Pick panto for 2011

OH YES you can. Oh no you can’t. Well actually, you can cast your votes for the panto you want to see at the Theatre Royal Stratford East.

It is giving theatre lovers the chance to choose as part of the Open Stage project, a scheme that will see the first six months of 2012 programmed by the people of east London.

The current panto, Red Riding Hood, was chosen by staff at the theatre but now for the first time ever it is asking its audience which festive show they would most like to see on its stage. It can be an old Theatre Royal favourite or something completely new –and the most popular show will win. The only rule is that all submissions must be suitable for a family audience.

Everyone who casts their vote will be entered into a prize draw to win four tickets to a star-studded gala performance of the show and the winner will have the opportunity to meet the cast.

Kerry Michael, Artistic Director of Theatre Royal Stratford East said: “Our Pantomimes are one of the best-loved and most popular times at Theatre Royal Stratford East – we’ve had almost 30,000 people come along to enjoy Red Riding Hood this year, so we’d love to give our audiences the opportunity to choose what they want to see on stage next year.”

Open Stage is an ambitious project that challenges the traditional process of programming shows for the stage while harnessing the imagination of the public, turning their ideas into reality - Pick Our Panto is one of many ways the public can get involved.

The winning panto will be announced at the end of January 2011 along with the winner of the competition.

You can vote with an email to Openstage@stratfordeast.com with PANTO in the subject line; post your panto title on the Theatre Royal Stratford East FACEBOOK page; Tweet your chosen title to @openstage2012; or visit the theatre and fill out a Pick Our Panto postcard.