Accessibility

Our building and accessibility

  • Our Box Office and Bookshop are fully accessible and are situated in the foyer.
  • The cinema screens are situated on the top floor and are fully accessible via the lift, with wheelchair access in every screen.
  • The café and bar areas on each floor of the building are fully accessible.
  • The gallery is on the ground floor and is fully accessible.
  • Accessible toilets are available on each floor.
  • Wheelchair spaces are available in all areas of Theatre 1 (stalls, circle and gallery).

Disabled parking and drop offs

  • The nearest car park is Q-Park at First Street (next door to HOME). There are 28 disabled parking spaces. The pedestrian car park entrance is approximately 30 metres from HOME’s main entrance and is located facing the pedestrian public square, Tony Wilson Place. You can receive a discount of 25% when you pre-book your car park ticket online, using the code: HOMEMCR25. Click here to pre-book your car park ticket. 
  • There is free on street parking for blue badge holder on Whitworth Street West. Blue Badge holders are entitled to park for free at parking meters and at pay-and-display on-street parking (unless otherwise stated) when travelling as either a driver or passenger.
  • The best place for drop offs is on Whitworth Street West. Pull up in front of the silver bollards underneath Arch 70 next to Belvoir Lettings. It is approximately 100m from here to our front door on a flat paved road.

Services for deaf or hearing-impaired customers

  • All our cinemas have induction loops and we provide BSL (British Sign Language) screening and events. We have a portable induction loop system at our Box Office.
  • We provide captioned screenings of films when possible. Captioning is a service for hearing-impaired or deaf people. These screenings have a transcription of the film’s dialogue in English along the bottom of the screen and may also describe the sounds in the film.
  • Our programme also contains many films subtitled into English from other languages. These may also be suitable for deaf or hearing-impaired customers.
  • Films and events available with caption subtitles and BSL are indicated on our website listings and in print.

Services for blind or partially sighted customers

  • Listings are available in large print and audio CD from our Box Office, please email boxofficeteam@homemcr.org with any inquiries.
  • All Cinemas are equipped with infrared audio description equipment. Audio described screenings are similar to listening to a cricket or football match on the radio, having the action described to you. The normal film soundtrack comes through the cinemas surround sound speakers in the usual way, and a recorded narrator explains what’s happening on screen – in gaps in the dialogue and sound effects – through special headphones that allow the user to still hear the sound from the speakers.
  • Theatre performances offering audio description, BSL and caption subtitles will take place at HOME, please check the access information on individual production pages or contact our Box Office directly via phone on 0161 200 1500 or email boxofficeteam@homemcr.org.
  • To reserve an AD headset please email boxofficeteam@homemcr.org or phone 0161 200 1500. Films are rarely available with audio description on DVD, so catch them while you can at the cinema.
  • Please note audio description has to be actively produced by the film distributors who have to decide to pay someone to write and record the audio description track. Some distributors (Warner Brothers for example) have a policy of providing AD (and subtitles) for all their films. Others distributors may never provide this service.
  • Films and events available with audio description, caption subtitles and BSL are indicated in our website listings and in print.

Relaxed Events

Relaxed events at HOME are for anyone who would welcome watching a film or seeing a theatre performance in a more relaxed environment. They have been designed to be friendlier to people who experience autism, however they may also be suitable for people with sensory disorders or learning difficulties. We aim to make the events as inclusive as possible so they are open to all, even if you don’t need the adjustments we make for relaxed performances and screenings.

  • Relaxed Performances – In the theatre, we’ll make some subtle changes to the performance, toning down any loud noises and lighting effects and leaving the house lights on low. The doors to the theatre will remain open throughout the performance and we’ll be providing a chill out space in a separate area of the building. There will be a relaxed attitude to noise and movement within the theatre.
  • Relaxed Screenings (Cinema) – We’ll be holding relaxed screenings of family friendly films every month. For these we’ll keep the cinema lights on low and turn the volume down a little. There will be no trailers or advertisements before the film starts and you’ll be able to move around the cinema if you want to. You are welcome to bring your own food and drinks into the cinema.

Booking tickets

To buy advance tickets for a wheelchair space (and seats alongside, if required) please call Box Office on 0161 200 1500.