Most Christmas events have been cancelled across the country, from ice-skating to Christmas markets. But pantomimes are still going on.
The long-running Christmas tradition has been affected by coronavirus and lockdown.
Are pantos allowed this year?
Current coronavirus social distancing rules mean that theatres would only be able to use 50% of their capacity.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson had previously expressed his hope of a “more significant return to normality” by Christmas.
He announced a £1.57bn coronavirus lifeline for the arts in July, which allows venues to apply for emergency grants and loans.
How is the Cheltenham Everyman is still putting on a show?
Many theatres across Gloucestershire have been unable to put on pantomimes for the first time in decades.
Cheltenham Everyman Theatre had to delay their original panto ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’ until next year, replacing it with Tweedy’s Reduced Pantomime.
Its opening night is on 4th December, just two days after lockdown is planned to be lifted. The performances are planned to run until 3rd January.
David Allen, Marketing Director at Cheltenham Everyman, said: “Every bit of it is different. We’re at half of our normal capacity. Normally we’re at just over 700 seats and now we’re only able to at a maximum get 350 people in.”
“This year for the first time we haven’t built a whole new set or created new costumes for this show. We’ve put it together from shows we’ve done in the past from previous performances.”
The performance has been reduced to only 7 cast-members; last year they had 9 cast members as well as over 20 child actors from local schools.
What is the Cheltenham Everyman theatre doing to keep people safe?
They’ve been rehearsing at the Cheltenham Everyman during lockdown wearing face visors and adhering to social distancing. The pantomime features a mixture of traditional pantos we all know.
The show is only running 38 performances this year -they ran 78 performances last year.
Due to social distancing restrictions seats are being sold in pods of 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 seats.
You book your tickets for Tweedy’s Reduced Pantomime here.
