PASSIONATE panto fans braved the pouring rain when they queued from 4am for tickets - for a production that doesn't start until December.
More than 100 people were waiting outside the doors of the Theatre Royal when the box office for Cinderella, starring Berwick Kaler and Martin Barrass as the Ugly Sisters, opened at 9am on Saturday, and 100 more joined the queue throughout the morning.
Parents and grandparents wanting to get prize seats to give as family Christmas presents were among those sheltering from the heavy rain, underneath the parapet of the theatre.
Alan Kitchen, of Poppleton, whose family has been coming to the annual show for 24 years, said: "It is a tradition to come to the Boxing Day matinee, which is very popular, and I'm trying to get seats in the front row of the circle."
Theatre Royal spokesman Duncan Clarke said:"The first person through the doors was a lady called Pat Baxter, who bought two tickets, and the second person was someone who bought up the whole dress circle for post office workers on a certain date."
Updated: 09:29 Monday, April 03, 2006
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