Panto is back this Christmas... oh yes it is!

For the most part, 'Panto's Got Talent' will be made for free, but we need to raise £1000 to pay essential costs that cannot be avoided.

We are then aiming to raise a further £7,000 to split between our two wonderful charities. That's 700 tenners!

We normally have 1,000 audience strong with tickets up to £25, so let's make this happen!

We will share the link with everyone who donates: you can view the show at 7pm on Tuesday 22nd December.

About

Just when you thought 2020 couldn’t get any better, the Portobello Panto returns in its latest iteration. This year, rather than having to drag yourselves from your homes, the Panto is coming to YOU, with a live broadcast packed with show-stopping songs and gastric-band ripping laughs: Panto's Got Talent. The best thing about it? You will be able to heckle and boo and hiss from the safety of your own sofa.

The Portobello Panto began more than 30 years ago in a pub on the Portobello Road. Since then, it has raised hundreds of thousands of pounds for local charities and featured performances from Mick Jones, Kate Moss, Lily Allen and David Gest, among many others. However, despite the ample glitz, at its core the Panto is a community event that brings together artists, performers and school kids from the local area to have fun, entertain the crowds and raise money for good causes.

Its 2019 production, A Portobello Christmas Carol, raised nearly £10,000 for the Shepherd’s Bush Families Project and GLUE W11, a North Kensington-based youth programme. The funds raised every year for these organisations are vital at the best of times. During a pandemic, they are doubly so: it could make the difference between these charities surviving the winter or not. With that in mind, we’re determined to raise as much as possible this year. As ever, the Panto is reliant on the work of skilled unpaid volunteers and unskilled unpaid celebrities to get the show on the road; or, in this case, on your screens.

Shepherd’s Bush Families Project & Children’s Centre:

This wonderful charity was founded in 1988 to assist families enduring social and economic hardship in Hammersmith & Fulham. The Project works with families to promote emotional, social and intellectual development in infants, children and young people by providing a range of high-quality, stimulating educational and recreational activities and services. Its aim is to help those from disadvantaged backgrounds flourish in society. The Project assists parents in their goal of replenishing their emotional reserves and confidence, and thereby empowering them to meet their children’s needs, and reducing the risk of family breakdown. SBFP relies on Grant Aid and donations and must raise £250,000 per year to continue its crucial work. www.shepherdsbushfamiliesproject.org; twitter.com/SBFamiliesproj

GLUE: (G)uided (L)earning, (U)niting and (E)ducating:

Based in the heart of Ladbroke Grove, GLUE uses the arts to inspire young people aged 5-15. The community-led programme provides free workshops in subjects such as drama, creative writing, steel pan and street dance for those with limited resources. GLUE’s inspirational young people are active representatives of their community, forming part of the Mangrove Masquerade Junior Band at Notting Hill Carnival and performing in the Portobello Pantomime’s ensemble. GLUE’s mission is to provide a space where young members can become creatively inspired, culturally engaged and encouraged to achieve success and social progress through the arts. https://www.thetabernaclew11.com/glue