Lichfield Garrick hopes for live panto after tier review

More than 5,000 tickets have been sold for the pantomime at the Garrick Theatre in Lichfield

A theatre says it is hopeful live pantomime performances will be able to go ahead after a review of the Covid-19 tier system.

More than 5,000 tickets have been sold for Jack and the Beanstalk at the Lichfield Garrick in Staffordshire.

The government is set to review the current tiers on Wednesday.

The Garrick is also set to record a performance to broadcast online, if live shows cannot take place.

Its chief executive Karen Foster said the pantomime season was normally "crucial to theatre earnings".

However, due to reduced capacity to maintain social distancing and other measures, she said at best the venue could hope to break even with the production, despite cutting costs.

This production of Jack and the Beanstalk is being called a "bite-size panto" with a shortened run time of only 75 minutes, no interval, and a cast of only five actors.

It is set to open on 18 December.

Karen Foster, chief executive of the Garrick, said the online version would allow the show to go on if Staffordshire remains in tier three

Staffordshire is currently in tier three - meaning entertainment venues must close - and parts of the county had seen some of the highest Covid-19 rates in England before the second lockdown.

The latest figures shows the rate of new cases in Lichfield has fallen to 151.8 per 100,000 people for the week up to 11 December, from 422.9 five weeks earlier.

Ms Foster said if the area is downgraded to tier two, the Garrick will "go ahead with the pantomime and we will bring all the joy of pantomime physically in the theatre with people coming to see the show".

"If we are in tier three and cannot open, then we will refund patrons' tickets.

"The loss of this ticket income is another financial blow to the theatre at the end of a really tough year and so we have decided to invest in putting the pantomime online and this income will help to offset some of the costs."

In October, the theatre was awarded £279,446 from the government's £1.57bn Culture Recovery Fund.