Sleeping Beauty panto at Falkirk Town Hall cancelled again ... oh yes it was!

The evening performance of Sleeping Beauty was called off two hours before curtain up with Falkirk Council saying “cast and crew illness” forced the late cancellation.

Previously, they had cancelled the planned opening night on Friday, December 9 after the heating broke down in the town hall and the cast were unable to rehearse.

Then the temporary boilers, brought in at a cost of £45,000, failed and performances on Wednesday evening and the Thursday matinee were called off, leaving hundreds of disappointed panto-goers.

Although attempts were made to accommodate people on other dates, many block bookings were unable to be found enough seats and will have their cash refunded.

In a social media post, Falkirk Leisure and Culture, posted: “Unfortunately, we have had to cancel the Sleeping Beauty performance scheduled to take place tonight, Saturday, December 17 at 7pm FTH Theatre due to cast and crew illness.

“We would like to apologise to all customers who have tickets booked for this performance and provide the option for tickets to be exchanged for a future date to see Sleeping Beauty at FTH Theatre or to process a full refund if no alternative dates are suitable. A full list of Sleeping Beauty performances are available to view online. Please contact our Bookings & Sales team on 01324 506 850 (lines open 9am-5pm, Mon-Sat) to exchange your tickets.

“We look forward to welcoming everyone to FTH Theatre for Sleeping Beauty and we thank everyone for their patience and understanding.”

However, it seems that the Falkirk production of Sleeping Beauty isn’t the only one “jinxed” by similar performance issues.

Ayr Gaiety Theatre bosses were forced to cancel performances last week. There was also issues with the theatre’s heating system which saw the curtain fail to rise, then the following day the cast were hit by illness.