place in. The theatre building has three stages: Main stage, Studio stage and Tiljan stage. Tiljan stage also serves as our theatre restaurant.
An assistant accompanying a person with a Disability Card is always admitted free of charge to our events. The assistant should reserve a separate ticket through our ticket sales office.
Please contact us if you have any questions: biljetter(a)abosvenskateater.fi, tel. +358 2 277 7377
Arrival and Ticket Sales
Parking
The theatre does not have its own parking spaces. Parking is available in central Turku, for example at Turun Toriparkki, Louhi parking hall and beside the Market Hall.
Finding Your Way
See the map of the theatre building.
Ticket Sales
The ticket sales office in the Hansa shopping centre is accessible for wheelchair users.
One hour before performances on the Main stage, ticket sales move to the foyer, entrance through the theatre’s main doors at Aurakatu 10. Read more under Main stage.
Main stage
Seating
There are 4 wheelchair spaces in the auditorium. These are located on the right-hand side (2 spaces) and left-hand side (2 spaces) of the stalls. Due to the incline of the stalls, a horizontal support platform is placed under each wheelchair. To book tickets, please contact the ticket sales office.
The lift for persons with reduced mobility only goes to the first balcony. The lift is locked. Please contact an usher for assistance.
Some of our spaces are carpeted wall-to-wall.
Entrance
Entrance through the theatre’s main doors at Aurakatu 10. See the map of the theatre building. The accessible entrance is located in the Thalia section of the Hansa shopping centre (entrance to the right of the theatre’s main doors). Entry to the theatre is via the lift in the restaurant vestibule on the ground floor. The lift is locked. Please contact an usher upon arrival for assistance.
You can reach the ushers one hour before the performance at tel. +358 44 7888 850.
One hour before performances on the Main stage, ticket sales move to the foyer, which is accessed in the same way as described above.
Toilets
Toilets are available in the foyer on the ground floor and in the café 1.5 floors up. An accessible toilet is located next to the accessible entrance on the restaurant side. Our ushers are happy to help you find your way.
Intermission Refreshments
Intermission refreshments are served in the café and at Tiljan stage. These areas have limited accessibility. They are located one and a half floors above ground level in the theatre building. The lift goes to the first floor. The lift is locked. Please contact an usher for assistance. From the first floor, there are stairs and a chair lift to Tiljan stage.
If refreshments are pre-ordered, they can be served in the front row area, i.e. on the same level accessible by lift.
Surtitles and Hearing Loop
All of the theatre’s own productions on the Main stage are surtitled. Read more and note the recommended seating under the heading Surtitles.
The theatre has a hearing loop system. Read more and note the recommended seating under the heading Hearing Loop.
Tiljan stage
The theatre’s historic architecture partly limits accessibility.
The Venue
Tiljan stage has limited accessibility. The venue is located one and a half floors above ground level in the theatre building. The lift goes to the first floor. From there, stairs and a chair lift lead to Tiljan stage. The venue has wall-to-wall carpeting. Seating is unreserved.
Entrance
Entrance through the theatre’s main doors at Aurakatu 10. See the map of the theatre building. The accessible entrance is located in the Thalia section of the Hansa shopping centre (entrance to the right of the theatre’s main doors). Entry to the theatre is via the lift in the restaurant vestibule on the ground floor. The lift is locked. Please contact an usher upon arrival for assistance.
You can reach the ushers one hour before the performance at tel. +358 44 7888 850.
Toilets
Toilets are available in the foyer on the ground floor and in the café 1.5 floors up. An accessible toilet is located next to the accessible entrance on the restaurant side. The toilets are marked WC and WC & urinal. Our ushers are happy to help you find your way.
Parking
The theatre does not have its own parking spaces. Parking is available in central Turku, for example at Turun Toriparkki, Louhi parking hall and beside the Market Hall.
Studio stage
Finding Your Way
Entrance to the Studio stage is through the Hansa shopping centre, Eriksgatan 13. See the map of the theatre building.
Ticket Sales
Tickets for Studio stage performances are sold through the ticket sales office in Hansa. Please note, however, that one hour before performances on the Main stage, ticket sales move to the foyer, entrance through the theatre’s main doors at Aurakatu 10. Read more under Main stage.
The ticket sales office in the Hansa shopping centre is accessible for wheelchair users.
Seating
There are 2 wheelchair spaces, located on the right-hand side (1 space) and left-hand side (1 space) of the seating stand. To book tickets, please contact the ticket sales office.
Entrance
Via the Hansa shopping centre at Eriksgatan 13. See the map of the theatre building. The Studio stage is located on the fourth floor and can be reached by lift or stairs.
Toilet
There is an accessible toilet in the Studio stage foyer.
Surtitles and Hearing Loop
Not all performances are surtitled. Information about whether surtitles are available can be found on each production’s own page. You can find the productions here. Below you can read how surtitles work at the Studio stage when available.
The Studio stage does NOT have a hearing loop system.
Touring Productions
The theatre’s touring productions are performed in many different types of venues, and we strive to perform in accessible spaces.
Surtitles
Not all touring performances are surtitled. Information about whether surtitles are available can be found on each production’s own page. You can find the productions here. Below you can read how surtitles work on tour when available.
Tour venues generally do NOT have hearing loop systems available.
For more information about accessibility at a specific tour venue, please contact tour coordinator Niklas Willstedt, niklas.willstedt(a)abosvenskateater.fi, tel. +358 44 054 2121.
Surtitles
We always provide surtitles for our own productions on the Main stage in Swedish, Finnish and English. On the Studio stage, our own productions are surtitled in Swedish and Finnish via the Subtitle Mobile application.
The surtitles function as support and cannot fully follow the dialogue on stage; most often we need to condense the text. We value surtitling as a way of making theatre increasingly accessible to a wider audience.
On the Main stage, the surtitles can be read above the stage. They are best visible from the stalls, rows 5–12, and from the A-seats in the first row. Our ticket sales staff are happy to help you find suitable seats.
It is also possible to follow the surtitles on your own mobile phone. On the Studio stage and on tour, this is the only way to access the surtitles.
Surtitles on a Mobile Phone or Other Smart Device
You can follow the surtitles on your own iPhone or Android phone. The theatre also has a number of smartphones that can be borrowed from our ushers. The surtitling system we use has been developed by the Finnish company Loitsut. The app is called Subtitle Mobile and can be found in the Apple App Store and Google Play.
Read more about the surtitling app here.
The theatre staff are happy to assist you before the performance or during the intermission.
Hearing Loop
The theatre has a hearing loop system on the Main stage. It works best in the seats marked in green on the auditorium map below. Please contact our ticket sales office for help choosing the best possible seat.
The ticket sales office is open Tue–Sat 12–15, tel. +358 2 277 7377 or biljetter(a)abosvenskateater.fi.
Audio Description
Åbo Svenska Teater provides audio description in Swedish. Check the page of each production to see whether the performance is audio described.
The audio description is delivered through Subtitle Mobile; you can download the application from the App Store or Google Play.
Please note! Once you have opened the application, select the audio description feature via Settings. Enter the code (the same code used for surtitles).
Our ushers are happy to assist!
There is a pre-show introduction you can listen to before the performance.
Once you press the Start button, the audio description will begin automatically when the performance starts, and you can adjust the playback speed directly in the application. The audio description will also continue automatically after the intermission if the app remains activated.
After the performance, you can close the application.
We would love to hear your feedback about the audio description and the application so that we can continue to improve the service!
HEADPHONES AND LOAN DEVICES
Please feel free to bring your own headphones to the theatre in order to follow the audio description. We also currently have a limited number of loan devices and headphones available if you do not have your own. Ask our ushers for a loan device.
A performance with audio description does not affect audience members who are not using the service; for the rest of the audience, it is simply a normal performance. Audio description is a way of making theatre accessible for people with visual impairments and is an essential part of an accessible cultural offering.
If you have any questions about the audio description, we are happy to help!
Ida Ridberg, ida.ridberg(a)abosvenskateater.fi, +358 (0)44 344 5010
In short, audio description means verbalising the visual. The audio description is delivered through an earpiece for those who wish to access it. The audio describer narrates and describes what is happening on stage: who is on stage, what they are wearing, facial expressions, body language, set design and similar visual elements. Audio description complements the auditory experience, enabling the audience to follow the action and the performance.
Fragrance-Free Performances
We regularly arrange fragrance-free performances. During these performances, the auditorium is kept as free from scents as possible. We ask our audience to attend these performances without scented cosmetics such as deodorant, perfume, aftershave or hairspray. We also ask audience members not to smoke near the theatre entrance.
Unfortunately, we cannot guarantee that the auditorium will be completely fragrance-free. People who are highly sensitive to scents may change seats freely if their assigned seat is surrounded by excessively strong scents.
Fragrance sensitivity means that different scents and odours cause physical symptoms such as a runny nose, headaches and nausea. Fragrance sensitivity is not the same as fragrance allergy, which refers to an allergy to perfumed cosmetics affecting the skin. Fragrance allergy is chronic.
Five years ago, the Allergy and Asthma Federation conducted Finland’s first study on fragrance sensitivity among Finns. According to the study, approximately 10% of the population suffers from fragrance sensitivity, affecting around half a million people in Finland.