Live Streaming of Dick Whittington – The Purrrrrfect Rock ‘N’ Roll Panto is just the tonic for Deeside Hospital patients

As part of its innovative project with the Anglo-Danish technology company Streamer, Theatr Clwyd has made the rock ‘n’ roll panto the latest show to be streamed live to a local audience.

Patients at Deeside Community Hospital in Higher Shotton enjoyed the full two-hour show live from the theatre on Wednesday afternoon.

It’s believed to be the first time a full-scale pantomime has been streamed in Wales.

Liam Evans-Ford, Theatr Clwyd’s Executive Director, commented: “We are pleased to be moving forward, in collaboration with Streamer, on this exciting adventure to make our shows accessible to new audiences across north Wales.

We hope that those who, for a variety of reasons, are unable to come to our theatre, enjoy experiencing the atmosphere of live performances and the magic of panto. We look forward to developing our partnership with Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board and reaching even more of our community through the streaming technology in 2019.”

An ever-popular highlight in the calendar, the panto features a string of favourite songs played live by a talented company of ten actor-musicians.

The cast is led by the Dame, Sarah the Cook, played by the Phylip Harries who is making a welcome return to Mold this year.

The production is currently playing to full houses at matinee and evening performances and has attracted rave notices from both critics and audiences on social media.

The show was introduced in person to hospital patients by Gwennan Mair, who leads theatre’s creative engagement team.

Theatr Clwyd has previously streamed Home I’m Darling, a co-production with the National Theatre, into local care homes.

Carl Walker, Streamer’s Managing Director said: “We’ve been working with Theatr Clwyd throughout 2018 to explore the use of live streaming in performing arts, and this year’s Panto was another excellent example of how to expand the theatre walls to reach an audience who are unable to physically be in the venue, yet can still enjoy the show in very high quality. We were delighted to hear that patients enjoyed the live stream.”

Live streaming of the panto is part of Theatr Clwyd’s community engagement programme, which aims to develop the use of state of the art technology to reach a wider, even global audience for the theatre’s work.

The panto live stream has also been captured on DVD for patients at Mold Community Hospital, Wrexham Maelor Stroke Unit and University Hospital Llandough in Cardiff to enjoy later this month.