The Xmas pantos are being cancelled

[TBHno]

1st world problem , I know...

My local theatre has just cancelled their Xmas panto

Panto is something I look forward to every Christmas. As a kid, I even performed in them a few times. Seeing one in the run-up to xmas is a big part of the hype for me. Seeing the kids get all dressed up and excited is great too.

It's one of those things that has to be live because the participation is a big part of it.

Xmas just won't be the same.

Gutted.
DH is a musician in the pit - not had any work since March. Falls through the gaps for any support. Our local theatres have said they’re definitely shut til April.

Theatre is already on its knees in my city.
5+ years ago, there was a fire that destroyed the infrastructure of the main threatre/ concert venue. It was underinsured, and there's been much political wrangling that's gone nowhere.

Meanwhile the small threatre used by communities, am dram and small groups has also been closed for 18m due to major structural problems in a complex historic building.

That leaves another small theatre saved by the university about a decade ago which mainly shows small professional plays.

It's ripped a lot of soul out of the centre. Two of the major buildings in the market place standing empty, not providing customers to the bars and restaurants.

The panto and some other events are held at a sports venue away from the centre. It lacks atmosphere, and people drive up, and don't bother with the chain restaurants 500m away. Generally people go to the next city 15 miles away where the city centre is alive at night.

It's not just the loss of a jolly, twee panto at the end of a shit year when we could do with some irreverent laughs. It's the loss of a significant proportion of the performing arts industry, on stage, front of house and back stage and all the other businesses that rely on theatres to pull the custom in.

Losing panto leaves us much poorer economically and its wider cultural effect.
Oh yes it does.

My teenager has found puberty/growing up/conformity difficult; her musical theatre classes are her escape and a safe place for expression. I don’t like the idea she might lose that - after all, what’s the point in learning for the stage if there will be no more stages?

This is all utterly tragic reading.

While I detest panto, I love theatre and it's really, really bad news for the industry. ALW's test at the Palladium was a sorry sight and just not financially viable for theatres. It's really worrying.

Sorry part of your Christmas tradition has been ruined, OP. I'd got tickets to take my DD to see Frozen in December, which has been delayed until next Spring! Not quite the same. It's massively disappointing. Maybe start planning some other things Christmassy now that you could do to offset a little of the disappointment.

Christmas is going to look a lot different this year to everyone.

I’ve never been to a panto nor would ever want to BUT this is bad. I saw news story saying this would be 2.3 million loss for the industry. I’m going to have to check that because that seems a very small amount surely given how many there are and how popular and how many are involved ?

Really fearing for actors - mostly for those not headlining things like this (minor celebs/locals with other paid stuff going on). Know several who work week by week doing a huge range of low paid performance related stuff - struggling. Plus musicians, dancers etc etc.

*drspouse

We have been told that the Y1 Christmas concert is definitely online, but they are going to try and do the Reception nativity and the Y2 one in person, plus the KS2 service (but that's in a large church so with repeats they might manage that).*

Thanks for this. I can't imagine it online..I think they need to try to establish some degree of festive normality. Maybe reduced audiences is better than no one attending.

@manicinsomniac.. thanks very much for listing all the shows which you intend to hold. I think like I said above there needs to be some degree of normality for the kids and parents. If they intend to go ahead with the nativity this year I'm going to personally see to it that a photo is sent to the local paper otherwise DS grandparents will never forgive me! They looked last year and the school hadn't sent it.

A lot of normal UK christmas stuff won’t happen. Grottos, meeting Santa, nativity, chorals etc is all very likely to be impossible.
I’m quite happy about that (not from the UK, and christmas is much less commercials where I come from), but its going to be interesting for the uk population.

I hate panto. Would never go again. Offensive, expensive and basically a bit shit. However I usually take the kids to shows at a few different local independent theatres throughout the year and they all usually do a fantastic job of putting on performances at xmas. Gutted that they aren't running this year, just hoping they can get back up and running again soon.

I am surprised it's taken so long. The theatre and events industry is suffering. 85% of the industry is freelance with people going from contract to contract. And that doesn't include the entire chain (eg kit hire, manufacturers). I changed career a few years ago but it's awful watching friends and former colleagues go through this.

Lift lockdown and these issues go away

But yes, the effect on the art/music sector will be devastating.

@user1471500037

Lift lockdown and these issues go away

Really? What about if we end up with a second peak and everything has to shut down again. I'm not sure that would be helpful. I'm all for opening things back up again as quickly as it is safe to do so but to put several hundred people in an enclosed space for 2 hours, twice a day for two months doesn't seem the most sensible idea.

I think the theatre industry will never be the same again. There will be a move towards smaller productions, outside or partially outside venues, moving performances around, solo theatre pieces and by next summer we could all be enjoying live shows and performances in some form but the big old theatres/pantos/west end shows will struggle to recover from this.

@Theluggage15

‘We will adapt’ said by someone who’s not going to suffer like all the thousands of people in this industry. Sanctimonious shit. It’s just a completely selfish attitude seen again and again during this crisis. It may not matter to you but most people see their jobs as fucking essential, not something they do for a laugh. Not essential to you, you mean. Presumably you don’t need to worry about money, how nice.

Funnily enough the arts industry is essential to this country and here’s a bit of news, unless you’re a multi millionaire, everyone is going to suffer in the economic shit storm coming.

This with bells on. The naivety and ‘thickness’ is astonishing.

@HeronLanyon

I’ve never been to a panto nor would ever want to BUT this is bad. I saw news story saying this would be 2.3 million loss for the industry. I’m going to have to check that because that seems a very small amount surely given how many there are and how popular and how many are involved ?

Really fearing for actors - mostly for those not headlining things like this (minor celebs/locals with other paid stuff going on). Know several who work week by week doing a huge range of low paid performance related stuff - struggling. Plus musicians, dancers etc etc.

I've seen in an article according to a report into the impact of Covid 19 by the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Committee. The total loss of income will be some £630m - I think that's for all cancelled theatre productions across the UK

It's awful. I love pantomimes - like other PPs in Liverpool we go to the brilliant Everyman one but the Epstein one is always my favourite. I always get in there early for the front row seats and it's sad we won't be there this year. There's all the other shows as well, the Phil, the grottos. I'm so glad we did absolutely everything with DD last year when she was 7, she only believed in Santa then as present insurance but she wasn't immune to the magic. Oh, circuses too. I miss those as well. And the little travelling fair with old-fashioned, rusty rides and a fantastic atmosphere that's only a fiver each. I hope they all cling on. We'll be straight back as soon they reopen if they do.

Christmas will be very different and much quieter but I don't think this means it will be any less commercialised.

If we cannot have the traditional religious celebration of Christmas (busy churches for collective worship with lots of carol-singing) and we cannot have the traditional secular celebration (extended families coming together in large numbers indoors) then the commercial activity of shopping will be one of the few activities not disrupted.

bellain yes my mistake. I had thought it was just the l’anti sector. It’s a bbc news story - the 2.3 mill loss relates to the Kings Theatre Edinburgh panto loss. That makes more sense. Apols all.
Yes sector-wide this is a disaster. I’ve donated a few cancelled ticket amounts back to venues but obviously not everyone can or wants to afford and it’s a tiny drop in the ocean.

I think it’s sad that this year we don’t have anything to look
Forward to. Bonfire night is cancelled (the big display that we go to) and now all the Xmas stuff. I just hope it can start getting back to normal next year, if there’s anything left!

This has made me really ill for the last couple of weeks. Panto is my jam - I perform in one every year.
I do panto, then a Shakespeare production, some kind of kids theatre show (think Matilda or the secret garden) and then a murder mystery. Every year.
It’s my space to be me, it’s a hobby, yes, but it’s the only time in a week when I get to be ME and no “mummmy, mummmmmmy” all day long. The lack of performances this year has been a killer on my mental health and it’s devastating that am-drams groups like mine might fold because of this stupid virus.

Toffee why are your am dram groups in trouble? I do a lot of theatre too with two different groups (1 musical theatre and 1 straight) and I miss rehearsing, performing and socialising terribly. But I've got no reason to think we'll fold? There's nothing going on at the moment but, unlike the professional arts industry, we aren't spending any money while waiting. Everything's just on hold till we can get together again. Are yours not the same?

If it’s anything like the groups my son is part of the youth part were half way through rehearsing for a show supposed to have been performed in June & the adult group had been due to perform in May.

Both shows would have incurred considerable expense, (rehearsal room hire, performing rights, insurances, props and costumes were sourced, sets were booked). This stuff would have been paid for from ticket sales from their last show.

Now there is nothing in the kitty for the next show whenever that will be. Some stuff can be carried forward but a lot can’t. They can’t just pick up where they left off. The shows will have to be re-cast due to members going off to uni, having GCSE/A level exams during next years show period etc. My sons group are trying to fundraise and some members who are In the position to have donated their subs/show fees from the cancelled shows but not all can do that.

@IDSNeighbour - because we are still required to pay membership to the actors’ guild, our memberships for bizzy scripts Etc and we already booked rehearsal space - that still needs to be paid for as the spaces we book didn’t give us any refunds.
So whilst we are currently ok, we are loosing money as a charity at a rate that is far from comfortable TBH, and I’m not sure that many of our group would be able to put their hands in their pockets and pay out. Usually the other 3 shows we do pay for us to be able to do Shakespeare (which is a massive passion of mine and a lot of our actors just love doing it so we do it at a loss usually). Next year because of the way the finances have gone we won’t be able to do Shakespeare which means some of our more talented actors will leave the group as they did Panto only because it meant the Shakespeare production was viable.