Glasgow Pavilion Celebrates A Giant Success

This festive season the Pavilion Theatre in Glasgow has enjoyed its most successful panto run ever, with over 81,000 panto lovers flocking through the doors to join Jock on his magical adventure as he climbed the beanstalk, defeating the greedy giant Glaiktiguts an incredible 68 times.

The Pav Panto gang had audiences rolling in the aisles as Must-See Theatre confirmed “Traditional Scottish panto is alive and well at the Pavilion…” with Reviews Hub adding “A fantastic, five-star, fun, family treat… the ultimate family pantomime in town.”

As with Treasure Island and Beauty and the Beastie, Jock and the Beanstalk also featured local talented youngsters from the area to perform in the junior ensemble, giving them a unique experience to appear at the Pavilion Theatre and become part of the esteemed Pav panto heritage.

This year also saw the Pavilion team proudly joining the city-wide celebrations as Glasgow marked the end of its 850th anniversary year with ‘Get You in Panto Town’, a tribute to the city’s century-old love affair with pantomime. The Pavilion team also partnered with local wagamama as headline sponsor, ensuring panto-goers could make a night of it by tucking into a delicious pan-Asian feast before or after the show. The panto also supported the forthcoming Commonwealth Games project Glasgow 2026, with their head mascot Finnie appearing in every show to hand out the song sheet goodie bags to the children of Glasgow.

During the run cast members appeared in support of many communities around the city. Jock & Jill paid a visit to Social Bite's Festival of Kindness, an initiative to encourage Glaswegians to donate gifts to support people experiencing homelessness at Christmas, and cast members had a blast meeting young fans at Santa's Grotto at the St Enoch Centre.

Panto star Liam Dolan says:

“This has been such a brilliant season.  We love that the panto tradition is alive and kicking… particularly in Glasgow!  It’s often a child’s first experience of theatre, which is huge. It keeps theatre alive. Families come, they see a show, they have a great time, and it becomes a tradition”.

Co-star Stephen Purdon adds “this kind of entertainment doesn’t really exist anywhere else. Theatre isn’t just lifting a remote, it’s this unique, once-a-year event that brings families together. For a lot of people, the panto is the only theatre they see all year, and it’s part of their Christmas. That gets handed down the generations and long may it continue.”

It’s not even Burns night yet, but the team at the Pavilion believe its never to early to talk Panto (OH NO IT’S NOT) as the venue announces that this year, audiences can look forward to a magical, musical, laugh-out-loud Pav Panto spectacular as Goldilocks and the Three Bonnie Bears is already on sale as this year’s festive treat, with casting news revealed very soon…!

Jamie Gordon, the Theatre Director at the Pavilion Theatre said of the panto: ‘This year’s Jock and the Beanstalk has been a truly outstanding success for the Pavilion. The response from audiences has been fantastic with packed houses throughout the season and glowing feedback from industry and audiences alike. Another year of doing what we do best - Scottish humour, family fun, and the magic of live theatre - and we couldn’t be prouder of what we’ve achieved this Christmas.’

Steve Boden from producer Imagine Theatre said: ‘The continued success of the Pavilion Pantomime demonstrates the great love and enthusiasm for a truly Scottish panto.  Pantomime provides opportunities for folk to come together and enjoy a shared experience, whatever your age, celebrating the magic of live theatre and a providing a much-needed break from the trials and tribulations of modern life.’

Our Pavilion family, both onstage and off, work tirelessly during the year to ensure audience get a fantastic funny and colourful show that is truly suitable for everybody. We are thrilled with the success of this year’s production and can’t wait to deliver even more spectacle and surprises in this year’s show.”

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