1. For those adults looking for a panto with difference then head on down to Kennington for Pride & Prejudice – The Gay Panto
Pride & Prejudice – The Gay Panto returns to the White Bear Theatre this Christmas, promising to be bigger, funnier and even more outrageous!
Following a sold-out run in 2019, experience the scandalous, bawdy, high camp world of Jane Austen’s Bennet family as you’ve never seen them before with classic gay anthems thrown in.
After all, it is a truth universally acknowledged that a great novel can only be enhanced by a bit of filth, slapstick and cock fighting, plus cross-dressing sisters and a hunk-in-trunks!
Running from December 8th to December 23rd
Tickets: £18 / £15 concessions (discount on food and drink in the pub below the theatre)
Adapted by Kevin Quinn, directed by Scott Wright and brought to life by Waste Not Theatre, Pride & Prejudice – The Gay Panto runs from 8 to 23 December 2022.
2. Looking for traditional panto at it’s best then we’d suggest going to Greenwich Theatre
Recognised annually as one of the best in the country and following their Best Pantomime Offie Award win in 2019 and nomination in 2021, Greenwich Theatre was unable to stage their usual seasonal show in 2020 and having to cut their run short in 2021 due to Covid-19, they are thrilled to be making their festive comeback with Robin Hood.
Running from Thursday 24th November 2022 – Sunday 8th January 2023.
Tickets: £32, £25, Children £16.50
3. If you have not been before then go to the Old Vic for their annual offering of A Christmas Carol in Waterloo
This year Matthew Warchus’ smash hit production of the classic Christmas tale returns to London’s Old Vic for a limited festive run.
The Old Vic’s fills the auditorium to the brim with mince pies, music and merriment. Once again it will have a unique staging immersing the audience in this uplifting story. On now until January 7
This year, The Old Vic will raise money in aid of City Harvest during the run of A Christmas Carol, via bucket collections, text to donate and online donations at the end of every performance throughout the show’s run.
Tickets: £40 – £67.50
https://southwarknews.co.uk/music/your-festive-guide-to-london-bridge/
4. For a big show then head to the South Bank and Hex returning at the National Theatre for Christmas
Rufus Norris directs this vividly original retelling of the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale. When a lonely fairy is summoned to the palace to help the princess sleep, her dream turns into a nightmare and her blessing becomes a curse.
Running from November 26 until January 14
Tickets Prices vary between £20 and £89
5. If you want to see a classic 80’s celebrity in a dress then Wimbeldon is the place for you
Legendary panto Dame and TV presenter Matthew Kelly will be bring stars to your eyes – he is part of the line up at the New Wimbledon Theatre for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
Other stars include West End Legend and multi-award-winning actor Ruthie Henshall, X Factor singer, actress and television personality Brenda Edwards, musical theatre star Lee Mead,comedy television presenters Dick & Dom, Britain’s Got Talent semi-finalist John Archer and TikTok sensation Hannah Lowther.
The show runs from December 3 until New Year’s Eve
Tickets: Prices vary between £13 and £54.50
6. Another adult offering with Karaoke thrown in is on in Clapham
Sing-derella: The Karaoke-Panto is running at Omnibus Theatre on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights from 1st December to 17th December.
Every night a guest performer walks on to the stage, with no rehearsal, and has to try and perform an entire panto from a karaoke machine. Filled with songs and dance mat challenges, this is a tribute to 00s nostalgia.
Tickets £15
7. And if singing is your thing that there is nothing better than Dolly Parton
Dolly Parton’s Smoky Mountain Christmas Carol is on Queen Elizabeth Hall at the Southbank Centre from 8th December to the 8th of January.
It is the classic Dickens tale with a Tennessee twist in a brand new musical featuring an original soundtrack written by the Queen of Country herself.
Tickets: Prices vary between £18.50 and £120
8. For the kids with puppetry thrown in is Hey Duggee: The Live Theatre Show
At Southbank’s Royal Festival Hall from 14th December 2022 to 8th January Hey Dugee: The Live Theatre Show is a great one for fans of the programme.
You can be part of the hit CBeebies show and join Duggee and the Squirrels in this vibrant interactive production bursting with music, puppets and barrels of laughs.
Tickets: Prices vary between £18.50 and £28.50
9. Take the kids to Shakespeare’s Globe but without the Shakespeare
The Fir Tree is magical re-imagining and re-wilding of Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale The Fir Tree – the story of Christmas told from the perspective of the tree.
Running at Shakespeare’s Globe from 15th December until New Year’s Eve
Tickets: Seating from £15 to £45 and standing for £5
10. Go deep south to see traditional show with child stars
Sleeping Beauty is being performed at Stanley Hall in South Norwood from 17th December til 27th December.
This arts venue that promotes arts in the community has a professional cast and an ensemble but also features the talented kids from Cherry Stars Performing Arts. They promise an epic adventure!
Tickets: £10 / £15
11. Head to the UK’s leading theatre for kids near Tower Bridge and catch Pinocchio
Unicorn’s Artistic Director Justin Audibert directs Eve Leigh’s dazzling new adaptation of this much-loved family favourite, Pinocchio.
This classic story of Geppetto, a lonely carpenter who wishes that the wooden puppet he has carved and named Pinocchio, becomes a real boy.
Review: The Nose Has It – Unicorn Theatre’s Christmas offering
With a touch of magic from the blue fairy, enter a world of gingerbread villages and snow-capped mountains in this captivating adventure of friendship and family as Pinocchio overcomes temptation and finds courage and love in the face of fear and danger.
Tickets; £11.50 – £21 under 18s / £14 – £29.50 adults
12. Cost of Living being brought into sharp focus in Peckham with some hip hop, funk and rap
Scroogelicious, Peckham’s take on Charles Dickens’ immortal classic A Christmas Carol takes centre stage at Theatre Peckham.
This impressive festive family show blends storytelling, dance and song with an original music score by Jordan Xavier featuring rap, RnB, hip hop and funk.
As is Theatre Peckham’s tradition, the annual Christmas show, directed by Suzann McLean, will be performed by an inspiring mix of professional actors and young people from their Academy, which nurtures the next generation of young performers.
KM Drew Boateng, fresh from the national tour of The Colour Purple, is cast in the lead role as Ebony Scrooge, while Tomi Egbowon-Ogunjobi, whose screen credits include Netflix’s hit show Sex Education and ITV’s hotly anticipated drama Riches by Abby Ajayi, plays Scrooge’s business partner Marlene Jacobs.
The professional cast also includes Ellie Clayton in the role of Chris Prezzie, Ellie can most recently be seen in CBBC’s So Awkward; Siphiwo Mahlentle as the Original Gangsta Duppy, Siphiwo graduated from drama school, Art’s Educational, in July 2022, and former Theatre Peckham member and Academy tutor Gustavo Silva playing a bunch of comedy roles.
In Aymer’s modern-day adaptation, this Scrooge has transformed from an elderly miser and money lender to a young go-getting, property developer and landlord. Themes of gentrification and the growing inequalities in society foreshadow our current cost of living crisis. The iconic role of Tiny Tim is reinvented as Tyrese Crichlow, a part which will be played by Young Company members Ezekiel Ashitey (8-years-old) and Jadon Henry (11-years-old).
Running from December 1st til 23rd
Tickets £5 – £15
