Pantomime season is over! Oh, yes it is!

Theatres across Scotland are suffering greatly this Christmas with the loss of their busiest season of the year, pantomime season, due to the social distancing restrictions imposed by the Government to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Many theatres and live venues are losing out on thousands of pounds in ticket sales due to this, which is resulting in possible closure for a lot of these venues as they are not able to financially support themselves without the business they would usually generate over the Christmas period. 

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In March, theatres were told to close their doors and have not been able to open since. Grants have been allocated to these venues that have not been able to safely open during the pandemic, however, theatres are arguing that they will still not be able to stay open without the usual Christmas business they would generate.

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The Kings theatre announced in August that they would be postponing their pantomime Sleeping Beauty this year until November 2021. This pantomime alone would normally have generated 30% of the Kings Theatres yearly income, resulting in a loss of £2.3 million for the theatre this year when it needs it most.

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Capital Thetares released a press release in which their Chief Executive, Fiona Gibson, said " The impact of the global pandemic has been devastating on all theatres, and it has become a reality that to keep everyone safe and the organisation secure, mounting a full-scale production without social distancing in the current cycle would be challenging.

 

Since we closed our doors on the 16 March we have had no source of trading income, have refunded millions of pounds in tickets and cancelled, rescheduled or postponed scores of performances. Without doubt the loss of the Kings Pantomime is our biggest blow to date.”

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If you would like to donate to Capital Theatres during this difficult time for them, please click here.