The Kings Theatre in the UK city of Portsmouth is offering £10 ($12/€12) tickets for this year’s pantomime, with the hope of enticing crowds after a difficult few years.
This year’s pantomime is ‘Cinderella’ and is set to start at the Kings Theatre on Saturday (December 3). The theatre made 16,500 seats for all 52 performances of the Christmas pantomime available at £10, including booking fees.
The launch of cheap tickets was in addition to the introduction of The Kings Theatre Arts Academy and a £25,000 Scholarship Scheme.
Tickets have been available to book since August, and Paul Woolf, chief executive and producer, said at the time: “The ever-rising cost of living has impacted many across our region. As advocates of the arts and understanding the importance of live theatre, we’re excited to be able to offer this opportunity in the hope that many more people will be able to experience the magic of pantomime this Christmas.
“With the launch of The Kings Theatre Arts Academy and our promise to make theatre more inclusive to anyone who wishes to experience the arts, we’re delighted that we can offer significantly cheaper tickets to the best pantomime on the south coast.”
Ben Ofoedu, who plays Dandini in the pantomime, told ITV News: “I love panto. I’m so excited because I’ve missed it – I’ve not done it for three years and we had COVID and so much so I think that the theatres are going to be packed.”
This year’s show will be the theatre’s 88th pantomime.