The rake of seating is the angle that the chairs or other non-vertical furniture legs are angled at. It’s a key feature in designing pieces that offer comfort for the user and changes how the piece sits on a surface and catches the light. It can also add an element of design that isn’t possible with a strictly vertical piece of furniture.

Raked seating is commonly found in theatres, but it’s also used in conference centres to allow guests seated farther back to still have a clear view of the stage. It’s ideal for events such as TEDTalks, where the audience is meant to be absorbing the presentations and not engaging in conversation with one another.

Raked Seating: Enhancing Sightlines and Comfort in Venues

All theatres used to be built with a raked stage as standard, but this design has fallen out of favor in the modern era. Instead, theatres now often build their auditoriums with flat seats for audiences and a raised platform for the performers to use for their performances.

At Beacon Hall, the stalls have a flat floor (rows AA – F), but from row G to the rear of the Lower Tier, the seats are raked (sloped). The Upper and Lower Tiers have side balconies that overlook the stage too. The Choir area at the back of the stage is a fixed-raked seating space that isn’t available to buy for standing shows, but it is sometimes put on sale for orchestra and vocal performances.