Kevin Spacey has urged theatre bosses to reduce ticket prices or risk alienating a younger generation, insisting it is "short-sighted not to think about your future audiences".
The Hollywood star, who has served as artistic director of the Old Vic Theatre for the past eight years, is worried that young people are being priced out of the West End.
Executives at the Old Vic have recently announced a subsidised ticket scheme for under-25s. Sponsored by PriceWaterhouseCoopers, the theatre offers 100 tickets per performance to youngsters for just £12.
Spacey wants more theatres, both in the UK and America, to offer similar initiatives:
"When I look around at Broadway and the West End, theatre is becoming an exclusive club.
"[It's unaffordable] if you don't have £115 to spend, and that's not talking about parking, dinner, the baby-sitting and everything else. Kids are not going to spend that kind of money. They're going to buy iPads, save the money, or do something else.
"If we don't reach out to make theatre affordable to the young generation we will lose them all. It is so short-sighted not to think about your future audiences.”
Reduced ticket prices is not the only way the Old Vic theatre reaches out to younger audiences. It’s scheme Old Vic New Voices nurtures young talent from local schools and communities.