YOU shall not go to the ball - this year.

Mayflower Theatre pantomime Cinderella is moving to Christmas 2021. 

The show, which was due to run this Christmas, has been rescheduled amid continuing uncertainty over when theatres can reopen following their lengthy coronavirus closure. 

Cinderella will star Craig Revel Horwood as The Wicked Stepmother and Debbie McGee as The Fairy Godmother, as well as Richard Cadell & Sooty. 

All customers with tickets to Cinderella will be contacted soon to move to the new dates in 2021/22. 

Theatre bosses are working on offering some alternative festive magic this Christmas.

Mayflower Theatre Chief Executive Michael Ockwell told the Daily Echo: "With the current government guidance still unclear on when venues can open without social distancing in place and the latest announcement that no decision will be made until November, we have decided with our pantomime partner Qdos Entertainment to postpone the production of Cinderella until Christmas 2021. We will contact customers directly in due course to move their bookings on a year.

"We do not want Christmas to be cancelled for our customers completely so we are working with our producing partner to hopefully present some alternative magical entertainment this Christmas if possible – watch this space!”

Craig Revel-Horwood is a well-known face on television as a judge on all 17 series of BBC One’s Strictly Come Dancing. He wowed Mayflower audiences in 2017’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and as Miss Hannigan in Annie.

Debbie McGee impressed the Strictly judges with her performances on the show. For many years, she worked alongside her late husband Paul Daniels in his award-winning BBC1 TV show The Paul Daniels Magic Show.

Mayflower Theatre is asking customers not to contact the theatre but to wait until they are contacted.