There WILL be a Panto! Stan Heatherington - Wokingham Panto organiser
Wokingham Panto 2021 Rehearsal
Pantos happen in a theatre, around Christmas time - well in a Covid world - oh no they don't!!
The 2020-2021 performance had to be postponed and the venue changed in line with government advice
Therefore, a delightful, small park right in the middle of Wokingham was chosen.
The park was bequeathed by biscuit baron, Howard Palmer (Of Huntley and Palmer fame). Howard Palmer Gardens features a "Human sundial".
If you stand in the middle, your shadow tells the time on the surrounding dial
Well, that sundial wasn't much use on the rehearsal day - it was tipping down with rain for most of the performance!
The idea behind the rehearsal video was to act as a promotional tool to sell the last "Pod" tickets.
We knew that people sitting in the rain wouldn't work. So whilst the whole performance was videoed, we could only use the last 20 minutes, when the sun finally came out
However, we did use some of the rain footage to show the dedication that the performers and crew were putting in
We published that footage within 2 hours of the event, and the performers and crew loved it, and shared it far and wide - dedication!
We released the 1 minute promo video in less than 24 hours from the event. This successfully drove sales of the remaining tickets
We will video the performance to act as both a "Thank you" for the performers and crew. It will also act as a major promotional tool for the next event, which will be held near Christmas , indoors!
Other outdoor gigs feature heavily in our work - we have waterproof kit! Some examples are here and here