BOSSES of a theatre that has attracted audiences for more than a century have outlined measures they have taken to make it a “fantastically safe environment” ahead of it reopening next month. Darlington Hippodrome’s programming and development director Heather Tarran-Jones said despite launching a plethora of safeguards to protect staff and visitors from Covid-19, the theatre’s management had forecast ticket sales would be 75 per cent of normal by next March. She said it was expected tickets sales would be slow to pick up, with just 40 per cent of normal ticket sales by October, so a concerted marketing campaign was due to be launched for its biggest selling event of year, the Christmas season pantomime.