Weymouth Pavilion will stage a Christmas Panto

They're determined for the show to go on.

Author: George Sharpe Published 12th Oct 2020

Weymouth Pavilion's used 600 meters of knicker elastic to enforce social distancing, in a move befitting the upcoming pantomime season.

The theatre was one of the first to reopen once it was allowed in August, with a reduced capacity of around 350.

But, they're determined for the show to go on this Christmas and are taking every precaution to make sure shows are as safe as they can be.

Weymouth Pavilion have used social distancing in the theatre

Alongside just over half a kilometer of underwear elastic - which is neatly stretched across isles to indicate which seats are available - they've introduced a few other measures including:

Temperature taking at the door

A system to make sure you don't pass anyone when getting up to use the toilet

A one way system in and out of the building

Phil Say is one of the directors there, he says:

"We're one of very few theatres that are actually having socially distanced performances. I've worked hard with a lot of producers to make sure that we can put on shows that are financially viable and sensible.

"And obviously this year's Christmas Pantomime, Rapunzel, a lot of similar cast are back, but making sure that the quality of the shows is there and it's strong, and it's what people want to see."

He says people are eager to return to shows and while business isn't as good as most other years, they've been surprised at the amount of take up.

They would usually expect to sell around 200-250 tickets a day at this time of year, but this year they've sold around 100-125 a day - better than Phil expected.

Phil Say says people are itching to get back through the door:

"When we reopened again, and we were lucky enough to be one of the first theatres to reopen in the middle of August

"The patrons that were coming in were so pleased to be back and so happy to come back and support, and so enjoyed the experience of sharing it with other people.

"Definitely, the magic is there. We just need to protect it and maintain it, and then when we get a chance to, when we can open up completely again, the patrons are bursting and desperate to come back to see shows and performances."

The pavilion has launched a fundraising page to help keep it afloat while it waits for shows to return fully.