A Walney theatre company has had to suspend full-scale pantomimes due to low ticket sales.

Walney Musical Theatre Company says it has had to suspend the productions, including summer pantomime Aladdin, due to 'slow' ticket sales.

The company says in order to break even for Aladdin it would have needed to have sold just shy of 1,000 tickets however has only sold 214 as of yesterday (August 7). The company has instead focused all of its energy into promoting its main show Grease, which carries a much bigger budget.

The company has just finished a successful week-long run of Grease.

By continuing with Aladdin, however, it says it would have suffered enormous losses and any money made on Grease would have been instantly lost - making future productions hard to finance.

Speaking on its Facebook page yesterday regarding Aladdin, the Walney Musical Theatre Company said: "Put simply, we lack the financial reserves to soak up this loss - estimated to be at least £6,000 even if we sold another 200 tickets. We will still have to pay out on this production but the money lost this way is much less than it would have been had we gone ahead."

It also added: "Families are stretched at the moment, with the cost of living crisis hitting us all. Our last pantomime, Jack & The Beanstalk in 2021, was in a very different landscape.

"Mid COVID, we couldn’t go on holidays, and theatres had been closed for a year so our offering then was a novelty, something exciting and something, after months of being trapped inside, to finally do.

"It’s different this year, with holidays back on the agenda and all of our personal finances being ever more squeezed."

The company said it is also aware of 'market saturation' and after discussion with other societies is committing to no more than two Forum productions a year to encourage a healthier, less competitive market for amateur dramatics.

It then went on to apologise to cast and choreographers and offered audiences transfer tickets to its November production of Elf The Musical at no further cost, saving £4 per ticket or a full refund.

To find out more updates on Walney Musical Theatre Company productions, visit the Facebook page.