As the curtains went up on 2015’s giant pantomime, the Lichfield Garrick is celebrating after raising £6,063 for the We Love Lichfield Fund, in what will be one of the biggest organisational donations in the fund’s history.

The fund was mentioned on stage in each Jack and the Beanstalk performance to help raise awareness, and the staff and cast collected donations throughout the theatre after the performance.

Karen Foster, Lichfield Garrick’s Executive Director, said: “During the Garrick’s pantomime season, we are proud to have supported We Love Lichfield. Our staff, as part of our commitment to our community, have raised £6,063 for the fund. We are delighted that this will enable We Love Lichfield to reach many community groups and benefit a wide range of local good causes. Our thanks to audience members for their generosity.”

This is the second year the Lichfield Garrick and We Love Lichfield have worked together during the Christmas season, having raised just over £3,000 in 2014’s pantomime, Cinderella. It’s the perfect start to the new year for the fund, which distributes grants of up to £1,000 to voluntary groups and good causes across Lichfield District.

Simon Price, Patron of We Love Lichfield, said: "One word. Wow. This is one of the biggest amounts we have received and I am so grateful to the panto's performers and the Garrick staff for their hard work in raising this amount."

Julian Fisher, from We Love Lichfield, said: "And it isn't just amount the money raised. We had a special mention in every panto performance which spread the word about the work of the Fund across the district."

This season’s festive offering has broken box office records for sales, with more than 27,000 people seeing Jack and the Beanstalk during its four and a half week run. Produced by Artistic Director, Tim Ford, Jack and the Beanstalk has been widely regarded as the best pantomime the Lichfield Garrick has produced and has been thoroughly enjoyed by its patrons.

In what will be Ian Adams’ (Dame Trott) last pantomime at the Lichfield Garrick, Tim Ford, said: “We have had a fantastic Christmas this year at the Lichfield Garrick. I am incredibly proud of the whole team and I thoroughly enjoyed making the show with Ian. We are truly grateful to him for all the hard work, energy and passion that he has given to the Lichfield Garrick over the last few years and he will be missed. However I am delighted that we already have plans in place to ensure that Christmas 2016 will be another fantastic show.”

There is no rest for the team who put together Lichfield Garrick’s pantomime as preparations have already begun for 2016’s enchanting production, Sleeping Beauty – The Pantomime of Dreams.

The theatre will be announcing more information on this year’s pantomime in the spring with early bird tickets now on sale from the Garrick Box Office on 01543 412121 or www.lichfieldgarrick.com