The King’s Theatre Edinburgh is working with the Arts Programme at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children, the first children's hospital in Scotland, to deliver Panto Presents, a new project to bring the magic of pantomime to children and families from all over Scotland in the hospital over the festive period.
Throughout December and January, staff from the Learning & Participation team at the King’s, along with actors and crew from the King’s panto, will be visiting the Sick Kids hospital to deliver workshops, have a cast meet and greet and distribution of tickets to see this year’s show, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
To get the project started, staff at the hospital were given Panto Presents, boxes filled with panto - related props and activities for each ward to play with and explore the story of Snow White in special play workshops. Storytelling sessions and an exhibition of the artwork will take the show to the hospital, and children and families that are able to leave the hospital on day release will be invited to see a performance of the panto at the King’s.
Fiona O’Sullivan, Arts Programme Manager at the Sick Kids Friends Foundation, said, “The Sick Kids Friends Foundation cannot thank the Festival Theatres enough for bringing Panto Presents to the Royal Hospital for Sick Children (RHSC) in Edinburgh…. It’s fantastic when organisations like the Festival Theatres get involved in our vital Arts Programme as we continue to transform the hospital experience for children and young people, ensuring they are a child first and a patient second.”
Panto Presents will run over three years initially, with a view to it becoming a permanent fixture in the Education and Outreach programme of the Festival and King’s Theatres.
The King’s Theatre pantomime, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, continues until Sunday 17 January 2016. For more information go to: www.edtheatres.com/snowwhite