PARR Hall has just announced that it is cancelling its Comedy Store shows and delaying its relaunch plans amid the tightening coronavirus restrictions in Warrington.

The historic Palmyra Square venue, which celebrates its 125th birthday on Saturday, was due to open its doors for the first time since the national lockdown next month with two stand-up nights.

The gigs on October 3 and 17 would have had a much reduced capacity of 190 with people seated at tables of up to six.

But with a spike in Covid-19 infection rates and the new rules in Warrington – including a 10pm curfew, table service and advice that different households should not mix – the Parr Hall team have decided it would not be practical to proceed.

Warrington Guardian:

Chris Persoglio, venue and events manager at Pyramid and Parr Hall, said: "Due to heightened restrictions announced by the government over the past few days, we have unfortunately decided to cancel the two upcoming Comedy Store events at Parr Hall, scheduled to take place next month.

"All ticket holders will be contacted as soon as possible."

It is another blow to Parr Hall and the events industry in what should have been a year of celebration for the venue's 125th birthday.

In an interview with the Warrington Guardian this week, Chris added: “It’s frustrating as we know the customers really want to see things back on stage again. It’s been so difficult.

“With social distancing, it’s just not financially viable to do a lot of our events with a quarter or a third of the normal capacity.”

The announcement comes as the coronavirus infection rate in Warrington has again exceeded the worrying '100' mark - as of today, Wednesday, it is now said to be 107.6 per 100,000 people.