Christmas is cancelled? Oh no, it isn’t! Car Park Panto is coming to Knebworth House this December as the Hertfordshire estate welcomes the world’s first and best-selling drive-in Christmas show.
Since the first announcement of Car Park Panto, there has been a flurry of media attention around the unique idea of staging one of the most beloved family festive highlights as a drive-in.
The public loved the idea also, snapping up tickets within a matter of hours, leading to 10 sold-out venues.
Due to the phenomenal demand from around the UK, Car Park Panto, in partnership with the Birmingham Stage Company and Horrible Histories, will be coming to Knebworth House for three amazing performances on Christmas Eve – Thursday, December 24.
Tickets go on sale at 9am on Friday, October 9 via Carparkparty.com
While panto has been postponed at the Gordon Craig Theatre in Stevenage this Christmas, Horrible Histories comes to the rescue with their own unique take on the festive season.
After performing at various sell-out Car Park Theatre events this summer, it was evident to Horrible Histories actor/manager Neal Foster that the audience for live theatre is huge, even during this current COVID-19 time.
“We were thrilled to be invited to take part in the run of Car Park Party events around the country and were overwhelmed by the response of the audience, who were clearly delighted and relieved to see actors live on stage again.
“I was totally surprised by just how well Car Park Theatre worked and loved the whole collective experience.”
Horrible Christmas is the story of how Christmas came to be what it is today, enabling families to enter into the festive spirit in a safe, socially distanced manner, from the comfort of their own car.
When Christmas comes under threat from a jolly man dressed in red, it’s up to one young boy to save the day – but can he save Christmas?
From Victorian villains to Medieval monks, Puritan parties to Tudor treats, join Horrible Histories on a hair-raising adventure through the history of Christmas in the company of Charles Dickens, Oliver Cromwell, King Henry VIII and St Nicholas as they all join forces to save the festive season.
Christmas is often the first time a child experiences live theatre and now with hundreds of shows, big and small, being cancelled throughout the land, families and children in particular are going to lose out on one of the cornerstones of the festive period.
Horrible Histories will hopefully go some way to providing the laughter and cheer with this perfect story for the times at Knebworth House this December.
Neal Foster continued: “We can’t wait to be back on stage in cities and towns that will be crying out for a Christmas show to entertain their families.
“As you’d expect from Horrible Histories, it’s not a traditional pantomime, but a journey through the story of Christmas in the company of the season’s most fabulous characters.
“It’s the perfect story for families this winter, as one young boy battles to save Christmas for the world, in this hilarious, joyous and moving celebration.”
The team behind Car Park Theatre is passionate about live theatrical entertainment and, in a world where this has been put on pause, they have created the ultimate safe, social distancing solution to bring the festive cheer back into people’s lives and communities back together.
Based on the best-selling books written by Terry Deary and published by Scholastic, the Birmingham Stage Company first launched Horrible Histories live on stage in 2005 with the world premieres of Terrible Tudors and Vile Victorians.
Since then the Birmingham Stage Company has produced 18 different Horrible shows, performing to over three million people in the UK, including the longest-running children’s show in West End history, with its record-breaking series Barmy Britain.
The new Car Park Panto Horrible Christmas show will be adhering to all the current COVID-19 social distancing guidelines to ensure everybody has an enjoyable and very safe experience.
A traffic management team will be on site and all vehicles will be parked two metres apart.
Tickets will be scanned through the windows, so no human contact will be necessary.
There are limited tickets for each show, priced at £47 per sleigh car, £2.50 booking fee applies.
So grab the reins and secure your space for the drive-in event of the winter.
Performance times at Knebworth House are 11am, 2pm and 5pm.
Tickets and T&Cs are available at carparkparty.com
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