The family who were wrongly kicked out of the Mother Goose panto have given their review of the show
John Goddard, 35, his wife and their six week old baby boy were wrongly kicked out of Liverpool Empire Theatre on Wednesday, March 1, just after they sat down to watch the pantomime. John bought the tickets as a present for his wife after she had a "really tough labour."
The family arrived at the theatre with their six week old son and said they were waved through the ticket check and passed "multiple" members of staff without an issue. It wasn't until the family sat down, ten minutes before the show was due to begin, that staff told them they had to leave.
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John told The ECHO: "We really looked into booking the tickets and checked the terms and conditions to make sure we could take our baby along. We arranged for our two and a half year old to be looked after by my parents and I even booked a day off work.
"There were no problems with the staff that checked our tickets. We found our seats and I went to buy us some chocolate, drinks and a programme, but the second I sat back in my seat we were told no babies were allowed in the auditorium and we had to leave."
"My wife was mortified and in tears. Everyone was staring and whispering to each other and we were made to feel like we were the reason everybody else was not watching the show. The baby was asleep in my wife's sling and we even booked an aisle seat so if the baby did cry or need changing, we could leave if we needed to."
After being contacted by The ECHO, Diane Belding, Liverpool Empire’s theatre director, confirmed staff should not have removed John and his family from the audience and issued an apology.
She said: "I was made aware that a member of our audience was asked to leave ahead of yesterday’s matinee performance of Mother Goose. ATG’s policy regarding babes in arms is that infants under 18 months are not permitted.
"An exception is made for children’s shows and pantomimes. Although Mother Goose is a pantomime, there is a recommended age guidance of 3yrs+, which caused some confusion with staff.
"On this occasion, we got it wrong and I am very sorry that Mr Goddard was asked to leave. We have taken steps to ensure the mistake will not be repeated and I am reaching out to Mr and Mrs Goddard personally to invite them back to the Empire as guests of the venue."
John and his family the apology and returned to the theatre to see Mother Goose on Friday (March 3).
John said: "The staff at the Empire were very apologetic and brought us back as 'guests of the house'. They looked after us from the moment we arrived, we had our own private room to use, along with some complimentary refreshments.
"They even managed to fit our daughter in as we couldn't get childcare at short notice. The show was amazing, we are so happy we've been able to experience it, and see these legends live on the stage.
"The baby slept through the entire performance, whereas our daughter was dancing and signing and loved every minute of it. I've sent a thank you email to the Theatre Director thanking her and her team for acknowledging their mistake and then correcting it."
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