Panto In A Pickle At Norwich Theatre Royal Until Christmas Eve 2020!

There are three shows on offer at Norwich Theatre Royal for this very strange and unusual of festive seasons. COVID has paid collateral damage to the arts all over the country but in Norwich, where we are tier two, our lovely theatre is doing its very best and gifting us this mini season which I wrote about extensively here. I was gifted tickets to the family friendly offering, Panto in a Pickle, in return for promoting the shows ahead of time and am under no obligations to post about the panto now that we’ve seen it but… Oh it was so good I just HAD to say a few words less this wonderful performance gets forgotten and not seen for it is only on for the next week and in my view, it’s one not to miss!

All the actual details are on my previous post but I wanted to tell you how it made us feel to be back at the ACTUAL theatre for the first time in what seems forever because it was simply wonderful and I might even dare to say better than ever!

3 actors take us through a traditional panto script which sees us jump from storyline to storyline in a really fun and engaging way which is especially great for really small ones but exciting for the whole family and at an hour long, with no interval, it was perfect timing too. It had all the laughs and expectation of a traditional panto but in a condensed format which I actually think works better. We loved it. Plain and simple and highly, HIGHLY recommend booking (if you can get in)!

Never has it been more important to support local theatre and with the thought that we may lose them if we don’t being extremely real, we must just take a moment to think about that. Norwich has clawed its way up in the world of arts, back when I was 13 and going off to full time drama school in London (travelling daily from Norwich) there was relatively little in forms of either coaching or provisions made for children to SEE theatre. We have moved on from that so drastically that I’d say everything in Norwich now rivals any experiences I have ever had as both an audience member and an actor when living in London and we are so lucky because it really isn’t the same country wide.

So may theatrical institutions that are dear to my heart, The Norfolk Youth Music Theatre has taken a massive hit and this is a company I joined when it began back in the late 90s and my children are now a part of today. Lots of small companies and even our flag ship theatre at the Royal. Try to support them if you can as I know it will mean so much for the future.

Just a little FYI, the social distancing measures in place are absolutely brilliant and we felt very safe indeed. Sure there’s a risk to going out but here you are designated a door to enter through dependent on your seat and this means through traffic is limited. You are then guided to your seats in individual groups which was a swift process and on the way we were told how to move past people in aisles should we need to. They have thought of everything including not having anyone next to you, in front or behind. It was actually a really pleasant experience and didn’t detract from the atmosphere at all. There was much Christmas joviality and panto fun being had with many smiling faces big and small.

Tickets to Panto in a Pickle (and the other two shows, one is a circus aimed at teens plus and the other more geared to the grown ups) can be booked via Norwich Theatre Royal’s website here or by calling the box office on 01603 630000. Tickets cost £13.50 and there are two shows daily aimed at ages 3+.

P.S, I do just have to say something about the merch because for once I am all for it. Usually I say an instant no to the over priced tat that theatres charge a fortune for and I always think if they made things cost less then they’d sell and make far more. It’s a bit of a bone of contention but last night I was very happy to discover that actually the merchandise like the flashing wands cost £3 which with 3 children is totally do-able, Mummy said yes!

We were gifted our tickets but for the purpose of pre promotion and I am under no obligations to post again – it really is that good!