Polka Theatre's 'Curtain Up' Subsidised Ticket Scheme To Expand To 9,000 Free School Tickets

Curtain-Up!, Polka Theatre's landmark subsidised ticket scheme that provides free tickets to school groups who face barriers that make it harder to access live theatre, will increase this year, from the current level of 6,000 tickets to 9,000. Thanks to a new multi-year commitment from The Garek Trust - a London-based charity dedicated to providing underprivileged young people with access to the arts. 

Over the past academic year, applications for Curtain Up! more than doubled, with applications for over 11,500 tickets, compared to 5,500 tickets in 2022/23.  Part of this demand is attributed to the lasting effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, with schools and education organisations struggling financially and logistically to bring young people to the theatre.  During the 2023/24 year, Curtain Up! allocated over 6,000 tickets to 78 unique schools, across 33 performances of 9 productions.  Applications also came from much further afield than ever before, including schools in Essex, Hertfordshire and Wiltshire. 

The funding from The Garek Trust is a new multi-year commitment, enabling Polka Theatre to increase Curtain Up! tickets to 9,000 per year, in response to the huge surge of interest.

The Garek Trust said, “Programmes like Curtain Up! are what The Garek Trust is all about. We are delighted that our funding will give so many additional children the exposure to theatre that they wouldn't have otherwise experienced. We salute Polka Theatre for their incredible work within the community!”

Lynette Shanbury, Polka's Executive Director and Joint CEO, said, “Curtain Up! is one of our most vital and long-running funded programmes. We know that a child's first experience of theatre is a formative and transformative experience, and we think every single child should have that opportunity. Prior to the pandemic we were able to offer 2,000 tickets per year through the programme – to be able to expand it now to 9,000 will have a huge impact for so many children. It is especially important at a time when school budgets are under so much pressure and arts in schools is being disastrously squeezed. Curtain Up! can only happen year on year thanks to the incredible backing of so many amazing supporters like The Garek Trust. We are very grateful to every single one of our supporters, without whom it wouldn't exist.”

A teacher at Forest Academy School, a recipient of Curtain Up! tickets, said, “Thank you for signing us up to this amazing scheme because it meant our children could experience theatre for the first time, something they wouldn't probably ever have gotten to do without you all. So from us all, THANK YOU! We appreciate you all so much.”

In addition, The Garek Trust's funding will also enable a subsidised schools tour of Polka Theatre and Beats & Elements' remixed production of Romeo and Juliet. The production will tour during spring 2025, following its hugely successful previous run in Polka's Adventure Theatre, and pilot schools tour earlier this year.

Teachers at Cricket Green School who received the schools tour earlier this year said: “Our children were able to enjoy Shakespeare like never before.... It was so brilliant to see the play come to life and be presented in a meaningful way that our pupils could relate to and understand.” 

The 2025 tour will see 15 performances and workshops taking place over a three-week period (24 February – 14 March) available to schools across Greater London who otherwise wouldn't be able to attend live theatre. 

Helen Matravers, Polka's Artistic Director and Joint CEO, said, “The reaction from schools to Romeo and Juliet last year blew us away. We couldn't meet the demand from schools who wanted to receive the show, and so this is an incredible opportunity to take Polka's work to many more young audiences. To share accessible, vibrant Shakespeare of this quality with young audiences, presented in a way they won't have seen before, is amazing – and crucially in an affordable way for schools who otherwise may not get the chance to host live theatre and music for their students to experience.”

Schools can apply for Romeo and Juliet to visit their school here.

Polka Theatre also gives grateful thanks to other vital Curtain Up! funders, including Ernest Hecht Charitable Trust, The Greenslade Family Foundation, Christina Smith Foundation, The Doris Pacey Charitable Foundation, Alf and Hilda Leivers Charity Trust, Unity Theatre Trust , D'Oyly Carte Charitable Trust, The Topinambour Trust, Wimbledon District Nursing & Midwifery Benevolent Society, TK Maxx and Homesense Foundation - Community Fund, Barbara Whatmore Charitable Trust and Enterprise Arts Trust.

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