{"id":76288,"date":"2025-12-12T14:50:37","date_gmt":"2025-12-12T14:50:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/?p=76288"},"modified":"2025-12-12T14:50:39","modified_gmt":"2025-12-12T14:50:39","slug":"britains-favourite-artform-yorkshires-theatres-saved-by-pantomime","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/index.php\/2025\/12\/12\/britains-favourite-artform-yorkshires-theatres-saved-by-pantomime\/","title":{"rendered":"“Britain’s favourite artform”: Yorkshire’s theatres saved by pantomime"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A BBC report<\/a> released this morning shows that Yorkshire and Lincolnshire theatres gained between 9% and 45% of their annual income from pantomimes last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

James Harrison, 32, has been Musical Director at Sheffield Theatre’s pantomime for the past six years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said: “We have regulars who always sit in the same seat, in the same place. It\u2019s tradition and I love to be part of that.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Gone are the days of people thinking that panto is a bit rubbish because we prove that it doesn\u2019t have to be.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The BBC report also shows that theatres have seen a 4% increase in audience numbers from 2019 to 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Simon Sladen, 39, Chair of the UK Pantomime Association<\/a>, explained that panto is many children’s first theatre experience, adding to its sentimentality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said: “Since Covid, the longing to be together has strengthened this Christmas tradition for many people, and introduced a new one for people who might not have gone before.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr Sladen dubbed pantomime “Britain’s favourite artform,” with over 260 put on around the UK each year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Damian Williams in the Sheffield Theatres pantomime (credit: Maisie Ellis)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Jill Ellis, 57, a teacher at Hunter’s Bar Infant School, said the school takes its entire student body to the Sheffield Lyceum panto every year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She said: “It is a tradition, but I think it’s popular because <\/em>it’s a tradition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The kids look forward to it because we do it every year and their older siblings will have talked about it. It\u2019s a shared experience.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr Sladen explained how pantomime supports the local economy beyond just theatres, providing learning outreach or volunteering projects with the revenue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Local shops and restaurants can also benefit from a pantomime coming to town.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr Sladen said: “We\u2019ve just had a big research project which showed that the capacity at pantomimes across the country is over 80%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The 2025 season is great and the respect pantomime is getting is growing.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n


<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A BBC report released this morning shows that Yorkshire and Lincolnshire theatres gained between 9% and 45% of their annual income from pantomimes last year. James Harrison, 32, has been Musical Director at Sheffield Theatre’s pantomime for the past six years. He said: “We have regulars who always sit in the same seat, in the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":249,"featured_media":76362,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-76288","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n"Britain's favourite artform": Yorkshire's theatres saved by pantomime - Sheffield Wire<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/index.php\/2025\/12\/12\/britains-favourite-artform-yorkshires-theatres-saved-by-pantomime\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\""Britain's favourite artform": Yorkshire's theatres saved by pantomime - Sheffield Wire\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A BBC report released this morning shows that Yorkshire and Lincolnshire theatres gained between 9% and 45% of their annual income from pantomimes last year. James Harrison, 32, has been Musical Director at Sheffield Theatre’s pantomime for the past six years. He said: “We have regulars who always sit in the same seat, in the […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/index.php\/2025\/12\/12\/britains-favourite-artform-yorkshires-theatres-saved-by-pantomime\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Sheffield Wire\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-12-12T14:50:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-12-12T14:50:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/cast-pic.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1439\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"744\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Maisie Ellis\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Maisie Ellis\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/12\\\/britains-favourite-artform-yorkshires-theatres-saved-by-pantomime\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/12\\\/britains-favourite-artform-yorkshires-theatres-saved-by-pantomime\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Maisie Ellis\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a0af88756e03a8d27fb853876d8c29d9\"},\"headline\":\"“Britain’s favourite artform”: Yorkshire’s theatres saved by pantomime\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-12-12T14:50:37+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-12-12T14:50:39+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/12\\\/britains-favourite-artform-yorkshires-theatres-saved-by-pantomime\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":331,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/12\\\/britains-favourite-artform-yorkshires-theatres-saved-by-pantomime\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/cast-pic.png\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/12\\\/britains-favourite-artform-yorkshires-theatres-saved-by-pantomime\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/12\\\/britains-favourite-artform-yorkshires-theatres-saved-by-pantomime\\\/\",\"name\":\"\\\"Britain's favourite artform\\\": Yorkshire's theatres saved by pantomime - Sheffield Wire\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/12\\\/britains-favourite-artform-yorkshires-theatres-saved-by-pantomime\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/12\\\/britains-favourite-artform-yorkshires-theatres-saved-by-pantomime\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/cast-pic.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-12-12T14:50:37+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-12-12T14:50:39+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a0af88756e03a8d27fb853876d8c29d9\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/12\\\/britains-favourite-artform-yorkshires-theatres-saved-by-pantomime\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/12\\\/britains-favourite-artform-yorkshires-theatres-saved-by-pantomime\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/12\\\/britains-favourite-artform-yorkshires-theatres-saved-by-pantomime\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/cast-pic.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/cast-pic.png\",\"width\":1439,\"height\":744},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/12\\\/britains-favourite-artform-yorkshires-theatres-saved-by-pantomime\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"“Britain’s favourite artform”: Yorkshire’s theatres saved by pantomime\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\\\/\",\"name\":\"Sheffield Wire\",\"description\":\"The latest news from South Yorkshire\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a0af88756e03a8d27fb853876d8c29d9\",\"name\":\"Maisie Ellis\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/b744eba7f320cf0e875733b3ca84eef8084b1dd7b14fce278aceb57b1964d212?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/b744eba7f320cf0e875733b3ca84eef8084b1dd7b14fce278aceb57b1964d212?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/b744eba7f320cf0e875733b3ca84eef8084b1dd7b14fce278aceb57b1964d212?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Maisie Ellis\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\\\/index.php\\\/author\\\/ijp25mwe\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"\"Britain's favourite artform\": Yorkshire's theatres saved by pantomime - Sheffield Wire","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/index.php\/2025\/12\/12\/britains-favourite-artform-yorkshires-theatres-saved-by-pantomime\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"\"Britain's favourite artform\": Yorkshire's theatres saved by pantomime - Sheffield Wire","og_description":"A BBC report released this morning shows that Yorkshire and Lincolnshire theatres gained between 9% and 45% of their annual income from pantomimes last year. James Harrison, 32, has been Musical Director at Sheffield Theatre’s pantomime for the past six years. He said: “We have regulars who always sit in the same seat, in the […]","og_url":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/index.php\/2025\/12\/12\/britains-favourite-artform-yorkshires-theatres-saved-by-pantomime\/","og_site_name":"Sheffield Wire","article_published_time":"2025-12-12T14:50:37+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-12-12T14:50:39+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1439,"height":744,"url":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/cast-pic.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Maisie Ellis","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Maisie Ellis","Estimated reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/index.php\/2025\/12\/12\/britains-favourite-artform-yorkshires-theatres-saved-by-pantomime\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/index.php\/2025\/12\/12\/britains-favourite-artform-yorkshires-theatres-saved-by-pantomime\/"},"author":{"name":"Maisie Ellis","@id":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/a0af88756e03a8d27fb853876d8c29d9"},"headline":"“Britain’s favourite artform”: Yorkshire’s theatres saved by pantomime","datePublished":"2025-12-12T14:50:37+00:00","dateModified":"2025-12-12T14:50:39+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/index.php\/2025\/12\/12\/britains-favourite-artform-yorkshires-theatres-saved-by-pantomime\/"},"wordCount":331,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/index.php\/2025\/12\/12\/britains-favourite-artform-yorkshires-theatres-saved-by-pantomime\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/cast-pic.png","articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/index.php\/2025\/12\/12\/britains-favourite-artform-yorkshires-theatres-saved-by-pantomime\/","url":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/index.php\/2025\/12\/12\/britains-favourite-artform-yorkshires-theatres-saved-by-pantomime\/","name":"\"Britain's favourite artform\": Yorkshire's theatres saved by pantomime - Sheffield Wire","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/index.php\/2025\/12\/12\/britains-favourite-artform-yorkshires-theatres-saved-by-pantomime\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/index.php\/2025\/12\/12\/britains-favourite-artform-yorkshires-theatres-saved-by-pantomime\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/cast-pic.png","datePublished":"2025-12-12T14:50:37+00:00","dateModified":"2025-12-12T14:50:39+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/a0af88756e03a8d27fb853876d8c29d9"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/index.php\/2025\/12\/12\/britains-favourite-artform-yorkshires-theatres-saved-by-pantomime\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/index.php\/2025\/12\/12\/britains-favourite-artform-yorkshires-theatres-saved-by-pantomime\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/index.php\/2025\/12\/12\/britains-favourite-artform-yorkshires-theatres-saved-by-pantomime\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/cast-pic.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/cast-pic.png","width":1439,"height":744},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/index.php\/2025\/12\/12\/britains-favourite-artform-yorkshires-theatres-saved-by-pantomime\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"“Britain’s favourite artform”: Yorkshire’s theatres saved by pantomime"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/#website","url":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/","name":"Sheffield Wire","description":"The latest news from South Yorkshire","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/a0af88756e03a8d27fb853876d8c29d9","name":"Maisie Ellis","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b744eba7f320cf0e875733b3ca84eef8084b1dd7b14fce278aceb57b1964d212?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b744eba7f320cf0e875733b3ca84eef8084b1dd7b14fce278aceb57b1964d212?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b744eba7f320cf0e875733b3ca84eef8084b1dd7b14fce278aceb57b1964d212?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Maisie Ellis"},"url":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/index.php\/author\/ijp25mwe\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76288","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/249"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=76288"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76288\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":76455,"href":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76288\/revisions\/76455"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/76362"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76288"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76288"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sheffieldwire.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76288"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}