Theatre woos young with cheap bar

Cheap seats and cheaper alcohol are part of the cocktail the National Theatre hopes will bring back young people.

The NT has unveiled 13 world premieres that will feature in Transformations, the radical scheme that from May to September will see the Lyttelton theatre divided into two in the hope of luring the twentysomethings.

Seats for the Transformation will cost as little as £6 for under 25s, and the NT's Terrace Caf? will be transformed into a late-licence bar. Transformation's director Mick Gordon said: "It will be a place to chill out - basically the green room for the public and the artists."

Among the productions in the transformed Lyttelton space, Saffron Burrows will star in an adaptation of Jeannette Winterson's novel The PowerBook. In the 100-seat Loft space, highlights will include Sing Yer Heart Out For The Lads, by Roy Williams, winner of last year's Standard award for Most Promising Playwright.

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