NEWS - ARCHIVE
A Night Less Ordinary
10 Feb 2009
A Night Less Ordinary
Mercury offers 2,000 FREE theatre tickets to Under 26’s
The Mercury Theatre is delighted to announce that it has been selected to be part of the new Free Theatre Initiative called A Night Less Ordinary. Over 618,000 FREE Theatre tickets will be available nationally over the next two years to people aged under 26 years in a scheme to increase cultural opportunities for young people.
The Mercury Theatre will be giving away 2300 tickets to young people living and working in the locality between February 2009 and March 2011. The scheme which is aimed at persuading young people to give theatre a go will be launched on Monday 16 February.
Alan Davey, Chief Executive of Arts Council England said: “A Night Less Ordinary is an extraordinary idea that has been made possible by the co-operation and hard work of theatre professionals all over the country and I’d like to thank them for their efforts.
“I am proud that the Arts Council is leading an initiative that will offer more than half a million opportunities in the next two years for young people to have their lives changed by ground breaking and inspirational theatre.”
To launch the scheme, the Mercury will be hosting a series of FREE events at the theatre for those aged 25 and under including two back stage tours which will take place on Wednesday 18 and Friday 20 February at 12.30 noon. At 2pm on Wednesday 18 February young professional actor Daniel Bayle who is currently appearing opposite Peter Egan and Belinda Lang at the Mercury Theatre in A Song at Twilight will share his experiences of What it is really like to be an Actor, followed by a Q & A session. After which at 3pm Rebecca Hall, Mercury Theatre Practitioner will be running a FREE drama workshop. On Friday 20 February at 2pm Mercury Theatre General Manager Adrian Grady will give a talk on “All the things you didn’t know about Theatre!”
All of the above events are FREE and admission is offered on a first come first served basis.
“It’s great to have this opportunity to try some new things. We are already run sessions for hundreds of young people from toddlers up through our community activities and school workshops this initiative will bring even more young people into the Mercury and give them a weeknight out to remember!” Dee Evans, Chief Executive commented.
The first FREE tickets to be given away by the Mercury will be for A Song at Twilight on Wednesday 18 & Thursday 19 February at 7.30pm starring well known TV actors Peter Egan (Home Again), Belinda Lang (2 Point 4 Children) and Kerry Peers (The Bill and Brookside). The following week young people can choose from the passion of Latin dance to rock music with Tango Tango, Brilliant Baroque by Candlelight and The Counterfeit Stones. Looking ahead there is a chance of a FREE night out to see the Mercury Theatre Company present Alan Ayckbourn’s hilarious comedy A Chorus of Disapproval.
For more information and to book your A Night Less Ordinary FREE Theatre tickets please call the Box Office on 01206 573948, email boxoffice@mercurytheatre.co.uk or call in to the Mercury Box Office, Balkerne Gate, Colchester or visit www.mercurytheatre.co.uk/anightlessordinary. Please note you cannot book your FREE tickets on-line.
Each young person aged 25 or under will be able to reserve up to 6 tickets for each event listed within the Mercury Theatre’s A Night Less Ordinary scheme; tickets will be allocated on a first come first served basis and proof of age will be needed when collecting tickets.
For further information including terms and conditions please visit the Arts Council website at www.anightlessordinary.org.uk or the Mercury Theatre at www.mercurytheatre.co.uk/anightlessordinary