A PANTOMIME has been cancelled due to Tier 3 restrictions in a Somerset town.

The Playhouse, North Somerset Council and Parkwood Theatres made the decision to cancel Sleeping Beauty, which was set to be performed from December 12 until January 3.

Under the Tier 3 restrictions, The Playhouse theatre will not be able to open its doors to the public.

Playhouse general manager, Mark Thompson, said: “I’m absolutely heartbroken that we have been unable to deliver on our promise to give North Somerset a much-needed Christmas smile this year.

“The show was ready to go and would have been a guaranteed hit with all of those who planned to join us.

“This year has been incredibly difficult for the Playhouse and arguably the most challenging in our history as we’ve battled to navigate through this period of uncertainty in an ever-changing world.

“The thought of Christmas without the Weston pantomime is unthinkable and our hearts and thoughts are with the whole community, our team and the cast and crew of Sleeping Beauty as we collectively face more hardship at a time which is so important to us all.”

“We will continue to fight on and look forward to a brighter day soon when we can welcome audiences back into our town’s home of live entertainment that is now ready and waiting for our community to once again engage in laughter, happiness and most importantly shared experiences.”

The Playhouse is appealing to the community to assist it through this time by retaining the value of tickets as credits against future performances or where possible making donations to the theatre.

From January onwards the Playhouse has a number of confirmed socially distanced shows already on sale which they plan to go ahead with. There are also a large number of household names which are being scheduled across 2021, such as Sarah Millican - which sold out in just four hours.