Am-dram can only benefit from the free theatre ticket scheme

guardian.co.uk: "The National Operatic and Dramatic Association is outraged today on behalf of its members – the country's admirable amateur companies. NODA has taken exception to the Arts Council and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport linking up to encourage young people's interest in theatre by distributing free tickets to see excellent professional productions. NODA's chief executive Tony Gibbs fumed: 'If DCMS and the Arts Council really want to encourage young people to participate in the arts, they should be focusing on funding those very young people to participate at a local level in the first instance as opposed to issuing such gimmicks.'"