Train and theatre tickets for under £20 – West Midlands Railway partners with the Royal Shakespeare Company

Thursday, 8 November 2018

West Midlands Railway and the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) are partnering on an initiative to offer train and theatre tickets for under £20.

The new Rush Tickets will be available for shows in Stratford-upon-Avon, with a return ticket to Birmingham Snow Hill coming in at a combined price of under £20 per person.

The offer will be available from midday every Friday, offering a limited number of tickets to see shows the following week at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre and Swan Theatre in the town.

West Midlands Railway operates frequent train services from Birmingham Snow Hill and Moor Street stations to Stratford-upon-Avon, approximately 10-12 minutes walk from either theatre. With the last train back to Birmingham leaving at 11.30pm Monday-Saturday, there is plenty of time to catch the last service home after a performance.

Francis Thomas, head of corporate affairs for West Midlands Railway said, "The Royal Shakespeare Company are a world class theatre company and a global ambassador for our region. We have been greatly impressed by the RSC's education programme and are keen to explore how we can work together to bring more young people closer to Stratford's Shakespearean history and culture. Rush Tickets are just the start of our partnership, and we look forward to bringing more people into Stratford to enjoy their performances."

Catherine Mallyon, executive director at the RSC said, “We are delighted to be partnering with West Midlands Railway on our Rush tickets scheme, with tickets available from just £10. We want as many people as possible to enjoy theatre at its best and are always looking for new and creative ways to bring our work to the widest audience. By partnering with West Midlands Railway, we hope to give even more people from across the Midlands network the opportunity to experience the work of the RSC in the heart of Shakespeare’s Stratford”.

For further information on this release, call our press office on 03300 955150 or email [email protected]

About the Royal Shakespeare Company

The RSC’s aim is to make the finest theatre productions of Shakespeare's plays, as well as other plays written when Shakespeare was alive or soon after and plays being written right now.Over 1 million visitors pass through the Royal Shakespeare Theatre and Swan Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon each year.

Each year the RSC reaches more than 1,200 schools and 500,000 children and young people through our Education work , transforming experiences of Shakespeare in the classroom, on performance and online

For more information visit https://www.rsc.org.uk

About Rush tickets

• Rush Tickets are allocated on a first come, first served basis and are only available online.
• Each person can book a maximum of two Rush tickets each week.
• Rush tickets may only be available in certain levels of the auditoria and on particular price bands.
• Terms and conditions apply. Subject to availability. No promotional code needed for this offer.

For more information visit www.rsc.org.uk/rush-tickets

About West Midlands Trains

West Midlands Trains operates both West Midlands Railway and London Northwestern Railway services.

• London Northwestern Railway services operate between Liverpool and Birmingham, and on the West Coast mainline to and from London Euston.

• West Midlands Railway services operate to destinations across the West Midlands via Birmingham New Street.

For more information on these services visit westmidlandsrailway.co.uk or londonnorthwesternrailway.co.uk

The West Midlands Trains franchise started on 10 December 2017 and will run until 2025/26.

West Midlands Trains operates 1,300 services a day, manages 150 stations and provides over 70 million passenger journeys a year. Over the course of the franchise, West Midlands Trains will be investing £1 billion into the rail network to deliver new trains, improved routes and station upgrades. This will include 400 new train carriages across the network and space for an extra 85,000 passengers into Birmingham and London at peak times.

The franchise is a joint venture between Abellio (70.1% share) and East Japan Railway Company / Mitsui & Co., Ltd (29.9% share in a 50:50 split). Abellio is the international passenger transport subsidiary of the Dutch national railway company, Nederlandse Spoorwegen. In the UK, Abelllio operates ScotRail and Greater Anglia train services, Merseyrail services in a joint venture with Serco and buses through Abellio London. For more information visit www.abellio.com

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