Theatre News: Eden Court to lose £350,000 as popular pantomime is cancelled

Christmas in the Scottish Highlands has suffered a blow as Eden Court Theatre in Inverness has announced its cancellation of its 2020 pantomime season.

Eden Court, the largest arts venue in the Scottish Highlands, told BBC News that pantomime ticket sales bring in a third of their annual income, with 36,000 visitors buying tickets for last year’s show.

By postponing this year’s panto, Cinderella, the venue will lose £350,000 in revenue and 14 performer jobs will be affected.

We’re very sad to announce that Cinderella, our 2020/21 pantomime, is being postponed until 2021/22. This has been an incredibly difficult decision because we know how much our panto’ means to families, schools, colleagues and friends across the entire Highland region. pic.twitter.com/7G0yBAERi3

- EdenCourt (@EdenCourt) September 11, 2020

Director Steven Wren said “the ripples of this go on and on and on. It’s not only the theatre, but the restaurants round and about and the transport companies that bus the school parties. When you start to add it up the effect is huge.”

Eden Court is the latest venue to be faced with financial difficulty. While theatres have been allowed to open since August 15 th, very few have done…