The Princes Theatre in Clacton-on-Sea, operated by Tendring District Council, is providing free tickets to local schoolchildren and children in care through its donations-led “Theatre Access Fund.” The initiative aims to help families who might otherwise be unable to afford the cost of a live show.
Known as the Theatre Access Fund, the scheme works as a pay-it-forward system: patrons can add a small donation when they buy tickets online or at the box office, or give via bucket collections after performances. Theatre staff use the donations to fund free tickets for school groups and children in care.
The programme concentrates on the town’s most popular family shows, particularly the Christmas and Easter pantomimes, which the theatre highlights on its Access Fund page.
Local primary schools — and, in some cases, child and family support workers — work with the theatre to identify which pupils should receive the free tickets. The theatre’s Access Fund web page includes testimony from a child and family support worker describing how donations help children who have been in care.
The announcement comes after the 2024/25 pantomime, The Magical Adventures of Peter Pan, became the venue’s highest-grossing pantomime, attracting more than 13,000 audience members. Tendring District Council and the theatre thanked patrons whose donations to the Access Fund enabled several schools to attend free of charge, and organisers say they are preparing for a busy Easter season bolstered by strong box-office demand and continuing public support for the fund.
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