£10 tickets to see puppet musical

Sir Cameron Mackintosh is re-structuring the ticket prices to his adult puppet musical Avenue Q in a bid to get a younger audience to the West End.

Tickets on weekdays will have a top price of £35 with the lowest price of £10. Currently being staged at the Noel Coward Theatre, producers are hoping to broaden the appeal of the cult American musical which features songs including Everyone's A Little Bit Racist and characters named Lucy The Slut and Trekkie Monster.

Sir Cameron is keen to lure young punters who have heard about Avenue Q through word of mouth or online and who do not attend the theatre on a regular basis. Friday night and weekend performances will stay at their current prices which extend to £50.

The move comes amid growing theatre industry belief that the top prices for top West End shows, which range between £40 and £65, are too expensive for ordinary London theatregoers.

Sir Cameron said: "Avenue Q is alive and more than kicking but research has shown that there is a market for an audience who would come to off-peak performances and pay a top price of £35. I want an increase audiences at a price that theatregoers want to pay.

"Avenue Q has been playing to good but not spectacular business since it opened. We always knew it would be a long haul. But unlike most shows which take a tumble in December and January, business is amazingly consistent. Our advance is now stronger than when we opened.

"It's a quirky, different show that audiences enjoy - we're not trying to compete with Spamalot or Wicked. This is an experiment and if it's not going to work with Avenue Q, I don't know what show it could work with."

Boasting a cast of unknowns, Avenue Q overcame mixed critical notices to become a West End mainstay through word of mouth since it opened in June. Among those to have witnessed the irreverent New York coming of age musical are Avenue Q are Cherie Blair, Graham Norton and Matt Lucas.

The musical started out as the little-known debut musical by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx but has gone on to become one of Broadway's biggest hits since it opened in 2003, winning three Tony Awards a year later.