Heywood Sports Village to host 2021 Christmas panto

The annual Christmas pantomime will be hosted at Heywood Sports Village this year instead of the usual Heywood Civic Centre

Heywood Sports Village is set to host this year’s production of ‘Cinderella’ while Heywood Civic Centre continues as the town’s primary Covid-19 walk-in testing centre.

Following the cancellation of last year’s panto, Your Trust – the charity behind the annual panto - was determined for this year’s production to go ahead.

The classic rags to riches tale of Cinderella will be performed at Heywood Sports Village, W Starkey Street, OL10 4TW, between Saturday 18 December and Tuesday 28 December 2021.

Welcoming former ‘Coronation Street’ actor who played Ashley Peacock, Steven Arnold will play Buttons, and Steven Hall of ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ fame as the Dame, the cast will come complete with lavish costumes, beautiful dance routines, and plenty of classic panto gags this Christmas.  

Despite the cancellation and postponement of several events due to take place at Heywood Civic Centre this year, Your Trust in partnership with Rochdale Borough Council have worked to ensure that this year’s panto was able to go ahead.

The Sports Village will undergo a magical transformation to turn it into a theatre space to ensure it is ready in time for the first performance.

Jonathan Higgins, Head of Events and Programming for Your Trust, said of the new location: “It has been a challenging eighteen months for everyone, but we were determined to ensure that families in Heywood and the surrounding area can enjoy the return of the highly anticipated Christmas panto. 

“We’ve worked incredibly hard to ensure all of our venues meet strict Covid safety standards and we’re hopeful that nothing will prevent us from putting on a show this Christmas” 

Councillor Peter Rush, Chair of the Heywood Township Committee, said: “It was such a shame to have cancelled last year’s panto due to the pandemic, so we were determined to ensure that the show could go on this year. 

“We recognise the need for Heywood Civic Centre to continue as a walk-in testing centre as we continue to battle the Covid-19 pandemic, but it’s great to have worked with both Trio Entertainment and Your Trust to relocate the event to a new home just five minutes down the road!”

Portfolio Holder for Communities and Co-operation, Councillor Susan Smith, added: “It’s wonderful to confirm that Heywood’s highly anticipated pantomime will be going ahead this year. We’ve worked closely with the organisers to find a safe solution to ensure that residents can get together for some festive fun this Christmas.

"The show must go on!”