1,500 London Children Are First Inside Unicorn
Barclays announces new community initiative enabling 1,500 London school children to see the first ever production at the new Unicorn Theatre

19 September 2005: Barclays First Class, a new community initiative from Barclays PLC, will enable over 1,500 school children - drawn from schools in each of London's 33 boroughs - to see the first ever production at the new £13m Unicorn Theatre, it was announced today.

The Unicorn Theatre is the first ever purpose built theatre for children in the UK. Situated close to City Hall on the south bank, it is destined to become a national cultural flagship and international centre of excellence, playing to over 100,000 children a year when it opens in December 2005.

The schools taking part in Barclays First Class are those serving some of the most disadvantaged communities in their borough, emphasising Unicorn and Barclays' commitment to make the new theatre accessible to all children regardless of background or parental income.

Barclays First Class will give children, many of whom will be experiencing theatre for the first time, a unique opportunity to be the first inside the iconic Unicorn and see its opening production, Tom's Midnight Garden from 24 November, before the theatre opens to the public. Barclays will provide transport, tickets, t-shirts, programmes and ice creams as part of the initiative.

Debbie Philips, Community Manager, Barclays PLC said: "At Barclays we are committed to communities and we are delighted to support the new Unicorn Theatre. This is a great opportunity for us to help make a real and lasting difference to the local community".

Tony Graham, Artistic Director, Unicorn Theatre said: "The transformative power of theatre in the lives of children is a belief that drives the Unicorn. We have always aimed to reach out to all children regardless of their circumstances, and Barclays First Class helps us do this in the opening week of the theatre, underlining our commitment to access for all from the very beginning."

Further information and Images
This press release is supported via a dedicated Unicorn Theatre section at www.kallaway.co.uk/unicorn_season. All information about the new season is detailed including high resolution images for download. All other Unicorn press releases and high resolution photographs are also available.

Unicorn Theatre Season Brochure
To request a Unicorn Season Brochure please contact Sally Wrench at the Unicorn theatre on 0207 697 1167 or email sally.wrench@unicorntheatre.com. The Unicorn Season Brochure can also be downloaded from www.kallaway.co.uk/unicorn.htm. To join Unicorn's mailing list, please visit www.unicorntheatre.com.

Barclays
Barclays is committed to playing a leading role in the communities it serves and invests one per cent of pre-tax profits in community activity. In 2004 this amounted to £32 million and over 25 thousand (1 in 3) Barclays people took part in fundraising and volunteering activities. For more information visit www.barclays.co.uk/community

Contacts
Unicorn Theatre
Tony Graham, Artistic Director, (Please contact Rhona Foulis on 0207 697 1157 or rhona.foulis@unicorntheatre.com).
Eva Woloshyn, Development Director, 0207 697 1171 eva.woloshyn@unicorntheatre.com
Emma Simon, Marketing Director, 0207 697 1168 emma.simon@unicorntheatre.com

Kallaway Ltd
William Kallaway, 020 7221 7883, william@kallaway.co.uk
Anna Cusden, 020 7221 7883, anna.cusden@kallaway.co.uk

Barclays PLC
Debbie Phillips, Community Manager, London and South East Region (LASER)
Team phone: 020 7116 6186 Mobile: 07775 548 002 debbie.phillips@barclays.co.uk