Pantomime

Bonjour mon chéri, Our tale is as old as time! One of magic, adventure, love and the importance of inner beauty. What is this tale you ask? Well, let me provide you with the short story version.

Once upon a time in a castle in the faraway land (ok - across the channel) of France, an evil enchantress put a curse on a prince who thought he was all that and turned him into a ferocious Beast. Now he will forever be this Beast until the curse is broken, which can only be done when he learns that who we are on the inside is just as important as how we look on the outside. In a nearby village a girl named Belle dreams of adventure. Unforeseen events take her away from her village as the Beast and Belle find themselves on an unexpected collision course that may change their lives forever! Along with the prince's former household staff, who have all been turned into walking, talking household objects (odd, we know), Belle tries to show the Beast what it really means to be human and that true beauty can only come from within.

But Belle and the rest of the castle household must watch out! The evil enchantress and her lackeys will do all they can to stop her breaking the curse!

As our tale continues, we can only ask, can Belle help the Beast to break the curse before the last petal falls? Can the local librarian organise the Beast's extensive library? And will Belle's father ever get his play on le Broadway?

Only time (and the Pantomime) will tell! Tick-Tock!

PwC Pantomime

Babes in the Wood in 2023 was our 36th Pwc Pantomime, a remarkable achievement for a unique charitable theatrical production.

The Pantomime is put together by around 200 PwC staff and alumni who work on all aspects of the production in their spare time, covering everything from acting, singing, dancing and directing to script and lyric writing, costume design, make-up, lighting, sound, backstage crew, music arrangement and playing in the band.

The PwC Pantomime is an important part of the PwC in the Community programme in the UK. It is supported financially by the PwC Management Board and the fundraising efforts of the PwC Pantomime Production Team.

The wider PwC in the Community programme in the UK has been running for over two decades and aims to promote the social inclusion of those in the communities where we have an office presence. In the year to June 2015, over 60,000 working hours were donated by 5,405 of our staff across the country to a wide range of activities which focussed on education, employability and the environment. Our total community contribution - including cash, time and in-kind support - amounted to £6.9m.

Each year the Pantomime supports a different charity, from Great Ormond Street Hospital to Whizz Kidz.

Why do we do it?

Our aim is to bring joy to children, particularly to those from inner-city schools and charities, by giving them the chance to see a theatrical production at a professional theatre, and we aspire to spark in them a life-long love of the performing arts.

During the 2020 run of Treasure Island, PwC gave away around 8,000 tickets to disadvantaged children from inner city schools and charities, in addition to providing free transportation to the show and a goody bag, courtesy of our generous sponsors. Special performances were signed for hearing impaired children and described for visually impaired children, and the latter were also given a chance to interact with props, musical instruments and costumes before the show as part of our annual "touch tour".

As well as meeting some of the firm's corporate sustainability objectives, the PwC Pantomime also provides PwC employees with a means of developing skills they can apply on the job, such as teamwork, leadership, communication, planning and time management. It’s a great example of the firm doing the right thing for our clients, our people and our communities.