Feature
Dickens three ways, three festive ballets, the six big pantomimes, the Christmas shows for small children and two very grown-up ones — what to see, how old the audience needs to be, and what to know before you book.
A Dickens done properly, a Dickens done disastrously, and a Christmas at Pemberley.
Old Vic · 12 Nov – 9 Jan · 2hr 0min (incl. 1 interval) · from £17
Matthew Warchus’s staging of Jack Thorne’s adaptation, which the Old Vic bills as London’s longest-running version of the story. The audience sit around the stage, there is music throughout, and mince pies are part of the evening. Giles Terera plays Scrooge this year.
Worth knowing. Staged in the round, so what you see depends on which side of the stage you sit.
Tickets and dealsWyndham's Theatre · 18 Dec – 23 Jan · 2hr 20min (incl. 1 interval) · from £25
Mischief Theatre’s Cornley Amateur Drama Society try to stage A Christmas Carol and, as ever, do not get away with it. Dave Hearn, from the original cast of The Play That Goes Wrong and The Goes Wrong Show, is in it. This is broad physical comedy rather than a retelling.
Worth knowing. Moderately bad language with some sexual references and innuendo, violence for comic effect, and one moment of audience interaction in the second act. Under-16s must sit next to someone aged 18 or over, and under-3s are not admitted.
Tickets and dealsPark Theatre · 2 Dec – 10 Jan · 2hr 30min (incl. 1 interval) · from £25
The UK premiere of Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon’s play, set in the world of Pride and Prejudice. It follows Mary Bennet over Christmas at Pemberley, where the arrival of Lord Arthur de Bourgh offers her the chance of a different life. A smart, funny drama about identity and the courage to rewrite your own story.
Worth knowing. Latecomers may not be admitted.
Tickets and dealsThree festive ballets: Tchaikovsky twice — the Royal Ballet’s Nutcracker and English National Ballet’s — and Prokofiev’s Cinderella set in the Blitz.
London Coliseum · 17 Dec – 10 Jan · from £28
English National Ballet’s Christmas staple at the London Coliseum, danced to Tchaikovsky. The age guidance starts at five, and there is a family-friendly performance for younger children.
Worth knowing. A small explosion in the first act, flashing lights and large-scale motion projection. The mouse villain may frighten very young children. Under-5s are welcome only at the family-friendly performance on 9 January at 2pm.
Tickets and dealsRoyal Opera House · 3 Dec – 13 Jan · 2hr 20min (incl. 1 interval) · from £10
The Royal Ballet’s Nutcracker is Peter Wright’s production with Julia Trevelyan Oman’s period designs, and this season marks Wright’s centenary. It is the grander of London’s two Nutcrackers and the harder to get into: the cheap seats go the day booking opens.
Worth knowing. Flashing lights and dry ice. Children under five are not admitted; over-fives need their own ticket and sit next to an accompanying adult.
Book at the venueSadler's Wells Theatre · 1 Dec – 17 Jan · 2hr 20min (incl. 2 intervals) · from £15
Matthew Bourne’s Cinderella returns for its 30th anniversary, danced to Prokofiev’s score and set in London during the Second World War, where a chance meeting with an RAF pilot changes everything. It is back at Sadler’s Wells for a Christmas season.
Worth knowing. Set in wartime London, with scenes depicting the Blitz.
Tickets and dealsLondon’s big pantos, from the Palladium’s star turn to the neighbourhood ones that critics rate higher. We do not list pantomimes on the site, so there are no deals tracked for these; the links go to each theatre’s own box office, and the age notes are the venues’ own.
London Palladium · 5 Dec – 10 Jan
The big one. Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders are the Ugly Sisters, Julian Clary the Fairy Godfather, with Paul Zerdin, Nigel Havers and Rob Madge, Hope Dawe as Cinderella and Dex Lee as Prince Charming. The Palladium panto is the most lavish in London and the most grown-up in its jokes — it is Clary’s show as much as the children’s.
Worth knowing. The Palladium says it includes playful innuendo and cheeky jokes, is not tailored for young children, and advises parental discretion. Children under 4 are not admitted.
Book at the venueLyric Hammersmith · 14 Nov – 3 Jan · 2hr · from £10
The Lyric’s panto is the one theatre people rate: written by Joel Horwood and directed by Robin Belfield, with Chrissie Bhima as Cinderella and Ashh Blackwood as Buttons. Proper songs, a house band and a west London twist on the story rather than a television line-up, and the cheapest seats in this list.
Book at the venueHackney Empire · 21 Nov – 31 Dec · from £13
Clive Rowe directs and plays Dame Trot, two decades into his run as the Empire’s dame and the reason Hackney’s is the panto London critics keep calling the best. It is the traditional article — a proper dame, a giant, songs the audience sing back — in a Frank Matcham music hall, without the West End price.
Worth knowing. All ages. Children under 3 may sit on an adult’s lap; from 4 they need their own ticket. It closes on New Year’s Eve, earlier than the others.
Book at the venueTheatre Royal Stratford East · 21 Nov – 2 Jan · about 2hr plus interval · from £10
Stratford East’s panto moves Robin Hood to the streets and estates of E15, with book and lyrics by Yolanda Mercy and Jade Lewis directing. Ashley Joseph is Robin, Helen K Wint is Marian and Daniel Jacob plays Muva. The most local and the least glitzy of the big pantos, and with the Lyric the cheapest to get into.
Worth knowing. The theatre suggests under-5s sit in the Stalls or Dress Circle rather than the Upper Circle; under-2s can have a £1 lap seat.
Book at the venueNew Wimbledon Theatre · 5 Dec – 3 Jan · about 2hr 30min plus interval · from £15
Wimbledon goes to Neverland this year: Jessie Wallace is Captain Hook, Aston Merrygold of JLS is Peter, Pete Firman plays Smee and Tom Read Wilson the Magical Merman. The ATG pantos are big, loud and built around their television names, and this is the one for south-west London.
Worth knowing. Under-16s must be accompanied by an adult.
Book at the venueRichmond Theatre · 5 Dec – 3 Jan · about 2hr 30min plus interval · from £15
Richmond’s panto, with Bonnie Langford as Mrs Blunderbore and Dr Ranj Singh as the Spirit of the Beans. The theatre is a Frank Matcham gem on Richmond Green, and for families out that way it is a far easier evening than the West End.
Worth knowing. Under-16s must be accompanied by an adult aged 18 or over.
Book at the venueShows that are actually about Christmas, or about snow, for the youngest audiences: a flying snowman, Santa’s elves, a puppy on Christmas Eve and a trip to the South Pole. Three are at London’s dedicated children’s theatres. None are listed on the site, so the links go to the venues.
Peacock Theatre · 21 Nov – 3 Jan · 1hr 30min (incl. 1 interval) · from £18
Raymond Briggs’s story danced to Howard Blake’s score, Walking in the Air included, in a brand-new production this year directed and choreographed by Will Tuckett, with designs by Anna Fleischle and puppets by Tahra Zafar. It has been the West End’s Christmas show for the youngest children for the best part of thirty years, and there are no words, so there is nothing to follow but the story.
Worth knowing. Suitable for all ages; children aged 2 and over need their own ticket.
Book at the venueUnicorn Theatre · 14 Nov – 3 Jan · about 50min
The Unicorn’s Christmas show, from the picture book by Mac Barnett and Sydney Smith: Santa spends every Christmas Eve delivering and has never had a Christmas of his own, so his elves throw him one. A dance-led production directed and choreographed by James Cousins with songs by Harry Blake, at London’s theatre for children by London Bridge.
Book at the venueLittle Angel Theatre · 28 Nov – 3 Jan · about 35min · from £16
Islington’s puppet theatre, in a converted chapel, makes a Christmas show for the very young every year. This one follows Scruff the puppy, who cannot sleep on Christmas Eve because he has no present for his owner, and asks the audience to help him find one. Thirty-five minutes, which is about right for a three-year-old’s first theatre.
Worth knowing. Aimed at ages 3–6. Wednesday matinees are £8.50.
Book at the venuePolka Theatre, Wimbledon · 27 Nov – 17 Jan · 50min · from £18
Little Bulb’s winter show, first made with Bristol Old Vic, turns Polka’s smaller theatre into the South Pole: penguins, an albatross, clowning, puppets and snow. Polka is a purpose-built children’s theatre, so the foyer, the loos and the running time are all sized for the audience, and it runs a fortnight past the others, into the middle of January.
Worth knowing. Polka adds a £2.50 booking fee.
Book at the venueNot Christmas shows, but the big family productions that play right through the holidays — for a child who has outgrown panto. Our family feature has the full list, sorted by age.
The full family featureNational Theatre (Olivier) · from £25
Anupama Chandrasekhar’s new adaptation of Kipling’s story, directed by Indhu Rubasingham and staged for the National’s Christmas slot. The action moves to the mangroves of the Sundarbans, where Mowgli, raised by wolves, learns the law of the jungle with Baloo and Bagheera while Shere Khan closes in.
Worth knowing. The National says it contains depictions of death and violence.
Tickets and dealsGillian Lynne Theatre · Until 3 Jan · 2hr 30min (incl. 1 interval) · from £13.30
The Studio Ghibli film staged with enormous puppets, including a Totoro that fills a good part of the stage. It is quieter and stranger than a big West End musical, more about atmosphere than plot, which suits children who find the loud ones overwhelming.
Worth knowing. A storyline about a seriously ill parent, with hospital scenes. Live music and some loud noises, plus haze and pyrotechnics. Under-4s are not admitted.
Tickets and dealsSavoy Theatre · 2hr 45min (incl. 1 interval) · from £25
The bear from darkest Peru in a new family musical, and a gentle first theatre trip because the main character is one small children already know.
Worth knowing. The theatre flags themes of loneliness, homesickness and peril, including threat of violence to animals. Under-3s are not admitted.
Tickets and dealsBoth set age limits for the audience, and mean them. The limits below are the venues’ own.
The Other Palace · 13 Nov – 3 Jan · 2hr (no interval) · from £28
A filthy-fun musical parody, the sequel to the hit Homo Alone, in which Camp Kevin is lost in New York with his dad’s credit card and meets dodgy burglars, a Rocky Horror-esque hotel manager and a Trump cameo. Written by Jodie Prenger and Neil Hurst, and produced by The Other Palace.
Tickets and dealsPurcell Room · 10 Dec – 3 Jan · from £26
Thick & Tight’s revue-style Christmas cabaret of drag, dance, mime and satire, sending up the season for the bleak midwinter. Daniel Hay-Gordon, El Perry, Annie Edwards and Harry Alexander perform, in about an hour.
Worth knowing. Contains some scenes of an adult nature, including swearing and mild sexual content.
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