The organiser of a festive end-of-the-pier variety performance due to come to Cromer this Christmas has said he is confident the show will be unaffected by lockdown.
Strictly Christmas is a festive-themed variety show scheduled to open at Cromer Pier’s Pavilion Theatre on December 4, just two days after a second national lockdown, which comes into effect on November 4, is due to end.
The show will follow in the footsteps of the summer variety show, which ran at the theatre during August and September.
The show, which claimed to be the first post-lockdown variety show in the country, saw the venue donated to the production on a not-for-profit basis in order to help performers through the coronavirus pandemic and capacity cut from 500 to 100 in order to meet restrictions.
Nigel Hogg, whose production company Nigel Hogg Productions is staging the Christmas show, said despite being scheduled to start just two days after lockdown is expected to end, he was confident the run would go ahead from December 4.
He said: “The show will be going ahead. We are very optimistic. I think all the suggestions are that we will go back to the regional lockdown system [after December 2], so I’m pretty confident.”
The 90-minute Christmas special will feature three regular acts, Cromer favourite Olly Day, singer Rob McVeigh and magic act Amethyst as well as a guest performer each night.
Mr Hogg said he and his team were spending the last couple of days before lockdown preparing the Pavilion Theatre for the show so it would be ‘ready to go’ come early December.
He said the nature of Variety meant performers didn’t need to attend rehearsals and he was un-phased by the situation.
Mr Hogg said: “We’re used to it, we’ve been in show business for many years, we’re used to all sorts of situations. I think it’s a big benefit to everyone around here, we’re just looking forward to keeping.” He added: “We really would encourage everyone to help us save the arts by booking a ticket to enjoy a safe, fun night out and let us bring some Christmas magic back to Cromer Pier.”
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