The 2017 Adelaide Festival is now more accessible than ever, with teenagers able to see shows for as little as $5, and concession card holders able to name their own price for deeply discounted tickets to selected performances.
Co Artistic Directors Rachel Healy and
Neil Armfield are reaching out to young audiences with the return of the Festival's 18 and Under Rush Tickets scheme, a popular initiative from the 1980s and '90s that allows teenagers to see world class theatre, music and dance for a fraction of the price.
By signing up to the 18 and Under Rush Tickets email list at adelaidefestival.com.au/18rush, young people can be notified of last minute tickets to selected shows for just $5, offering discounts of up to 90 per cent.
Ms Healy said the idea was inspired by her own experience of the Festival in her teens.
"Many people my age and older will remember the Adelaide Theatre Passport scheme; it started in the late 1970s and ran for nearly 20 years. Armed with my theatre passport, my friends and I saw dozens of shows for as little as $1 because local arts organisations ensured unsold theatre seats were available to high school students," Ms Healy said.
"It meant we saw dozens of shows throughout the year, and lots during the Adelaide Festival. My friends and I quickly developed our tastes, opinions and preferences, loved discussing the shows and ideas afterwards and relished the opportunity to immerse ourselves in the cultural life of our city. The scheme had a huge influence on my life and my decision to make a career in the arts.
"Consequently, we are determined to repay this experience and ensure our programs are just as accessible to Adelaide's teenagers. Price should be no barrier to attendance. We hope this scheme will play a part in fostering a lifelong love of the arts, and, hopefully, some future Adelaide Festival Artistic Directors!"
Concession card holders can also access deeply discounted tickets through the Festival's popular Pay What You Can scheme, naming their own ticket price for selected shows based on what they can afford.
Shows include Schaubühne Theatre's rock and roll reinterpretation of Richard III, the multi Helpmann award winning The Secret Riverat Anstey Hill Quarry, Peter and the Wolf starring
Miriam Margolyes and many more, with the full list of performances announced today at adelaidefestival.com.au/pay_what_you_can
Eligible patrons can purchase tickets at a price of their choosing by presenting a current healthcare, pension or full time student card at the box office one hour before the performance.
The 2017 Adelaide Festival also offers a range of free events, kicking off with the opening weekend concert with music legend Neil Finn on Sunday March 5. Up to 15,000 people are expected to turn out for the free concert in Parc Palais, the Festival's dining and entertainment precinct on the Adelaide Riverbank.
Parc Palais is free to enter every day of the Festival from 5.30pm (excluding March 6), offering an amazing array of food by Brad Sappenbergh of Comida at Adelaide's Central Market, as well as giant mirror maze House of Mirrors ($10 entry, free for under fives and over 75s) and free roving entertainment as well as live bands and DJs playing in the rotunda.
Free events on board the floating Riverbank Palais include Breakfast with Papers (7am to 9.30am weekdays, 7am to 10amweekends, excluding March 2, 5 and 6), where you can enjoy coffee and light breakfast from CIBO Espresso and copies of The Advertiser, along with lively discussions on news and current affairs with Festival artists and some of South Australia's top journalists hosted by award winning writer
Tom Wright, as well as Festival Forums (weekdays at 12.30pm excluding March 2, 6 and 13), in which celebrated journalist and commentator David Marr will host talks with special guests including Barrie Kosky,
Miriam Margolyes,
Rufus Wainwright and more.
One of the world's largest and most celebrated literary festivals, Adelaide Writers' Week (March 4 to 9) offers more than 100 completely free sessions, readings and discussions with 86 writers from Australia and around the world in the Pioneer Women's Memorial Gardens. Featured on the program are Nathan Hill (US), Graeme Macrae Burnet (UK), Patrick Cockburn (UK), Janine di Giovanni (US), Richard Fidler (AUS), Elizabeth Harrower (AUS), Kate Grenville (AUS), Hannah Kent (AUS) and more, as well as the much-loved Kids' Weekend (March 4 to 5), presenting two days of free stories, songs and art and craft for young readers.
Other free Festival events include the Australian premiere of del
Kathryn Barton's stunning cinematic art piece RED, featuring
Cate Blanchett, at the Art Gallery of South Australia and visual art exhibitions The Ocean After Nature and Countercurrents at the Samstag Museum of Art.
With 31 theatre, music, opera, dance, film and visual arts events including 16 Australian premieres, 17 events exclusive to Adelaide and three world premieres, and so many ways to access the program, there has never been a better time to immerse yourself in the Adelaide Festival.
The Adelaide Festival runs from March 3 to 19, 2017. Tickets to all shows are on sale now at
adelaidefestival.com.au or via BASS.
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