We are privileged to host Guide Dogs UK every year at their annual pantomime event for families of young people affected by sight loss.

This year we welcomed 133 individuals via Guide Dogs, for them to enjoy an Audio Described performance of our 2024/2025 pantomime, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST and a touch tour on stage before the show.

Touch tours are a great way for people with sight loss to gain additional details about the show before it begins. For the Guide Dogs events, we run 3 touch tours, taking up to 30 people on stage at a time and our amazing crew set up items of scenery, props and costume for them to interact with. Touch tours are led by the audio describer who goes into great detail about the colours, design and other visual details of the show that there might not be time for in the description during the show.

The staff at Guide Dogs also host a number of activities in the theatre’s front of house areas for families to participate in while they wait for their touch tour and the show. This highlights the services they offer and how people can gain access to support.

As a registered charity, these events are made possible by the kind donations of the public, allowing us to provide subsidised tickets and other opportunities to the Guide Dogs charity. You can make a donation to support us with similar events by clicking here. 

For more information on our access services please email access@grandtheatre.co.uk