The ballot to apply for tickets for ‘Ian McKellen On Stage’ at Theatre by the Lake on 20 August is now open.
The ballot can be entered online from the theatre’s website or via a paper form which can be picked up from the Box Office or downloaded from the website and will be open for two weeks until Monday 11 February, with entrants being drawn following the closing date. Full terms and conditions of the ballot and the event can be found at www.theatrebythelake.com/terms-and-conditions.
Tickets are priced at £55 (with £45 bar stools), with an allocation of complimentary tickets offered to Ewanrigg Local Trust and ENTRA (Ewanrigg and Netherton Tenants Association), Cumbria Carers, Hospice at Home, CFM Cash4Kids, Carlisle Youth Zone and Calvert Trust.
In a move to recognise the loyalty of the theatre’s regular audience and supporters, one third of the theatre’s available seats will be weighted towards regular attenders, supporters and Friends of Theatre by the Lake. Other than the tickets offered to local community groups, tickets can only be accessed via entering the ballot (TBTL staff, trustees and volunteers will all have to enter the ballot like everyone else).
All profits from this special performance will raise funds to benefit TBTL’s work supporting local communities, through initiatives such as their schools programme, Young and Elders Companies, and Setting the Scene workshops for people living with dementia and their carers.
McKellen’s solo show will play on 80 stages across the UK, and is a mixture of anecdote and acting, including Tolkien, Shakespeare – and the audience themselves. The tour is in celebration of McKellen’s 80th birthday and aims to raise funds for the host theatres.
Rachel Swift, Head of Communications at Theatre by the Lake, said: “August 2019 promises to be an exciting month for Theatre by the Lake as we welcome Sir Ian McKellen to TBTL and celebrate our 20th birthday.
“Good luck to everyone entering the ballot – we’ve been delighted with the response we’ve had so far. For anyone who’s disappointed (and please note, we are expecting demand to far outweigh availability) we’d encourage you to take a look at the rest of TBTL’s programme – we may not have Ian McKellen performing every night but we have a lot of other brilliant work and talent on our stages.”
To enter the ballot for tickets for ‘Ian McKellen on Stage’ please visit www.theatrebythelake.com/ian. The ballot for tickets will close on Monday 11 February, with successful entrants being contacted shortly after this date. In addition a paper form of the ballot can be either picked up from the theatre’s Box Office or downloaded online from www.theatrebythelake.com/ian.
