Record breaking pantomime success!
Mon 11 Jan 2016During the course of it’s run, it was seen by 95,685 people, making it our most popular pantomime ever, with the theatre being 99% full across the whole of the run.
Our previous record was just over 90,000 ticket sold for Jack And The Beanstalk in 2013/14.
It wasn’t just ticket sales that broke records. We also sold more ice creams than we ever have before, in fact, enough to fill 41 baths or 459 pairs of Wellington boots (please don’t ask us how we worked that out!).
You don’t sell that many tickets for a production that’s anything less than brilliant, and this year’s pantomime wowed audiences and critics alike. Reviewing the show for The Stage, Susan Elkin gave the production five stars (the first time she’s ever awarded this to a panto in twenty years of reviewing them) and said it was, “Excellent in every way”, adding “Everything about this show glitters with quality.”.
Highlights of the production included our EastEnders star Rita Simons (playing the Wicked Queen) showing off her brilliant singing voice with a rendition of Sweet Child O’Mine, a new version of our ghost gag bench featuring some scary 3D ghosts and spiders, and a death-(or at least serious injury) defying roller skating scene. Plus of course the usual comic brilliance from Phil Gallagher, Lloyd Hollett and our very own pantomime dame Ben Roddy.
Snow White was produced by our regular partners Evolution, led by husband and wife team Paul Hendy and Emily Wood. Paul was also responsible for writing and directing the production (so if any of the puns made you groan, he’s the one to blame). We’d like to say a big thank you to the whole Evolution team, and the cast and crew, for putting on such a fabulous show, along with our own Marlowe Theatre staff team who were responsible for the warm welcome you received when visiting. Most of all we’d like to thank our wonderful audiences for giving the show such a great reception.
We know that some of our audiences were unable to get tickets due to high demand, but never fear, our pantomime will return next year with a production of Dick Whittington, the original great British pantomime. This will be produced by the same team behind this year’s extravaganza and it will once again feature the fabulous Ben Roddy, along with an exciting cast that we’ll be announcing in the summer. You can buy your tickets now from our Box Office – it’s never too early to start preparing for Christmas.