57,000 flock to see Wolverhampton Grand panto
More than 57,000 people flocked to see Wolverhampton Grand's Sleeping Beauty pantomime – making it the most successful show for five years.
Bosses say an all-star cast and flamboyant costumes helped bring thousands of people into the city to see Sleeping Beauty.
Sales were up two per cent on last year's show, Jack and The Beanstalk.
Sleeping Beauty, which starred Joe Pasquale as Muddles, came to the end of its seven-week run on Saturday.
Figures released today show a total of 57,242 paying customers saw the production, compared to 56,089 last year for Jack and the Beanstalk.
The theatre also saw audience figures reach 70 per cent capacity across the show's entire run, with more patrons attending premium rate performances during the prime Christmas period.
There was also a rise of more than 40 per cent in customers buying family tickets, and more than 9,000 tickets were sold to schools, an increase of three per cent on the 2012/13 figures.
Kate Evans, spokesperson for Wolverhampton Grand, said: "We are putting this years improved figures down to a combination of factors. Specifically the rise in people booking tickets for premium performances has had a major impact, as well as a big increase in advance sales.
"More people bought tickets earlier this year to make sure they didn't miss out on the family Christmas panto experience."
Peter Cutchie, chief executive of Wolverhampton Grand, added that the news was a boost to the city's wider economy.
He added: "With this pantomime, the Grand Theatre continues its drive to deliver a significant contribution to the city's visitor economy." Bosses at the theatre said although 40 per cent of bookings were made by people living in Wolverhampton, others travelled from as far a field as Edinburgh to Torquay to see the show.
Tickets for next year's production of Cinderella are now on sale via the Grand Theatre Box Office, with star casting set to be announced later in the spring.
Theatre bosses have also announced a special gala performance of Cinderella will take place on December 10 – 120 years to the day since the Grand Theatre first opened its doors to the public.
See also:
Gallery: Wolverhampton panto is brilliantly bonkers!
Gallery: Joe Pasquale leads Panto cast in Wolverhampton
