Tickets for popular Carlisle Christmas Pantomime set to go on sale

The Harraby Theatre announced that the tickets for its Community Pantomime will go on sale on Friday, March 1.

The Panto will take between Friday, December 13, and Sunday, December 15 at the Harraby Community Campus, with the group adding an extra show on the Sunday morning to accommodate the large demand for tickets.

The cast of Dick Whittington in 2019 (Image: Harraby Theatre)Billy Jackson is one of the Community Pantomime's organisers and explained how the decision was taken this year to delay ticket sales to give locals the best chance of securing a spot as well.

He said: "Last year we put them on sale right after the show and sold out in January, just blitzed and some people were not happy that they did not get a chance to buy tickets so this year we have held out until March 1 so everyone has a chance to get them.

"We have also added an extra show for those who may not have been able to make the other ones.

Since the Pantomime's debut in 2019, its production has been overseen by a group of dedicated volunteers and Billy also detailed how preparations are already getting underway for the latest iteration of the Christmas show.

The cast of Cinderella in 2021. (Image: Harraby Theatre)"It is hard going as we are all volunteers, we all have our day jobs and it is a big commitment but we are starting to get sets built and costumes ordered and one of the ladies is writing the script at the moment."

This year the Pantomime will transport Harraby via twister to the magical land of Oz, with the Lion, Tin Man, and Scarecrow all set to feature, however, for the local theatre this marks a departure from traditional Pantomime's such as Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Jack and the Beanstalk which have all been performed in recent years.

He said: "This will be our fifth show, we started before Covid and then that put a hold on it but we have been doing it every year.

A scene from Sleeping Beauty in 2022. (Image: Harraby Theatre)"This is the first one where it is not a traditional panto, normally we do Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty but this time we thought we would try and do something different.

"It is very popular, everybody loves it. It is brilliant. The kids love it and the parents get involved as well and we try to get all the panto quotes in and the double entendres and the visual jokes and gags so yeah it is really good.

"We surprise ourselves with how well it does and we are looking forward to Friday morning."