Under normal circumstances Made to Measure Productions would be staging a production at Weymouth Pavilion, but due to Covid-19 the company has had to diversify and create a new way to provide family entertainment in Dorset this summer.

Made to Measure Productions and Weymouth Pavilion have formed a new partnership with The Nothe Fort for ‘Pirates of the Pavilion’ to return to the town for its seventh swashbuckling season.

The audience will watch the show from socially-distanced seats, allowing family groups to sit together whilst maintaining a safe distance from other audience members, and hand sanitiser stations will be positioned around the fort. Booking will be via the Weymouth Pavilion website and digital or print-at-home tickets will be scanned on arrival, before audience members are shown to their seats by Nothe Fort and Weymouth Pavilion staff and volunteers.

Lee Redwood, writer and director of the show, who also stages pantos at Wimborne’s Tivoli Theatre said, “Many theatres around the country are in an impossible position due to the pandemic, and in order to survive we have to think outside-the-box. In this instance, we have been able to think ‘outside-the-theatre’ and are delighted to be working alongside Weymouth Pavilion and The Nothe Fort on this very exciting project, which will not only be supporting two hugely popular local leisure businesses, but also offer the general public the entertainment that they have been craving.”

James Farquharson, chairman of Nothe Fort said, “Pirates of the Pavilion is a much-loved feature of sunny summer holidays in Weymouth. The Fort’s parade ground is a fantastic space for community events, as last year’s Museum of the Moon proved, and we will be able to offer a wide range of cover-safe features.”

Pirates of the Pavilion – Live at Nothe Fort will be performed twice daily from 17-23 August at 4.30pm and 7.30pm each day. Audiences can gain access to the fort from one hour prior to the performance with an interactive warm-up taking place from 30 minutes prior to show time. Tickets cost just £15 each and are available online at www.weymouthpavilion.com