Pantomime. The engine room of theatre.
Every Christmas people buy panto tickets because it's fun, familiar and easy. Most don't realise it funds the theatre for the rest of the year.
THE GIST ON PANTOMIME: "Panto and Risk"
Why do theatres rely on panto?
Across the UK, regional theatres rely on pantomime more than any other production. It runs for a short window, sells at scale, and brings in audiences who don't come as reliably at other times of the year.
That demand is predictable, and in business, predictability is everything.
What does panto pay for?
Panto is the commercial engine that allows theatres to take risks on things that are less commercially viable: new writing that only runs for a week, community projects, educational work.
Those don't survive on ticket sales alone. They survive because audiences turn up year on year to do something they genuinely enjoy, which creates a surplus. And that surplus buys freedom: to experiment, to programme things that won't sell out, to be a cultural institution and not just a commercial one.
Why does Huw love it?
It's a rare example of a system that actually works. Audiences aren't guilted into supporting culture. They choose to, through loyalty, habit and enjoyment.
Commercial success and artistic ambition aren't opposites. One is often the reason the other survives.
Is panto the best night out of the year?
Your take. One tap, then see how everyone else voted.
Quick answers
Why do regional theatres depend on panto?
It sells at scale in a short window and brings audiences who don't come as reliably at other times.
What does the surplus pay for?
New writing, community projects, educational work and programming that won't sell out.
See you on the next one.
What should the next one be? Suggest a topic for Huw to explain
The conversation
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