Theatre Club working hard to bring back panto
St Mary's Theatre Club has said it is 'trying its hardest' to get the Town Hall stage up and running after it was unable to hold a pantomime again this year.
The Club, which has been running for 50 years, has had to scrap its annual winter production for the last three years as the stage has been out of use.
Club chair Becky Hicks has now told This is Scilly that there may not be a panto in 2019 with the way things are progressing.
She said: "We are currently trying to raise funds to improve the stage area. There is quite a bit of work that needs doing, but we have come to a bit of a standstill.
"I am trying to arrange with the Council some sort of security for Theatre Club. As much as we don’t mind raising the funds to do the work for us to use the stage, I don’t want to put all that money into it and then be told we can’t use it for any reason. We are also waiting for some people to get back to us regarding some of the work, quotes etc.
"The Council has a new Environmental Health Officer who apparently has some experience in theatre stages so we are also waiting to hear back on that front too. I have been doing a lot of chasing with the Council but it’s not moving forward at the moment."
She continued: "I don’t want to lose any momentum with getting the stage back up and running. Also it would be good for others to use the stage as well when usable, and not just for a storage place like it is at the moment.
"As a Theatre Club we are working very hard behind the scenes to get things going. We have the summer play to look forward to hopefully, depending on how we can produce it and if we can do it on the floor again in the Town Hall. If we could do it on the stage then this we be even better as would give us so many more options."
Becky added: "It’s now in the Council's hands as to whether they want to give us the security for Theatre Club to carry on. Once we have that and the quotes we’re waiting for then hopefully we can make a start to get things moving.
"As to whether we have a panto for 2019, I honestly don’t know. If we can get things moving then there should be no reason why not but at the moment it looks like a no. Rest assured I’m trying my hardest."
Theatre Club is holding a play reading to decide on its summer production on Wednesday at 7pm in the Lyonesse Bar at the Scillonian Club.
Donate to St Mary's Theatre Club's stage comeback fund here.