The festive season may be now over, but the champagne is still flowing at Derry’s Millennium Forum as its Christmas pantomime, Peter Pan, becomes the most successful theatrical production ever staged in the city.
A whopping 30,000 people flocked to see the swashbuckling adventure, making it the biggest paid for event ever in Derry’s arts calendar.
Since opening in late November for a five-week run, the all local production quickly proved to be a huge hit with audiences of all ages, performing to sell-out houses throughout Christmas and New Year.
David McLaughlin, chief executive of the Millennium Forum and producer of Peter Pan’, said delighted with the news.
He said the annual panto was not only the biggest show of the season, but was clearly the largest arts event in the Derry region in terms of ticket sales.
He added: “Peter Pan this year has broken all box office records in our 12 year history, with ticket sales up a significant 14% on last year’s hugely successful, Snow White.
“This year’s panto also brought another coup for the Millennium Forum as we introduced a special ‘Relaxed Performance’ and became the first theatre in Northern Ireland to do so.
“This carefully adapted version allowed young people with learning disabilities and their families to enjoy a stress free trip to the theatre by removing the barriers that exist in the mainstream production.
“The relaxed performance of Peter Pan received overwhelming feedback from all who attended, encouraging other theatres to follow our lead in producing similar accessible events in the future.”
Peter Pan was produced by Millennium Forum Productions and featured an all local/Northern Irish cast led by comedian, William Caulfield, in the role of Captain Hook.
The city’s only professional pantomime production employed over 30 local people and was sponsored by Dunnes Stores.
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