Pantomime Company was formed in 1997 to continue the strong tradition of pantomime already established at Concordia Theatre by previous companies and is now affiliated to both the Concordia Theatre & The National Operatic & Dramatic Association (NODA)

We are lucky here at the Concordia theatre to follow in the long tradition of presenting quality, traditional Pantomimes for the people of Hinckley and District. The seeds of the present day company we set way back in the 60’s, and perhaps even before that in the form of Sunday School and chapel productions in Barwell and Earl Shilton in the 50’s. In 1963, Jack Marvin and Brian Geary, along with local dance teacher Monica Mason presented the pantomime ‘Cinderella’ at Earl Shilton Working Mens Club to help raise money for local charities on behalf of  the Barwell and Earl Shilton 20 Club. They raised the princely sum of £60 from the venture! Jack had a fantastic artistic flair for painting scenery and could often be found painting backcloths on his lawn. He had always followed the professional pantomime at the Palace Theatre in Leicester and the Coventry Theatre both now sadly long gone. Jack would try to emulate these productions in his pantomimes at Earl Shilton. These early shows saw the formation of the Earl Shilton Pantomime Company. They continued into the beginning of the 70’s at the Working Mens Club in Earl Shilton.

In November 1972 the Concordia Theatre opened its doors, and Jack was asked if he wanted to move his pantomime company to Hinckley and become one of the several affiliated societies performing at the new venue. He readily took up the offer and in March 1973 presented ‘Humpty Dumpty’. This was revamped version of the last pantomime he presented in Earl Shilton. The stage at the new theatre was considerably bigger than that of a working men’s club and Jack had to extend many of the cloths! By 1978 the Earl Shilton Pantomime Company had become the Theatre Pantomime Company and Jack had handed the reigns over to Brian Geary. In 1980 John Hill joined the production team as wardrobe master and later took on the dual roles of Company Manager and production assistant. Sadly in 1996 Brian passed away suddenly mid rehearsal for the 1997 pantomime ‘Babes in the Wood’ – the show went ahead with veteran dame Roy Johnson and Elva Geary at the helm.

In 1997 a new company was formed by John Hill to present future pantomimes at the theatre, this is the company we have now ‘Pantomime Company’.  The Concordia theatre allowed the new company to take over the previous company’s affiliation, and the rest as they say is history.

Our Previous Productions

Productions at Earl Shilton Working Mens Club

1963 – Cinderella
1964 – Babes in the Wood
1965 – Mother Goose
1966 – Jack and the Beanstalk
1967 – Dick Whittington and his Cat
1968 – Aladdin
1969 – Puss in Boots
1970 – Humpty Dumpty

Earl Shilton Pantomime Company

1973 – Humpty Dumpty
1974 – Puss in Boots
1975 – Aladdin and his Wonderful Lamp
1976 – Mother Goose
1977 – Dick Whittington and his Cat

Previous pantomime productions at the Concordia Theatre

Theatre Pantomime Company

1978 – Sleeping Beauty
1979 – Puss in Boots
1980 – Babes in the Wood
1981 – Aladdin and his Wonderful Lamp
1982 – Humpty Dumpty
1983 – Cinderella
1984 – Jack and the Beanstalk
1985 – Dick Whittington
1986 – Mother Goose
1987 – Puss in Boots
1988 – Aladdin and his Wonderful Lamp
1989 – Cinderella
1990 – Jack and the Beanstalk
1991 – Babes in the Wood
1992 – Humpty Dumpty
1993 – Puss in Boots
1994 – Dick Whittington
1995 – Aladdin and his Wonderful Lamp
1996 – Mother Goose
1997 – Babes in the Wood

The Pantomime Company (the company we have now)

1998 – Robinson Crusoe
1999 – The Pied Piper of Hamelin
2000 – Cinderella
2001 – Goldilocks and the Three Bears
2002 – Puss in Boots
2003 – Aladdin and his Wonderful Lamp
2004 – Dick Whittington
2005 – Jack and the Beanstalk
2006 – Humpty Dumpty
2007 – Sleeping Beauty
2008 – Sinbad the Sailor
2009 – Cinderella
2010 – Puss in Boots
2011 – Mother Goose
2012 – Aladdin and his Wonderful Lamp
2013 – Dick Whittington
2014 – Jack and the Beanstalk
2015 – Humpty Dumpty
2016 – Cinderella
2017 – The Frog Prince
2018 – Robinson Crusoe and the Pirates of the Pacific
2019 – Beauty and the Beast
2020 – Aladdin and his Wonderful Lamp
2021 – The Big Panto Adventure – May/June – Covid socially distanced event
2022 – Goldilocks and the Three Bears
2023 – Sleeping Beauty
2024 – Puss in Boots
2025 – Mother Goose