The Theatre Chipping Norton has announced that they will be postponing their panto for the first time in 48 years.
A statement from the theatre said: It is with great sadness that we are announcing the postponement of our autumn programme of live events and our pantomime, Rapunzel. The Theatre panto has been performed, without interruption, for the last 47 years. Sadly, for us and many fellow venues across the country, the risks of proceeding with a show this year are simply too great. Being such a small venue, social distancing measures mean that much of our programme becomes financially unviable. Most of the live shows planned for this autumn have now been rescheduled to spring 2021.
Director of The Theatre, John Terry said: “We have searched and searched for a way of continuing the sacred tradition of the Chippy Pantomime, but it simply isn’t possible to get the show on without gambling the entire theatre’s future. It is heartbreaking for everyone at the theatre to be unable to welcome people into a building that should be busy and full of life”
However, it’s not all bad news from the Cotswolds-based theatre. In addition to announcing the panto postponement, the theatre today announced that they are “formulating cunning plans for a smaller pop-up show to celebrate Christmas with our loyal audiences, and Rapunzel will return, bigger and better than ever, for Christmas 2021”
John Terry added: “We are pleased that we can at least continue with some cinema programming and our incredible youth theatre and community programme. We are planning and hoping that we can return in the Spring, ready for action!”
The venue’s arthouse cinema will be offering a slimmed-down programme of socially distanced cinema and screenings with dates and titles to be announced in the coming weeks – so keep your eyes peeled!
The statement continued: “This is not the end of the road for The Theatre Chipping Norton. We continue to face unprecedented uncertainty over the coming year – uncertainty that has shaken this much loved and unique organisation to its foundations. But, with the ongoing support of our community, we are determined and unshaken in our belief that this beautiful theatre, founded over four decades ago, will be here, still creative and ambitious, for many decades to come.”
The venue will begin contacting ticket holders over the next two weeks, and asks that customers please wait to be contacted by them to arrange transferring or refunding their tickets.
Here are some ways you can help support the theatre during this difficult time:
- Donate to The Theatre’s Head Above Water fundraising campaign
- Donate the value of your tickets to The Theatre
- Holding the value of your tickets as a Box Office credit to use for a future event
- Purchasing Theatre vouchers or a Friends Membership as a gift
- Purchasing a Membership for yourself
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