The Stage

National Theatre’s Travelex season extended for three years

Published Thursday 21 January 2010 at 13:39 by Natalie Woolman

Travelex has extended its sponsorship of £10 tickets at the National Theatre for three more years.

The partnership, which began in 2003, has been credited with diversifying the National’s audiences and at the end of last year the National sold its millionth £10 ticket.

Figures from the National reveal that on average 25% of audiences buying tickets for the Travelex seasons over the last seven years have not booked seats at the theatre before.

Commenting on how the National managed to secure the three-year extension, artistic director Nicholas Hytner said: “Travelex are enormous friends [of the theatre]. They didn’t want to relinquish their copyright on the £10 note.”

The 2010 Travelex season will include Nicholas Hytner’s production of Hamlet starring Rory Kinnear in the title role and a new play by Moira Buffini entitled Welcome to Thebes, which Richard Eyre is directing.

Travelex chairman Lloyd Dorfman said he wanted new audiences to enjoy the £10 tickets and called the seasons “world-class theatre at world-class prices”.

Past Travelex £10 ticket productions have included Mother Courage and Her Children starring Fiona Shaw and Michael Gambon playing Falstaff in Henry IV Parts 1 and 2.