The UK’s beleaguered theatres have warned that panto season could be cancelled, leading to catastrophic losses in revenue, unless the government is able to reassure people that live performances will continue in the winter. The annual pantomime season is more than just a festive tradition for British theatres; in some cases it accounts for more than a quarter of their annual box office and acts as a cash injection to fuel other work and investment. But the impact of Covid-19, which has already devastated theatres, is threatening their golden goose as directors weigh up whether to risk going ahead with expensive productions that may not happen. “That could really mean the closure of an awful lot of theatres. It’s that impactful,” Jo Hemmant, executive director of the Hackney Empire, said, adding that without a pantomime season many theatres could face closure. “We’re planning for it but knowing in the back of our minds it may not happen.” Last season the the Theatre Royal Nottingham’s panto brought in £1.5m, which was approximately 8% of the total box office income for that year. For some theatres that figure is far higher. The Liverpool Everyman Rock’n’Roll Panto generates 26% of its total box office takings and brings additional income via increased sales of drinks, programmes and merchandise. That lack of clear government guidance is hampering theatres, as promotion of pantomime usually starts in February, with theatres having to pay upwards of £350,000 for set and costumes. At present the government says theatres can open but no live performances can take place, which leaves theatres weighing up whether to risk an expensive but potentially lucrative panto run or not risk it and shutter until the new year. In panto, a few tried-and-tested titles dominate the landscape – Cinderella, Snow White and Aladdin remain among the most popular. Seven titles accounted for more than 94% of sales in 2016, with some panto actors earning £30,000 a week. That predictability and guaranteed selling power means that many theatres rely on pantomimes to cover the cost of less popular productions. Qdos Entertainment, which is the country’s biggest pantomime producer, said it was keeping plans “under review” and that it was “too early to make further decisions about Christmas while plans to reopen theatres are yet to be worked through”. The Theatre Royal Nottingham, which partners with Qdos, said it would make a decision about this year’s panto once government plans on how theatres could safely re-open were announced “hopefully in the following weeks”. “The pressure on us is working out how long we can leave it before we have to make a definite decision,” said the Liverpool Everyman’s chief executive, Mark Da Vanzo. “We’re not the only theatre on that boat. A lot of us throughout the country are struggling with the same time frame.” Da Vanzo said he was concerned about government restrictions affecting the quality of pantomimes, which need audience interaction to function. “If you start to change it because of the restrictions that are put in place then it could affect future sales and future years. You don’t want to give people a bad experience,” he said. “We wouldn’t compromise the artistic integrity of panto,” said Hemmant, who launched a crowdfunding project to save the Hackney Empire this week. “Panto is a tactile beast, the dame goes out into the audience. If [restrictions] are going to compromise the offer, we’d find it very difficult to go ahead.” Pantos dominate Christmas and new year, with research from the Stage about the 2016 season showing that they accounted for 45% of all revenue during the festive period, compared with musicals (about 29%), plays (8%), concerts (7%) and ballet (6%). Da Vanzo said the Everyman was planning for a scenario where they did not host a panto and chose another option. “It might not be panto, it might be something on a smaller and safer scale,” he said. Hemmant said that another issue was that without clear government guidance soon theatres would not have enough time to promote and sell enough tickets to make their panto seasons viable. “What worries me the most, I suppose, is this sort of drip feed. We’ve been told theatres can open but you can’t do any live performance. Our business model is built on earned income.” Da Vanzo said the nightmare scenario would be deciding to put the panto on, then a second wave of Covid-19 hitting. “Say if we green light it, and you start to spend hundreds of thousands on promotion and a second wave hits and then you get a second mandate to close,” he said. “With no central government support, you suddenly go from a relatively stable position to closure.”