Panto season may be at an end (oh no it isn’t…oh yes it IS!) but that’s no excuse to hang up the polka-dot tights and bid farewell to the bloomers just yet…

With the curtain coming down on yet another spectacular Hippodrome pantomime season, we’ve put together a list of sensational stats celebrating the men and women behind the magic of Dick Whittington!

  • Since the show’s opening on 19th December, the cast of Dick Whittington have spent over 180 hours on stage spread across 72 individual performances.
  • This year’s production of Dick Whittington features a grand total of 120 costumes wig/headdresses and 100 individual pairs of shoes.
  • For each performance of panto, there are 482 lighting cues, 300 Sound cues and 30 Pyrotechnic cues!
  • During this year’s panto, the wardrobe Department will process an impressive 375 loads of washing, consuming over 28kg of washing powder.
  • This year’s panto has attracted audiences from across the length and breadth of the UK and even further afield with bookers travelling from Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Tokyo and San Francisco!
  • Out of the 100,000+ theatre-goers who passed through Birmingham Hippodrome’s doors this panto season, only ONE shares the name of our valiant hero! A Helen Whittington from Leicestershire!
  • A grand total of 23,846 Ice creams have been sold across this year’s pantomime run.
  • Since first exploding onto the Hippodrome stage in 2013, Matt Slack has appeared in over 300 performances of panto – that’s the equivalent of 720+ hours on stage!
  • Over 288 children have enjoyed their ‘5 minutes of fame’ on stage with Matt Slack during the Song Sheet this year – that’s a lot of magic £10 notes!
  • Over 1800 FOH staff have welcomed audiences through the doors of Birmingham Hippodrome this festive season!
  • Panto wouldn’t be panto without a spot of slap-stick…or a few unexpected bumps and bruises! This year’s show saw Matt Slack take an unexpected tumble during a slapstick routine leading to a nasty sprained ankle shortly after Christmas! Ever the professional, there was no slacking for this much-loved star who went on to finish the show regardless…only to head straight to A & E once curtain came down!
  • In total, this year’s ’12 Days of Christmas’ routine has featured 72 Floppy Woppy Tiddlers for Tea, 144 Super Soakers, 216 Football Shirts, 288 Smelly Socks, 360 Rubber Rings, 432 Peshwari Naans, 504 Baywatch Babes, 576 Welly Boots, 648 Smelly Kippers, 720 Crabby Nippers, 792 Crazy Quackers and 864 Christmas Crackers.
  • When they weren’t entertaining crowds on stage, our 2016-17 panto stars could be found out and about enjoying the sights and sounds of Brum. Among our stars’ favourite celebrity hang outs this year were The Sea Life Centre where a delighted Steve McFadden came face-to-face with Molokai the Sea Turtle, Itihaas Indian Restaurant, Jaguar Land-rover in Solihull, BBC Birmingham and Birmingham back-to-backs.
  • Ever loyal to his cockney roots, Eastenders’ star Steve McFadden (a.k.a King Rat) has been enjoying his own taste of home right here in Birmingham with a special delivery of Jellied Eels served up weekly from Birmingham Market! You can take the boy out of the East End but you can’t take the East End out of the boy!

Ticket for Birmingham Hippodrome’s 2017-18 pantomime, Cinderella, are now on sale. To book, call 0844 338 5000 or visit www.birminghamhippodrome.com