‘What do you do when you can’t socially distance seven dwarfs?’ is a question Inverurie Panto crew had to ask themselves in the run-up to their 2021 festive show.
“We were due to do Snow White but we were slightly concerned about socially distancing our dwarfs,” said Inverurie Panto producer Keith Donaldson.
“Usually, we get younger members of our cast to play the seven dwarfs and we have two cast groups so in fact, we would have 14 dwarfs who would need to socially distance on top of the other cast members.
“We don’t have a huge amount of space in the Inverurie Town Hall (show and rehearsal space) so we made the decision to change the show to Sleeping Beauty.
“It’s a great show and the last time we’ve done it was in 2012 so we wanted to give it an outing.”
‘Usual Inverurie Panto fare’
Inverurie Panto cast started practising in September and rehearsals are going “extremely well” according to Keith.
He said: “We’re having a great time. Having had a – shall we say – sabbatical last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the cast were desperate to get back.
“It’s all been great – albeit a little different this year with having to wear masks and having to socially distance, keeping our bubbles and all these other precautions.”
Keith said locals can expect the usual “Inverurie Panto fare” with great performances, fabulous props and a bit of Doric.
“It’s a locally-written script – we have our own scriptwriter,” said Keith.
“It’s a classic fairytale and we always include Doric as part of our show. We were one of the first pantos to do that – there’s a few jumps on the bandwagon now.
“We always have a Doric character in our show and it just adds a bit of local humour to the production.”
Safe fun for the whole family
Promising to be very family-friendly, Keith is certain both big and little kids in the audience will enjoy the festive extravaganza.
The producer said: “The panto is very family-friendly. We always make sure the jokes are aimed at the kids but adults have a good laugh too. It’s suitable for anybody from the young audience members to the older generation.”
When asked if he thinks locals will feel confident enough to come out to see their – or any other – show this year, Keith said they tried to take every precaution they could to make sure everyone’s safe.
“There’s no doubt there’s nervousness – it’s a global pandemic so we would be wrong not to be nervous,” said Keith.
“However, we are taking the safety of our audiences very very seriously. We invested in technology to help us with this – we have an antibacterial fogging machine which will disinfect the auditorium between shows.
“We also have hand sanitiserss and we’ll be asking people to wear masks as it’s an indoor venue. And we introduced a one-way system too.
“I think people will be nervous but it’s as safe as we could possibly make it and hopefully they’ll be able to come enjoy the show and feel safe and welcome.
“And maybe forget some of the more troubling times for a few hours.”
How to book tickets to see Sleeping Beauty
Sleeping Beauty, which is directed b Craig Pike, is at Inverurie Town Hall from December 9 to December 24. Tickets can be purchased here.