RET has 10,000 free tickets for young people

Manchester’s Royal Exchange Theatre is to make 10,000 free tickets available to under-26-year-olds as part of a groundbreaking national scheme to increase cultural opportunities for young people.

The Free Theatre Initiative – pioneered by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is aimed at young adults and their families, the scheme’s goal is to give away one million free tickets and is a bold move to boost a new generation of theatre-goers.

The Royal Exchange Theatre’s participation has been backed with a £30,000 grant and the 10,000 tickets are being offered in three strands:

Strand one – The First Stage – will give away an average of 20 to 30 tickets each week, targeting first time and hard to reach groups and individuals.

Strand two – The Friday Fifty – will offer 50 seats for each Friday night on a first-come, first-served basis and will be marketed at young workers in the city centre. This will be enhanced by SFX (Special Fridays at the Exchange) – the theatre’s popular range of free early-evening entertainment which is open to all.

Strand three – The Guest List – will offer 100 season tickets per season, including a package of events such as tours, workshops and talks, to enrich and support theatre visits. This will be targeted at young people who have expressed an interest and commitment to the theatre and want to find out more. Among those invited to apply will be members of the Exchange’s regular young people’s theatre groups and those attending Happy Mondays (the RET’s existing Monday night scheme which offers tickets to young people for £4).

As the scheme develops, the theatre will monitor all three strands, creating an exciting piece of live research into the strategic processes of creating committed theatre audiences of the future.

To learn more about the scheme, please visit the Royal Exchange guestlist link here.