Qdos pantomimes postpones 2020 shows in Belfast, Aberdeen and Edinburgh

A variety of festive shows run by Qdos pantomimes have cancelled their 2020 dates and moved runs to 2021.

The company revealed earlier this week that, due to lack of clarity from the government, it is currently impossible to plan for pantomime productions without any certainty that they can go ahead.

Last week culture secretary Oliver Dowden announced that it may not be until November that venues will know when exactly they can recommence performances without social distancing.

King's Theatre in Edinburgh has rescheduled Sleeping Beauty to run from 27 November 2021 to 16 January 2022, with Allan Stewart, Andy Gray, Grant Stott and Jordan Young confirmed to return for the festive piece. According to the venue, Sleeping Beauty will be "the last pantomime to be staged at the King's before the theatre undertakes its major refurbishment in the summer of 2022."

Panto represents 30 per cent of King's owner Capital Theatres' annual income, with chief executive Fiona Gibson saying: "There are only three occasions in its 114 year history that a King's panto has not taken place, the last time being 1968 ….so 2020 will be another landmark moment for all the wrong reasons!"

His Majesty's Theatre Aberdeen has rescheduled its production of Beauty and the Beast, now running from 4 December 2021 to 9 January 2022, while Grand Opera House, Belfast, has moved its shows to new dates in 2021, which are to be revealed.