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A new scheme to encourage young people to experience live theatre was unveiled today by Culture Secretary Andy Burnham. A £2.5 million programme - funded by Arts Council England, who will manage the scheme - will be focused on some 95 venues all over England.
Each will offer a proportion of the tickets for arts productions on the same night every week - free - to anyone under 26 years old.
The scheme will start in February 2009 with an initial goal of providing a million free tickets by March 2011. Theatres taking part will have to guarantee free seats for young people across the whole two-year period.
Andy Burnham wants it to become an ongoing commitment from the venues involved, building an audience over a long period, and offering a really strong mix of work. He said:
"Culture has the power to change lives. I've seen it myself so many times. A young person attending the theatre can find it an exhilarating experience, and be inspired to explore new horizons. But sometimes people miss out on it because they fear it's 'not for them.' It's time to change this perception.
"This investment means that a whole new audience will get the chance to enjoy the best our theatre has to offer. Theatres up and down the country will get the chance to work with us to provide a million free tickets to productions over the next two years.
“So it will be good for theatres, who will see their audience broaden, and it will be good for actors who play at their best when performing to a full house.
"England's theatre is among the best in the world, and it's only right that it should be available to the widest audience possible."
The scheme will operate principally at Arts Council England or local authority supported venues each of which will bid for resources from a challenge fund and, if successful, will also take part in launch events.
A national marketing campaign with a substantial budget will promote the scheme which will be pegged to venues rather than individual productions. It marks the culmination, after extensive consultation, of one of the key recommendations of the McMaster Report.
