The Theater Card: Tripled in Three Years
In the spring of 2020, Kilden launched the Theater Card, a pass that allows audiences to see as much theater as they want over the course of a full year. Over the past three years, demand for the Theater Card has tripled, and the theater has now been forced to halt sales after 1,000 cards were sold.
“It’s really great that so many people have purchased the Theater Pass for next year. Of course, we want as many people as possible to have the opportunity to see theater, but due to space constraints at the smaller venues, we have no choice but to set a limit,” saysValborg Frøysnes, artistic director at Kilden .
The 2025 Theater Pass is now sold out, but tickets are still available for all Kilden performances in 2025. The 2026 Theater Pass will go on sale in October 2025.
“We want our programming to reach a wide audience. With this pass, the public will have the opportunity to experience a variety of performances, including both the major main-stage productions and the smaller, more intimate shows,” says Frøysnes.
Every week, we see news stories about rising prices and the high cost of living. Many people are trying to make their money go further and may be cutting back on activities like going to the theater. For the theater director, it has been important to be able to welcome everyone into teatersalen of their financial situation.
Theater Director Valborg Frøysnes at the launch of the 2025 theater season.
“As a regional theater, it’s incredibly important for us to keep prices low and offer good deals to our audience, so that anyone who wants to can afford to go to the theater,” Frøysnes continues.
Valborg Frøysnes in conversation with Tonje Sannes from SPEKTRA, who is currently featured in *Klagesangen*, and Peder Horgen from Scenekunst Sør.
The Theater Card has long since proven to be a great idea, but even though the theater director would have liked to have come up with the idea himself, the card was inspired by a similar program a little further west.
“We’re lucky to have a dramaturg from Rogaland who had noticed that the regional theater there offered something similar,” says Frøysnes.
Coming up in 2025
The Lament
The Count of Monte Cristo
Word
The Ugly Duckling
Ghosts
Small Talk
Snow Sister
The theater also benefits from having a large group of people with close ties to it.
“It’s a wonderful way for us to build closer ties with our audience. Through special events where audience members are invited to meet directors, set designers, and actors, they gain greater insight into the processes behind our productions and the complexity of the theater’s inner workings. At the same time, we get direct contact with theater enthusiasts in the region and the opportunity to receive feedback on what we’re doing at the theater,” says Frøysnes.
In the first year the Theater Card was introduced, it attracted 300 holders; the following year, that number doubled to 600. This year, the milestone of 1,000 Theater Card holders has been reached, much to the delight of everyone at Kilden .
Holders of the Theater Card recently responded to a survey sent out by Kilden . In the survey, the freedom of choice that comes with the card was cited as a key factor in why they wanted to be part of the theater community.
Kilden ensemble at this year's theater launch.
“Freedom of choice, price, and the opportunity to immerse oneself are key reasons for purchasing the pass. In 2025, the Theater Pass includes seven performances, and of course, if you wish, you’re free to see the same performance multiple times,” says Frøysnes.
The 2025 program features performances covering a wide range of themes, including dark comedy, children’s shows, major classics, and groundbreaking new works—which is perhaps why so many people have become holders of this coveted card.
In an interview conducted earlier this year with theater season ticket holders and married couple Mats Hatlevik and Kristin Øygarden, they highlighted the opportunity to see plays they might not otherwise have seen.
“For us, it’s the diverse program—whether the productions are big or small, well-known or obscure—that’s the deciding factor. I’m not sure we would have seen such a wide variety of shows if it weren’t for the Theater Card,” Mads said in the interview.
As a theater cardholder, you also receive special offers and discounted tickets to other events at Kilden, as well as free membership in the newly established Friends Association Applaus.