We are celebrating a year of the A Night Less Ordinary scheme with an extra special week of events this half term. This landmark scheme, launched by the Arts Council in February 2009, gives young people under the age of 26 the chance to see a range of theatre in venues across the country for free. So far, the Octagon has welcomed more than 1,500 young people to the theatre as part of the scheme, many of them attending the theatre for the first time. Overall the Arts Council aims to give more than 600,000 free theatre tickets to under 26 year olds across the UK over the next two years.
To celebrate the first year anniversary of the scheme, theatres around the country will be taking part in A Week Less Ordinary this half term holiday. For every evening performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Monday 15 Feburary - Friday 19 February) the Octagon will be giving away a limited number of free tickets for anyone under 26. The Octagon’s Artistic Director, David Thacker, believes this production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream is the perfect show to mark a year of this free theatre ticket scheme. He said:
“The A Night Less Ordinary scheme has been a huge success for the Octagon and we have been delighted to welcome a new wave of young people to the theatre and see what they think of the work we produce. A Midsummer Night’s Dream has been designed with young people in mind, and the young cast bring the play to life with energy and humour. By giving away free tickets for every evening performance this week, we hope even more under 26s will be able to experience this hilarious and passionate play.”
What’s more, for one week only, theatres around the country will be giving you the chance to see famous faces in unusual places, with actors taking some time away from the stage to serve behind the bar or sell you some tickets. Come to the Octagon in A Week Less Ordinary and you may well be surprised by who is serving you an interval ice cream.
The free tickets for under 26s are strictly limited. For more details call the Octagon Ticket Office on 01204 520661 to claim yours.
