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Since the pandemic closed venues in March, the advice given to the industry about reopening has been shambolic
Last Friday I was thrilled to welcome the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their family to our dress rehearsal of Pantoland at the Palladium. It’s a celebration of the last four years of the London Palladium pantomimes I have created with my resident team of Julian Clary, Nigel Havers, Paul Zerdin and Gary Wilmot, featuring returning stars Elaine Paige, Charlie Stemp, Ashley Banjo and Diversity, and panto debuts from Beverley Knight and Jac Yarrow.
The culture secretary, Oliver Dowden, also attended this special performance. Imagine my joy when I saw him cackle at jokes about Matt Hancock and scotch eggs! Dowden may have been crying with laughter but today my company are weeping because their show is being closed by a government that has wrong-footed the theatre industry every step of the way since the pandemic hit. Continue reading...