Derby Theatre and Mansfield Palace Theatre are celebrating a record-breaking Christmas.
Derby Theatre’s productions of Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol and Red Earth Theatre’s re-telling of Hansel and Gretel played to more than 25,000 people in total.
The majority of the shows were sell-outs. The productions were popular with schools and more than 30 from Derbyshire and surrounding counties made group bookings.
Plus One, a ticket donation scheme to provide children in care and their foster families with free tickets, also benefited during the run of A Christmas Carol. After each performance collections were held and more than £12,500 was donated.
Gary Johnson, Derby Theatre’s general manager, said, “we’re thrilled at the success of our Christmas shows. We sincerely hope that the younger audience members were inspired by their visit and will become our next generation of theatregoers.”
Meanwhile Sleeping Beauty at Mansfield Palace Theatre entertained 31,910 people, with 96% of tickets being sold. The previous record was set by the same panto in 2008 which was watched by 31,282 people.