London is about to start giving away unsold theatre tickets to those who can’t afford them. The new program, called Ticket Bank, aims to give away 1,000 tickets a week to theatre, dance, music and comedy shows. The tickets will be free or have a minimal, symbolic fee.
Ticket Bank is an arts-focused variation on a food bank: distributing donations or any surplus to those in need. The pilot program will start on January 9, 2023, and will run for one year.
“There are wonderful people who run food banks and warm clothes banks, but it doesn’t meet the basic needs of a person from a soul perspective,” says Chris Sonnex, the man behind the idea.
People who suffer from the high cost of living also need access to community, entertainment and things that warm not only their bodies but their souls.
Sonnex is the artistic director of Cardboard Citizens, a performing arts organisation for people with homelessness (i.e. former homeless people). He believes that the arts are a human right.
The initiative is focused on the soaring cost of living, which is making cultural experiences unaffordable for more and more people, especially in big cities like London. But it will also help cultural institutions like theatres, whose audiences are shrinking due to economic crises and pandemic-related restrictions.