The Stage

Qdos’ panto crown threatened as theatrical giants join forces

Published Friday 14 January 2005 at 11:50 by Jeremy Austin

Regional theatre’s two largest players, Clear Channel Entertainment and the Ambassador Theatre Group, have formed a pantomime production company that threatens Qdos’ dominance of the seasonal entertainment market.

First Family Entertainment, headed by CCE Europe chief executive David Ian and ATG managing director Howard Panter, will initially produce nine pantomimes in the Christmas 2005/6 season. Producer Kevin Wood has been made chief executive.

Already performers and directors not normally associated with pantomime - and of the calibre of Ian McKellen, who appeared in the Old Vic’s seasonal show this year - are being linked with the project. The first names are expected to be announced in the next week.

Said Panter: “Of course it is different to David Ian producing Ewan McGregor in Guys and Dolls but on another level it isn’t because that is the level we are working at. We are going to keep up the standards of what we believe are the best productions in London - Guys and Dolls, The Producers.

“I genuinely hope that we will continue having a good and harmonious relationship with [Qdos]. We have no intention of criticising anything they do. We just believe we can run pantomimes in a way that suits our markets in the same way we produce our own plays and musicals for our own market.”

Despite Panter’s insistence of good intentions, Qdos chief executive Nick Thomas issued a muted response to the announcement. Five of the theatres committed to staging a First Family Entertainment pantomime next year - Manchester Opera House, Milton Keynes Theatre, Woking New Victoria, Brighton Theatre Royal and New Wimbledon Theatre - are hosting a Qdos show this year, accounting for around a fifth of the production giant’s output of pantomimes in the 2004/5 season.

Thomas said he had been aware for some time that Qdos’ pantomime contract with ATG was not going to be renewed and added that both ATG and CCE had made bids to acquire his company in April last year. He turned them down.

“Neither I nor my team are ‘corporate employee’ material so we have no desire to work for Howard Panter or David Ian. Subsequently, ATG tried to entice some of our team to create a rival pantomime, without success,” said Thomas.

“We were formally told [about the new company] by fax late on Friday afternoon, in the midst of our sixth and most successful pantomime season in ATG’s venues. Prior to receiving the fax, we were unaware of CCE’s involvement but in any event, we have contracts for the 2005 Manchester and Bristol pantomimes, which David Ian has confirmed will be honoured.”

He added: “2005 marks my 25th year controlling an independent owner-managed business, during which time I have seen many corporate collaborations come and go. We have outlasted them all. I believe independent theatres will continue to support quality independent producers.

“What we do and the way we do it will prevail, as it has for more than 400 pantomimes.”