Only 200 days to Christmas at Doncaster's Cast theatre

Summer may only just be starting but Cast, Doncaster’s performance venue, is already counting down to Christmas and celebrating its most successful pantomime sales to date.

With 200 days to go until the opening night of this year’s festive family treat, Jack and the Beanstalk, demand for tickets is higher than ever. The show may not open until Friday 2 December but sales are up more than 50% on this time last year. The popular Doncaster venue has even added in an extra performance to cope with the high level of interest.

Jack and the Beanstalk promises to scale new heights with a giant of a show from the team behind Aladdin and Sleeping Beauty. It will again be written by local playwriting duo Matthew Bugg and Tobias Oliver.

The pair, based in Sheffield, wrote Aladdin and Sleeping Beauty for Cast. Matthew Bugg will be taking a break from performing in the show to undertake the role of director for this year’s production.

Matthew said, “I’m thrilled to be directing this year’s Christmas pantomime. My family all come from Doncaster so Cast has a very special place in my heart.

"I’ve loved performing in and providing musical direction for the past three pantos and am really excited to now be taking up the reins as director of Jack and the Beanstalk. It’s wonderful news that tickets are already selling like magic beans and that the people of Doncaster are obviously looking forward to the show as much as I am!”

Mathew Russell, interim executive director of Cast commented, “This is really positive news, especially needing to put on an extra show with more than five months to go before the production even opens.

"We’ve seen the popularity of our family Christmas pantomime grow year on year and this year’s 50% increase in sales for Jack and the Beanstalk to date is testament to how Doncaster now sees a trip to Cast as an essential part of their festive celebrations. If you haven’t yet got your seats for Jack and the Beanstalk then I recommend you book soon to avoid missing out.”

“We have also just gone on sale with our ever-popular Christmas Show for small children, Twelve Birds of Christmas,” he added.

Cast will also be staging a special festive show especially for small children aged three years and up. Twelve Birds of Christmas will be full of magical storytelling and fun, festive cheer. The show will run in the Doncaster venue’s intimate Second Space from Saturday 3 December to Christmas Eve. Tickets for the show have just been released for sale.

Jack and the Beanstalk runs from Friday 2 to Saturday 31 December and Twelve Birds of Christmas runs in the Second Space from Saturday 3 to Saturday 24 December. Tickets for both shows are available from Cast’s Box Office on 01302 303 959 or online at castindoncaster.com