There are over 1,100 active theatres across the UK. That number covers a wide range of sizes and types. There are commercial theatres, those subsidised by the Arts Council, as well as amateur, fringe, school/college, and temporary pop-up events, such as those found in festivals. There are about 300 professional theatres nationwide.
One wonderful organisation is the Little Theatre Guild. These are amateur companies that own and run their own theatres, which can vary in size from 64 seats to 450. There are 122 of them across the country, and they are a thriving organisation. Between them, they perform about 800 productions a year. That’s local coming together on a great scale.
Around 76% of the UK population has been to the theatre in the past three years. That’s a fantastic level of support. How wonderful that so many people get pleasure from live performance.
The panto season is nearly upon us, and as many people know, the annual pantomime is what keeps many theatres in business. Without the support of this unique event, particularly by young people and their parents, many theatres would cease to exist. The pandemic showed us how many theatres are in a precarious position.
For many of us, the trip to see the panto was the first piece of theatre we saw. We cheered, we booed, we were astonished, we were scared, and most importantly, we laughed – sometimes at corny jokes. But we came together, we were part of an audience, and that is something so British, so community-minded that it deserves celebrating.
My first panto was at the Golders Green Hippodrome – sadly no longer operating. I was amazed by the size and splendour of the building. I remember one of the acts was about a comic who was getting ready for bed. He took off one set of clothing, and there was another underneath, and another – it went on seemingly forever, and I’m sure we all thought, “How does he do it?” At another point, I was scared and nearly had to be taken out to escape the evil witch in green light.
All this had an impact on me. I went home and marvelled at it. Then I got books out of the library and made my own toy theatre, and I wrote short scenes. It began a love for theatre that has filled my whole life. So, when you take a child for their first trip, you open up a world to them of infinite variety, and many of those children will grow up to be captivated forever by the power of theatre.
