As we approach the first post-pandemic Christmas, venues around the country are busy publishing promotional pictures of their casts, selling tickets and preparing to stage the annual extravaganza that is the family Pantomime. They will all be hoping that they see a surge in ticket buying as audiences return to live theatre and that collectively they get close to the 3 million tickets, £60 million of Box Office, that is usually achieved and is so vital to the regional sector.
Pantomime is often a child's first experience of live theatre and therefore it hopefully plays a critical role in establishing a young person’s love of live entertainment. It is also a unique shared experience, not just as the family go together but the genre is built on audience interactions and traditional calls and shout outs.
This uniquely British, vital genre of regional Theatre has been celebrated each year since 2016 by the Pantomime Awards and the UK Pantomime Association is gearing up for a relaunch to celebrate the Cast and Creatives who put on these magical shows that run through December 2021 into January 2022. The UK Pantomime Awards expects to cover over 200 venues productions this year with an Award ceremony in Spring 2022.
They are gearing up to visit these venues and this week put a call out for prospective judges to add to their core team to ensure they can send at least two judges to each show to assess them against professionally established criteria for was Awards. They seek applicants who fit one of these three groups:
A professional pantomime performance or production credit
A journalistic/reviewing background
A seasoned audience member with a critical eye
Successful applicants will be expected to attend an online training course, see a minimum of eight shows in the season and complete a show report on the awards portal.
Anyone can apply via this link:
Whether you are a judge or not, check out your local venues offering and book to take the family to see Pantomime again this Christmas. It will not be an escape from Covid as they are certain to be full of topical Covid references and jokes but at least we can laugh together now that we seem to be getting on top of the crisis.
Oh Yes, we can!
Article by Nick Wayne
