Peterborough’s Cresset Theatre cancels two more productions

Following discussions with the Peterborough Operatic and Dramatic Society (PODS) their productions of ‘The Vicar of Dibely’ and ‘Unmasked concert have now been cancelled.

Both were originally scheduled to take place in November and December but had to be rescheduled because of the announcement on the second lockdown.

Instead, the Vicar of Dibley was moved to take place on January 21-23 and the Unmasked concert to February 6.

Given the third national lockdown though, these performances have also hasd to be cancelled and the decision has been made to cancel these events rather than reschedule them for a third time.

Ticketholders will now be contacted to discuss options.

PODS do, however, plan to put on productions of ‘Elf the Musical’ and ‘Shrek the Musical’ in November 2021 and May 2022 respectively.

A joint statement from PODS and The Cresset said: “Following ongoing discussions between The Cresset and our friends at PODS, we’d firstly like to thank all our ticket holders for their patience while we work to understand our options. The biggest challenge for all of us at this stage is not knowing when restrictions will be relaxed enough to permit rehearsals, and of course performances.

“Rather than postpone these events for a second time without knowing when we will be able to deliver them, we have taken the decision to cancel these events for now, and will be contacting ticketholders to discuss their options. Please bear with us as we work to contact everybody to discuss their options – please be patient, we will be in touch as soon as we can!

“Plans are however moving along for PODS exciting productions of Elf the Musical in November 2021, and Shrek the Musical in May 2022. Customers with tickets for Vicar of Dibley or Unmasked will be given the option to transfer their tickets to either of these productions and benefit from a price match reduction in the process. Alternatively, full refunds will of course be available.

“The whole team at PODS and The Cresset are saddened to not be able to put these shows on at the moment, particularly after so much work has gone into preparing them for a socially distanced audience.

“We recognise the value of theatre and the arts at this time, and were so looking forward to presenting some theatrical joy to brighten some dark days. However, of course, the safety of everyone is our priority and so it is the right decision for now. We hope to be able to stage one or both productions in the near future, so do keep an eye on our social media channels for updates.

“Meanwhile please keep yourselves safe and well, and keep smiling – after all as Buddy the Elf said “smiling’s my favourite!”