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It’s the new year. You’re coming down from the adrenaline rush of performing one of our pantomime scripts to fantastic and receptive audiences and reminiscing about the amount of fun you had performing it. You’ve gotten over the post-show blues, and now it’s time to decide on what pantomime you are going to do next. Yes, it’s early in the year, but remember that the pantomime season generates most of the money that will see your theatre group or venue through the rest of the year. So, the decision on which pantomime to produce is an important one.
On the professional side of the industry, it’ll be the producers who will make this decision. If it’s a company like Crossroads Pantomimes or UK Productions, it's likely that they will have a number of shows in various venues and will rotate them around each year while speaking to the venues to make decisions on what show will go where. This will be done through meetings, emails, and phone calls. If it’s a theatre which produces its own shows, then there will be a series of meetings with several members of staff, such as the general manager, the artistic director, the head of stage, LX, and sound. This will take place in one of the theatre’s nice warm offices, adjacent to the dressing rooms with a few brews from Costa. If it’s in the unpaid sector of the industry, it’ll be in a cold church hall on a Tuesday night, with Barbara providing the biscuits, and everyone hoping that there will be a decent amount of Custard Creams. Let’s leave the theatre bigwigs to do what they do. We’ll see which shows they are putting on soon. Grab your coat and scarf. We’re meeting Barbara at the church hall. Let’s go.
We are now at the church hall. You’ve had to park down the street because there are never enough spaces. You walk in, Barbara asks if you want a brew, and Maureen is putting the chairs out in a circle. More and more people start to arrive. This is because, in this sector of the industry, shows will be selected by a committee that’s been democratically elected by the company. In the company I used to perform with, this was the general committee which had been added to by a handful of company members to form the “Show Committee”.
There are certain things that must be taken into consideration when you are deciding on what show to do next. It’s not a decision that should be made on a whim and should not be based on what show everyone fancies doing because the mood is striking them. You must think about what is best for the company. Think with a business mind. Here are a few examples of what you need to consider.
Variety
Pantoland offers a huge variety, so don’t be afraid to explore it and try to avoid doing similar themed shows in consecutive years. If you have just had a successful run with Little Red Riding Hood or Peter Pan, then maybe next year try something completely different like Treasure Island.
What Is Trending?
Have a look around. Are there any stories that are trending now and are popular? At the time of writing, Disney is about to release another live-action movie of a classic pantomime tale in spring 2025. It means that a new, young cinematic audience is about to be introduced to the story. This also means it could go down very well with audiences around the Christmas 2025/2026 season. Check what other shows are going on locally. If it turns out the one-thousand-seater regional theatre in town is producing the same title as the one you want, it wouldn’t be good to be in competition with them. Luckily for you, we have an ever-expanding catalog of scripts available to license. Just click the link here.
The Show Itself
Think about what's included in the show that you want to do. One thing that audiences enjoy is spectacle. The flying in Peter Pan, the magic of Aladdin, or the transformation scene in Beauty & The Beast. When you can pull off spectacles like these, especially on a low budget, your audiences will keep coming back, and your society's reputation will skyrocket.
Is the Script Good?
To produce a successful show, the script must work. It must be exciting, have an engaging storyline, be fast-paced, modern, topical, and contain razor-sharp, witty, inoffensive, relevant jokes. There is a tendency among some societies to go online and buy a script without checking out a perusal copy first. Before they know it, they are rehearsing a script that is tired, old, lacking in pace with dated jokes that would have elicited a few mild chuckles thirty years ago. We provide the opportunity to browse a perusal version of each of our scripts so you can see what everything in the script is like before you buy.
How Large is the Cast?
A lot of your audience members will be friends and relatives of cast members. The bigger the cast, the more audience you are going to attract, especially if some of your cast are younger members. There is a greater chance that they will have more visibility on social media, and therefore a larger following that will buy tickets. Social media is helping more and more societies sell out their tickets faster.
So, as you have just read, a lot needs to be taken into consideration when choosing a show to have a successful pantomime run. I hope these little morsels of advice will be of some help to you as you decide what your next production will be.
Happy choosing and I wish you the very best of luck for your next pantomime season.
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