The "mortified" family who were kicked out of the matinee performance of the Mother Goose Show have returned to the theatre.
John Goddard, 35, his wife and their six week old baby boy were kicked out of Liverpool Empire Theatre on Wednesday, March 1, just after they sat down to watch the pantomime. John bought a £50 theatre voucher for his wife on Valentine's Day in 2022 and decided to buy tickets for Mother Goose as they wanted to bring their baby along.
The family arrived at the theatre 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 were really looking forward to this, my wife had a really tough labour and recovery and I thought this would be a really lovely treat for her. 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."
John said he told staff he had checked the terms and conditions and would not be leaving the theatre. The conditions on the AMG website read "babes in arms (children under 18 months) shall be admitted free of charge to those events they may attend (children's shows and Pantomimes only)". Staff responded by calling security and the family was taken into the foyer.
John said: "By this point 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.
"When we went into the foyer they closed the doors and my heart sank because I knew we were not getting back in. I showed staff the terms and conditions and staff, when challenged about this, they said 'this particular production has stated no children under age of three'."
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 said the family has accepted the apology and will return to the theatre to see Mother Goose on Friday (March 3).
John said: "I've spoken to the Theatre Director on the phone earlier and had a follow up email as well in which she admitted her staff got it wrong, apologised, and offered for us to attend a show as the theatres guests. [We're] going to see Mother Goose on Friday, once confirmed by the Theatre Director. Me and my wife have accepted the apology and am pleased they acknowledged responsibility for their mistake, and are hopeful other new parents/families won't share the same experience we had.
"I'm going to update my social media posts to reflect that the Empire have accepted responsibility, apologised, and have made efforts to make the situation right. They haven't asked me to do this, but I think it's only fair that I do so."
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