Arts festival bosses defend Russell Brand ticket prices

Bosses of a British arts festival have defended the price of tickets to Russell Brand's book reading for kids following criticism over the cost.

The Forgetting Sarah Marshall star has re-written classic tale The Pied Piper of Hamelin as a book for youngsters, and he hopes the story will encourage them to follow his anti-democracy revolutionary beliefs when they are older.

He is set to give a reading of the book at London's Southbank Center next Friday (20Feb15) as part of the venue's Imagine Children's Festival, but he has come under fire over the price of tickets.

Entry to the event costs $8 for kids and $22.40 for adults as well as a booking fee, while many other activities at the arts center are free, and some fans have griped that families could be priced out.

A spokesperson for the festival tells Britain's Daily Star newspaper, "The range of prices vary for different events. It's got to do with the scale and the size of the rooms. But more than 50 per cent of the festival is free."