ONLY TWO YEARS ago, at London’s Theatre 2001 conference, the former National Theatre boss, Sir Richard Eyre, pressed upon the assembled arts bigwigs the importance of lowering ticket prices. “To be asked to pay £25 or £30 to see a modestly successful production in the theatre,” he said, “when you can buy a hardback book or CD for half the price, or go to the cinema for a third of it, just doesn’t wash. On top of that, to be asked to pay £3 for a programme and £2 for a Coke might go some way to explaining why the young are reluctant to go to the theatre.”