A magical trip to the panto with Syngenta

Pantomime creates magic, offers escapism, and a chance for children and young people to be inspired.

Our annual Christmas Heroes appeal raises money to bring the magic of pantomime to children and their families, who otherwise may not be able to visit us. This year, for every £19 we raise we can bring one person to see our festive family Pantomime, Cinderella, with a VIP ticket, a programme, and an ice cream. Pantomime is often a child’s first experience of theatre, but for many children and their families in Kirklees a festive trip to the theatre just isn’t possible.

For the past 6 years, employees from Syngenta Huddersfield have supported our Christmas Heroes appeal by making a generous donation through the Syngenta Employees Community Gift, a fund where staff make donations from their salary which is matched by the company.

This year, Syngenta invited 400 children from the local area to visit our theatre and watch a special performance of our pantomime, Cinderella. Syngenta arranged transport to and from the theatre and each child was treated to a Northern Bloc ice cream at the interval.

Diane Schalge from Syngenta said: “Yet another utterly fantastic performance at the Lawrence Batley Theatre, this year it was the turn of Cinderella. It is one of the highlights of my year and I’m incredibly proud to represent Syngenta as we continue this wonderful tradition of creating unforgettable memories for local children. Witnessing the joy on the faces of hundreds of children as they experienced the magic of the pantomime was truly heart-warming and I’m already counting down the days until next year’s performance.”

Becky Dash, Chief Executive of Lawrence Batley Theatre said "A massive thank you to the Syngenta employees for supporting our Christmas Heroes appeal once again this year. Live performances and pantomime in particular are all about forgetting about everything that's happening in reality and being transported into a world of joy, silliness and magic where the good guys always win. As a charity, being about to work with organisations like Syngenta to support local children to share in that magic through our Christmas Heroes campaign is an absolute joy and one we look forward to every year!"

There’s still time to donate to our Christmas Heroes appeal. For every £19 we raise this year, we can cover the costs to bring one child to experience the magic of pantomime with a VIP ticket, a programme and an ice-cream. Every donation, however large or small, can make a real difference.