NEWS - ARCHIVE
Mercury Theatre awarded funds for young people’s free theatre scheme
9 Jan 2009
Arts Council England has announced that the Mercury Theatre has been allocated a £10,000 grant to help more young people come to the theatre for the first time.
Attendance at arts events traditionally drops in the 18-26 age range and so this initiative is specifically targeted at young adults and their families. It is designed to reach new audiences and develop a new generation of arts attendees.
Four theatres in the East of England received an award. The successful applicants are the Mercury Theatre in Colchester, The hat Factory in Luton, Watford Palace Theatre and The Junction in Cambridge.
Andrea Stark, Regional Executive Director of Arts Council England said:
“We are delighted that all applications to the Free Theatre scheme in this region have been successful.
“The energy and imagination already displayed by our regional theatres, and their creative commitment to this initiative, gives us the confidence that more young people and their families in the region will get to experience excellent, inspirational art.
“We’re looking forward to working with the successful venues to get everything ready for an exciting week of launch activities in February.”
The scheme will run alongside the successful reduced price schemes for young people which many theatres already operate. Results of the pilot will be carefully monitored and, if successful, it is hoped that the initiative could be extended to other art forms.
Dee Evans, Chief Executive and Artistic Director of the Mercury Theatre Colchester said:
“Of course we are delighted. This Spring / Summer we have two ventures by our own Mercury Theatre Company which will be ideal in attracting young newcomers to the theatre and this scheme will only further that. “
The free theatre scheme will go live across the region on 16 February 2009, with a week of special activities at all participating venues. A dedicated website will be launched in the New Year, providing details of participating venues and direct links to book free tickets.