A panto is not just for Christmas – 365 days of preparation to the seasonal show

New Brighton’s Floral Pavilion is once again enjoying a hugely popular pantomime run with The Further Adventures of Peter Pan – The Return of Captain Hook (running til January 5 – some tickets available here).

And as the panto mood takes over the theatre Pauline Campbell, Venue Manager for the Floral Pavilion, spills the beans (wrong panto?) on what goes into bringing such a major show to the stage in New Brighton:

How’s it going so far? What is the reaction to the panto?

Every year we love it, the whole building comes alive during panto, it’s really magical. You see the kids excited when they come here – and the parents probably pleased they’ll get a couple of hours with a bit of peace – although the noise the children and audience make is incredible. Last year we just happened to have someone measuring sound levels when the panto was on and it was 140 decibels – something like a jet plane!

Why is the panto so important to the Floral Pavilion, and you?

The pantomime is certainly important for us at the Floral as a venue, and it’s vital that we have a successful panto each year, because it provides a significant amount of our revenue. But it also has a real impact.

For me it’s about attracting a new audience to the theatre. It was how I found my love of it as a child and if you can get to the audience young you have a good chance of keeping them coming back.

The Floral has many volunteers, how significant is their role to the venue?

We wouldn’t be able to do shows like the panto if we didn’t have the volunteers. For last year’s panto the ambassadors volunteered 1,435 hours, equivalent to almost 60 full days. The majority of them are local people, often retired, who do it for the love of the Floral Pavilion. And one of the perks is that while looking after the audience also get to see the shows.

How far ahead do you start planning for a panto?

We start planning the next year’s panto the day the previous panto starts. So we are already working on the panto for 2025-26. This year The Further Adventures of Peter Pan – The Return of Captain Hook started performances on December 6. At that point the next year’s panto goes on sale and we are looking a year ahead then with the producers.

Tell us a bit more about what goes into preparing for a pantomime?

Through the year there are various key points. There’re no magic wands here – it’s 365 days of planning, scheduling, producing, casting, script development, set design, costumes, lighting and tech not to mention rehearsals as we get nearer the show.

When the panto finishes we look at what worked and not, and we have a big team meeting, to help us get ready for the next year.

By April we are talking to the panto provider about who our cast are going to be for the coming panto and then we do things like contact schools and get reservations from them, but it is September when we do the big press launch and from that moment we are straight into panto again, it doesn’t stop. 

‘How do you share the magic of panto throughout the Floral?’

We extend the entrance to the theatre on to the plaza and this year, in honour of Peter Pan and Captain Hook it is obviously dressed as Neverland. The merchandise stall looks like a London scene and one of my favourites is the “Taylor Swift chair”. This was used for fan selfies when her Eras Tour visited Liverpool - it’s been repurposed by Make CIC for people coming here to have their Neverland “insta moments”. It's so much fun for our visitors and when they tag us in their selfie posts they're sharing not only their photo but a little plug for our show too.

What can you tell us about next year’s panto then?

Sleeping Beauty - it’s the story of a beautiful Princess cursed by the evil Carabosse on the eve of her 18th birthday party and can only be awoken by true love's kiss. It will be another spectacular show. 

Full details of ‘Sleeping Beauty’ will be announced in the coming months. For those early birds, keen to get the best seats at the peak shows, or grab a bargain with £15 seats, tickets are on sale now for ‘Sleeping Beauty’ with shows running from 6 December 2025 to 4 January 2026: buy them from Sleeping Beauty - Floral Pavilion

Plus panto lovers attending this year’s show, The Further Adventures of Peter Pan, The Return of Captain Hook, have a special reward opportunity, they can book their 2025 tickets at this year's prices if they purchase by 5 January 2025. (The discount is automatically applied at the checkout)