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Just Imagine
Just Imagine – a podcast series from Imagine Theatre, one of the world’s leading producers of professional pantomime. With over 250 productions to their name, Imagine are true experts in this uniquely British theatrical tradition.
Join host Martin Ballard as we go behind the scenes to meet the people who bring the magic to life – discovering their stories, their roles, and answering that all-important question: what do they do for the rest of the year?
Along the way, we’ll explore the pantomime genre itself – its quirks, its history, and why it continues to delight audiences across the UK. Whether you’re a panto fan, theatre lover, or just curious about what it takes to stage hundreds of shows at once, Just Imagine offers a fun and fascinating listen.
Just Imagine
Episode 70 – The 2023/4 Panto Season Comes to a Close
Martin catches up with Sarah and Steve to discuss how the 2023 panto season went and what is in store for 2024.
Imagine have had their biggest ever panto season with 19 pantomimes and 3 Santa shows. They have employed more people than ever before with around 500 people hired by Imagine to work on the productions, plus around 400 children who were part of Junior Ensembles.
January sees the start of debrief season when the team have internal debriefs as well as debriefs with the venues and as sets, costumes and props return the maintenance programme begins. Planning for 2024 is already underway with many pantos now on sale, budgets being finalised and sets and costumes allocated against productions.
So in good old panto tradition - ‘we’ll have to do it again then won’t we – woo!’
