First access rehearsal by The Florians welcomed young panto newcomers

The Florians tried something new this year in the run-up to their panto Snow White which is on from Friday (December 9).

They organised a panto access session last weekend for those who might be nervous about coming to a panto.

And it gave youngsters in particular – who might not have had the chance to experience a panto before – the chance to come along on a Sunday afternoon and familiarise themselves with some of the panto traditions.

This year's panto director Morag Russell said: "I'm pleased to say this was a really great afternoon and a great way to make sure young audiences feel comfortable coming to panto this year.

"We decided to open up an extra rehearsal because we appreciate there are a lot of children who haven’t been able to get to a panto and are the age they would have been already if it hadn't been for Covid and the pantos had been cancelled – or young children with neurodiversities.

"It could be quite a scary space for them to come into an unfamiliar setting with lots of people in costumes, so we held a bit of an open session last Sunday for an hour when we invited youngsters into the auditorium.

"They could meet some of the characters in costume and hear some of the sound effects, make sure they are really familiar with the story and learn a little bit about the audience interaction because obviously you’ve got the booing and the cheering and the community song and things like that.

"We’re really glad and proud to be championing pantos for everyone and everyone to come and enjoy it. The cast and crew have been so behind it. We’re proud to be offering that to people."

The Florians panto Snow White – on from Friday, December 9-17 – is sold out, but you can check for returns: florians.org.uk

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