Norton Baptist Church

A £2,500 grant from the Baptist Insurance Company helped Norton Baptist Church bring a professional Christian theatre company into the local community, creating a joyful Christmas event for more than 200 people and helping to fund a follow-up schools event focused on online safety.

Norton Baptist Church used the grant to host Jack and the Beanstalk, a Christmas family pantomime performed by Saltmine Theatre Company at the Thurston Sixth Form Theatre.

The funding covered the cost of the theatre company, venue hire and refreshments, enabling the church to focus on hosting, promotion and ticket sales. It helped make such an uplifting event accessible to families across the community at a time of year when shared celebration, encouragement and connection can mean so much.

The pantomime was an incredible success, with more than 200 children and adults coming together to enjoy the show. Families joined enthusiastically in all the classic pantomime traditions, from “he's behind you!” to cheering the hero and booing the villain. The atmosphere was lively and full of laughter, giving people of all ages the chance to share in a memorable community experience.

Norton Baptist Church has worked with Saltmine Theatre Company over a number of years and values the quality, creativity and Christian message woven through its productions. Jack and the Beanstalk was no exception.

The production carried the message “Don't fear, God's here”, using the familiar story of Jack's adventure to explore where true strength can be found when facing fear. In an uncertain world, Norton Baptist Church felt this was a particularly important message to share, and the theatre company provided a warm, engaging and accessible way to do so.

At the end of the performance, the cast spoke about Saltmine's work, the values of Christianity and their own personal faith - the cast members were available afterwards to speak with anyone who wanted to ask questions about the company, the production or their faith. The discussion about faith felt like a natural end to the evening.

The church’s aims were threefold: to introduce more people to Saltmine Theatre Company, to offer high-quality family entertainment with a gospel message, and to raise awareness of the work of the local church.

The success of the pantomime also enabled the church to fund a second Saltmine visit early the next year. In February, the company returned to perform Blast Off, an internet safety and awareness production for the children and staff of the local primary school, with accompanying workshops about online safety, cyber-bullying, grooming and inappropriate content, all presented from a Christian perspective.

The church now hopes to build on this success by inviting Saltmine Theatre Company back to perform further productions for the wider community, sharing more faith-based messages through modern-day twists on classic tales.