Covid-19 cancels rest of the panto shows at Halifax's Victoria Theatre

The theatre has just announced that the five shows that were due to take place over the coming days will not be performed.

As reported by the Courier yesterday, the theatre had already cancelled last night's show and today's 10.30am performance.

In a statement on social media, Calderdale Council, which runs the theatre, said: "We have had to make the difficult decision to cancel the remaining five performances of the pantomime, Jack and the Beanstalk at the Victoria Theatre in Halifax.

"Unfortunately we have a number of Covid-19 positive cases in our technical staff despite strict procedures and our best efforts.

"We have done all we can to keep the show running as long as we could by backfilling staff where we can but this is no longer sustainable and the health, safety and wellbeing of our staff, cast and of course our audience remains our first priority.

"We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has supported us in all of our shows over the past few months. Since May our staff have worked tirelessly so we can open our doors to our valued audiences and we have held 103 performances and welcomed 53,869 people through our doors.

"This year there have been 29 pantomime performances and it is with great regret that we have had to cancel the last five.

"Anybody who was due to come and see the pantomime will receive a full refund or the option to have first choice of seats for next year’s pantomime, Sleeping Beauty, at the same price.

"There’s no need to contact the theatre, we will be in touch with you directly.

"We would also like to offer all ticketholders for the last five cancelled pantomime shows a recorded link so that you can watch the pantomime at home. This will be included in your cancellation email.

"We know that this is not the same, but we hope you understand that we have to keep everybody safe. We look forward to welcoming you back to future performances in the new year."