Belvoir Makes Peter Pan Free for Newstart Families
$35 a day won't get you theatre tickets, so Belvoir are helping out.
Theatre company Belvoir has made itself the hero of children, grown-ups, and welfare advocates alike by announcing its new production of Peter Pan will be free for families on Newstart.
Belvoir's initiative is a big thumb-of-the-nose to the Federal Government, who on January 1 reduced the benefit available to single-parent families by moving them from the parenting payment to Newstart. It's attracted extra ire since Families Minister Jenny Macklin claimed she could live on Newstart, which is currently just $35 a day.
"At Belvoir we think theatre is a necessity, but we know that for a lot of families it is a luxury, especially for single parent families," Belvoir said in a statement. "We'd like to share the joy of theatre with some of these families."
Peter Pan, which opens tomorrow, is a perfect family show that comes complete with an ensemble cast of theatre's cheekiest. The poster boy for never-ending youth with the sociable habit of flying into strangers' windows will be played by Meyne Wyatt, who has brought a contagious energy to each show he's done from Silent Disco to Buried City and was most recently seen in the hit film The Sapphires. Charlie Garber, John Leary, and Geraldine Hakewill are his allies in Neverlandian adventure.
The team claims to have been struck by the strange, wholly un-Disney-like quality of JM Barrie's original text, which is what they'll be bringing to the fore in their adaptation. The undertaking is helmed by artistic director Ralph Myers with Tommy Murphy as dramaturg — sure hands at plotting a course past the second star to the right and straight on till morning.
The free tickets to Peter Pan are limited and can be secured by getting in touch with Belvoir.
