THE curtain went up yesterday on an incentive scheme to reward the loyalty of regular theatregoers.

TheatreCard entitles holders to the first chance to book for shows at the Sunderland Empire as well as occasional discounts and other ticket offers.

For an annual £25 fee, members receive a priority season brochure to enable early booking for all performances at the Empire, while they also have access to an exclusive hotline number to the box office.

Discount rewards to holders will be better value than any other ticket offers made available to the public.

It replaces the Friends of the Empire Theatre group, which was considered outdated for modern audiences.

Empire general manager Dominic Stokes said all 130 friends automatically received a TheatreCard, and several hundred others are in the process of being sent to interested members of the public across the North-East.

He said: "I decided I wanted to make a more attractive package to treat our regulars as well as we can, so we've completely overhauled the scheme.

"We spoke to a lot of younger audiences who didn't particularly want to join a friends group because it sounds a little bit old fashioned.

"This is where the TheatreCard idea stemmed from, and the underlying message is that holders are entitled to better offers than any concession available to the public."

The theatre, run for the past three years by Clear Channel Entertainment on behalf of the Sunderland Empire Trust, is enjoying a successful run.

Its latest West End hit show, Cats, which runs until May 17, is breaking box office records, previously surpassed by The King and I, last November, and the Peter Pan Christmas panto run.

Further details on TheatreCard and all shows are available from the box office, on 0191-514 2517.