Fortune initiatives are just the ticket

THE Fortune Theatre is preparing to launch two new ticketing initiatives, designed to open its doors to those who may not usually be able to afford a show.

Fortune organisers said the concepts of ‘‘Pay What You Can’’ and ‘‘Pay It Forward’’ were not new, and had proved successful in New Zealand and overseas.

For the rest of this year’s Fortune Season, starting with An Iliad, opening on April 7, the second Wednesday of each show’s run will be held offsale until opening day.

When it becomes available, on April 7, the Pay What You Can pricing structure will invite people to pay what they can afford, the prices ranging from $3 to $100.

Fortune Theatre director Jonathon Hendry said the aim was to enable ‘‘anyone to come and see our shows’’.

There was a perception that performing arts were ‘‘an expensive luxury’’, and ‘‘for many people in our community, that’s actually a reality’’.

The Court Theatre in Christchurch had implemented the Pay What You Can option last year, and early indications were positive for people who were ‘‘struggling financially’’.

An associated Pay It Forward initiative from the Fortune, for people with fewer financial challenges, would invite people who were buying a ticket to also pay for another one, to be donated to a local community organisation or group.

Mr Hendry said many Dunedin people wanted to be philanthropic but did not want to ‘‘become involved in formal sponsorships or programmes’’.

Buying a Pay It Forward ticket created a chance for another person to experience the arts when they may not have been able to otherwise.

The Fortune was also inviting schools, organisations and community groups which had relationships with people on low incomes to contact the theatre, to add names to the donee list, organisers said.