The Motyer-Fancy Theatre launches initiative to make theatre more accessible
Picture a scenario: a person wakes up worrying about what they are going to eat today. They leave to work their minimum wage job, dreading exhaustion at the end of their shift. On their way from work, they see a poster displaying in bold: “Radical Access — Theatre is for everyone.” They think, am I not everyone? Looking further down on the poster, they read: “Introducing Radical Access at Mount Allison: every Motyer-Fancy Theatre (MFT) performance is just $5 this season.” Although this person may not be real, the radically accessible nature of the MFT season is true thanks to the new $5 ticket program.
In September, the MFT announced a new program, Radical Access: Theatre is for everyone, offering single-tier price tickets for all shows in the 2025-2026 season. Up until this year, the MFT used a ticketing system with different price points for students, adults, and seniors, explained Valmai Goggin, a professor of applied theatre at Mt. A and one of the initiators of Radical Access.
According to Goggin, Radical Access is a philosophy based on two ideas: “art and theatre is for everyone,” and “the financial value of a ticket should not reflect the value of the art.” Although there were discussions of raising the prices of MFT tickets to cover rising costs, according to Goggin, those involved instead settled on the radical and accessible idea of a new ticketing system for the season. This is when the Radical Access initiative came into the discussion. The goal through Radical Access was to lower ticket prices, making the MFT shows accessible to a larger public who are dealing with the rising cost of living.
With the introduction of this new program comes some challenges and “potential drawbacks,” said Goggin recalling discussions with some faculty members. One of the aspects of the Radical Access program Goggin expressed concern about was the question of “will people think less of our program because it’s cheaper?” She called Radical Access “a leap of faith” as lower ticket prices meant requiring more financial support from the University and MFT donors. Financial and social risks of the program is something people behind the Radical Access initiative are willing to take, Goggin highlighted.
Speaking on the confidence behind Radical Access Goggin commented “it’s a very egalitarian approach.” A single-tiered ticket price provides more equal access to MFT shows, regardless of the customer’s age group. Secondly, Goggin mentioned the simplification of budgeting and data projection as a perk when all tickets are the same price. She said “when you have a tiered system, if someone’s mom buys a ticket, it’s $15. But if someone’s friend buys one, it’s $5. So we have to sell more student tickets than adult tickets to hit the same target.”
As Goggin said, the Radical Access program at Mt. A is not a new idea. A successful example of Radical Access in Canadian theatre is the Highland Arts Theatre’s (HAT) Radical Access program. In March 2020, after COVID-19 pandemic forced the Cape Breton based theatre to cancel all shows for an entire season, the HAT launched a campaign to raise money and keep their programs alive. By October 2020, they reached their fundraising goal and provided a year of free of charge access to live shows, videos, podcasts and other resources for anyone interested.
To learn more about Radical Access at Mt.A, check out Mt.A article about the program at:https://mta.ca/about/news/motyer-fancy-theatre-announces-new-radical-access-program-tue-09162025-1216.
If you would like to learn more about the project at Highland Arts Theatre, visit their website at https://www.highlandartstheatre.com/radical-access.