Myths of the Pavilion

In response to Colin Hobbs’ letter on Tuesday, July 29 wishing the best of luck to the Pavilion.

We do read the comments made to any mention of the Pavilion in the Echo from the ‘Pavilion Haters’ and sometimes we do have to laugh to ourselves.

No, we are not perfect and not everything we do is a resounding success and no, not all the shows are sell-outs – we never expected them to be.

We are however doing well and are very pleased with the success so far, but would like to take this opportunity to clear up a few myths the ‘comments’ have brought to light in the past few months: 1. Weymouth Pavilion is not being run by ‘leaderless am dram lovelies with chaffing issues’. It is run by Weymouth Pavilion Community Interest Company. There are a small number of full-time staff, some part-time staff and of course an army of volunteers. The Pavilion welcomes all local groups and if you think they are a ‘small minority’ you are mistaken. WOW performed Grease five times over four days and achieved 3,400 ‘bums on seats’. There are many professional shows out there who would give their back teeth to get in 680 people to see each of their performances!

2. Yes, people do buy tickets for the Pavilion – about 45,000 in the past year.

3. We insist that tickets are affordable and not overpriced.

4. Cinderella had considerably more than 25 people in each performance – 12,600 people bought tickets.

5. We are trying our hardest to fill the gap of a ‘proper’ TIC. We have leaflets, maps, bus timetables, arrange car hire and have access to accommodation details. The only thing we can’t do is sell National Express tickets because National Express won’t let us. You can however buy tickets for The Waverley. Also, our information point is manned every day, quite often late into the evening.

6. No, now is not a silly time to be buying pantomime tickets. If you buy tickets for Aladdin this Christmas before the end of August you can get them at last year’s prices.

We also host numerous private functions. We have birthday parties, weddings, corporate functions, training events, business breakfasts and private meetings. A day with nothing happening is a very rare event. If you want to know more there are open days on Thursdays throughout the summer where you can join a guided tour and have the opportunity to ask questions. The open days and tours are FREE, by the way.

Phil Say & Louise Dominey, Directors Weymouth Pavilion CIC