A Christmas spectacular production was an ‘other dramatic piece’ and its performers wholly or mainly gave their performance through the ‘playing of roles.’ 

In its corporation tax return for the accounting period ended 31 December 2017, the appellant claimed theatre tax relief (TTR) in respect of a production known as ‘The Christmas Spectacular’. Following an enquiry into the return, HM Revenue and Customs issued a closure notice denying TTR on the basis that the production was not a ‘theatrical production’ (within CTA 2009, s 1217FA). The appellant appealed. 

The First-tier Tribunal (FTT) noted that the legislation was amended from 1 April 2022 as regards any productions for which the production phase began after that date. Relevantly, the provision no longer applied to an ‘other dramatic piece’ but to a ‘relevant dramatic piece’, which was defined as ‘a dramatic