Details

27 mins, 2005

A star from Eastenders, Toyah and a load of corny gags – the pantomime at the Marlowe Theatre has the lot. But how do their information systems work?

TICKETING: The computerised ticketing system reserves you a seat and even warns if there’s bad language in the show. But the real prize is online booking via the Internet.

MARKETING: The address of everyone who buys a ticket goes into the theatre’s database – crucial for mailshots and targeted marketing.

FINANCE: Monitoring finance is the job of theatre director Mark. His spreadsheets not only keep tabs on how the panto’s doing but also ice cream sales.

LIGHTING: Without lights the show can’t go on. And these days without a computer system the theatre can’t manage the lights. But what happens if the system goes phut?