Covid Info And Faq
This information will be updated and restrictions will be relaxed as progress is made on the Government easing of lockdown roadmap and further guidance is issued for 19th July.
Welcome to Laugh in the Park 2021! This year we have 4 nights of Comedy, 1 family daytime comedy show, 2 weekend live music afternoons with Our House of Saturday 31 and The Vagaband on Sun1 Aug, plus silent discos each night, followed by an additional week of outdoor cinema! It’s a great programme of events and we are thrilled to be back.
We’ve been running COVID-19 compliant events over the last 12 months so have lots of experience to help this year’s festival run smoothly!
All the shows, events and activities will be presented in compliance with the latest Government guidance and regulations. We will continue with specific control measures to mitigate the risk of the spread of Coronavirus such as contactless payments, hand sanitiser stations, one way systems in our Big Top alongside ventilated sides and these will be reviewed regularly. We encourage people to wear masks inside our Big Top for the comfort of our performers, staff and other audience members.
At the time of writing (June 2021) current Government guidelines require the use of face coverings whilst in an entertainment venue to be mandatory (subject to current medical exemptions). However, with the government update for July 19 2021, we will still require masks for bar service, our staff will wear masks when serving you, as will our front of house staff. If at any time we are aware of members of the public acting in a reckless manner that we consider to be putting staff or other members of the public at risk they will be politely reminded of their responsibilities. If they continue to act in a manner which we consider to be putting others at risk they will be asked to leave and may not be readmitted in the future.
In line with current Government Coronavirus advice we ask that anyone who has any COVID-19 symptoms in the 10 days prior to the show or performance that they have purchased tickets for does not attend.
The Venue
- All performances will take place in a large marquee in Chapelfield Gardens, Norwich. This provides a number of advantages over a conventional venue and provides flexibility to cater for whatever restrictions, if any, are in place at the time:
- The venue and seats can be effectively deep cleaned between performances.
- There will be a number of entrances and exits available for customers arriving and leaving, with one way systems in place.
- The stage will be set at least 2 metres from the first row of seats.
- Ventilation can be adjusted to cope with varying audience sizes.
- Bar and toilet facilities will be outside of the main marquee. Queuing areas will be marked out for these facilities to encourage Social Distancing.
- Seating is not in fixed positions to allow the venue to be arranged in a manner appropriate to the number of tickets sold.
Seating
- All ticket holders on a single booking should arrive together.
- On entry to the arena customers are requested to use the hand sanitizer provided.
- We request that seats are not moved. Stewards will be on hand to assist with seating arrangements.
- Seating will be arranged to allow the best use of the available space.
- In some circumstances, for instance late arrivals, it may not always be possible for a group to be able to sit together.
- In order to reduce pinch points during intervals, each seating block will have a dedicated exit and entrance to be used once seats have been chosen.
Tickets
- Advanced tickets can only be bought online through the website. Subject to availability, tickets may be available on the door for contactless purchase.
- The purchaser of the tickets is responsible for providing the contact details of all members of the party for Test and Trace if this is required
- All tickets will be subject to the terms and conditions published by musthavetickets
As Government guidelines change we hope to be able to relax these restrictions.
Following the Government’s Roadmap announcement, we are working towards our scheduled festival dates of July 28th to 1st August, 2021 with the following week for our outdoor cinema and music through to 7th August 2021.
Public and staff/crew safety is of the utmost importance and we will be closely monitoring the situation between now and event dates, as well as working with the local authorities and Safety Advisory Group to ensure the correct safety measures and crowd considerations are in place for the festival in order to deliver a safe event.
This is highly unlikely as we are a local festival, with predominantly Norwich and Norfolk audiences.
Refunds are not available unless we have to cancel the event.
Tickets for Comedy shows, cinema and free music events must be purchased online at comedyclub.mhtickets.com/browse. All bookers will be emailed an e-ticket which can be printed at home or shown on your mobile device when you arrive in the park.
To allow for some Social Distancing our seating capacity has been reduced in our Big Top for our comedy shows, however in line with recent Government guidelines this is at a minimum. Tickets online are available in fixed groups to a maximum of 6 in line with previous Government guidance. Depending on availability, the fixed group size may change and unsold seats may be purchased in person via our on-site Box Office.
To ensure a safe environment for our staff and audiences, we recommend all tickets are pre-bought online via box office. However, unsold tickets will be available for contactless purchase on the gate 3 hours before each show.
Our seating arrangements remain as in previous years as unallocated on a first come, first served basis. We ask that you follow the steward’s instructions when being seated.
Each evening event our doors open from 6pm for Comedy ticket holder, and Big Top opens for seating 45 mins before the show time.
On Saturday 31 July and Sunday 1 August from 12-5pm we have our Garden Sessions with live music, dj and our bar and pop up street food. Tickets for these Sessions are free or pay what you can via online box office, Gates open at noon.
We pride ourselves on having accessible events, with the Big Top having access from hard standing, access toilets and parking is available on the street alongside Chapelfield Gardens.
The event will go ahead if it is raining, you’ll be under cover for the show and bring an umbrella for toilets, the bar and pop up food! In extreme circumstances, such as lightning, storms or gale force winds we would have to cancel a show for the safety of everybody. If this is necessary, we would normally be able to contact people via email a few hours before the show.
You would be able to gain entrance into the arena, and our stewards will escort you into the Big Top at an appropriate time in the show.