Is it even Christmas without seeing at least one seasonal show? After missing out last year, now is the time to start booking seats to get you in the mood for the holidays.
Here are some of the very best Christmas shows going ahead this year. Just be sure to book tickets early, as they are going to go fast! Then, once you’ve been guaranteed seats, you can just dream of all the mulled wine and mince pies you’ll be feasting on during interval.
Dolly Parton’s Smoky Mountain Christmas Carol
Christmas is a time to get all dolled up, so why not go all out and spend an evening with Dolly herself? This reimagining of Charles Dicken’s classic is given an unapologetic Parton riff, melding Scrooge and his ghosts of Christmas past, present and future to the unmistakable sounds of Tennessee.
December 8 – January 8
southbankcentre.co.uk
Hey Duggee The Live Theatre Show
The kids will love this one, and Mum and Dad will no doubt be leaving with a grin on their face too come closing curtain. Catch up with Duggee and chums as they sing and dance for the very first time on stage just in time for Christmas.
December 14 – January 8
southbankcentre.co.uk
Horrible Histories: Horrible Christmas
History can be pretty horrible – but Christmas is the total opposite. Mix Horrible Histories with the yuletide season and you’ve got a recipe for terrific tales and plenty of fun for the whole gang. From Victorian villains to Medieval monks, Puritan parties to Tudor treats, this hair-raising show sees some of Britain’s most noted figures – including Charles Dickens, Oliver Cromwell, King Henry VIII and St Nicholas – to band together to save Christmas.
December 27-30
barbican.org.uk
Sleeping Beauty
A classic that is not to be slept on, Matthew Bourne’s Sleeping Beauty is back at Sadler’s Wells for its 10th anniversary production. With music by Tchaikovsky, this love story never gets old. Will Aurora find her true love? Spoliers: yes. (but we still love to watch again and again).
November 29 – January 15
sadlerswells.com
The Fir Tree
Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre will be laying on a very special production of Hans Christian Anderson’s festive tale The Fir Tree, a story in which a little fir tree afraid to grow up uproots itself to discover what happens to his fellow Christmas tree friends and family. Uplifting, and one to get on your radar if you are seeking a new favourite festive show.
December 15-31
shakespearesglobe.com
The Nutcracker
Just reading the title of this Christmas epic sends its delicate little tunes playing in our heads. Tchaikovsky’s iconic story about a girl who befriends a nutcracker that comes to life on Christmas Eve and wages a battle against the evil Mouse King is one that fills us with the spirit of the season. Married to a wicked set and vibrant, colourful costumes, you can be guaranteed to be left in wide-eyed wonder. We’ve got our tickets to see the Sugar Plumb Fairy. Have you?
December 28-31
royalalberthall.com
The Snowman
Why walk through the City when you can be walking through the air? Enchanted snowmen, an unparalleled score, and an adventure to the North Pole. Does it get any more Christmassy than that? If you are building an icy friend this year, be sure to check it is properly rooted to the ground, lest it take flight.
November 19 – December 31
sadlerswells.com
The Wind in the Wilton’s
Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows has been given a fresh look by children’s author Piers Torday, and you can catch it at Wilton’s Music Hall. Reframed in a modern day capital, all your favourite characters are back in action, this time fighting contemporary challenges such as climate change.
November 24 – December 31
wiltons.org.uk
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