Top pantomimes and Christmas shows in the Midlands and Shropshire
Panto season’s here.
Oh no it isn’t. Oh yes it is...
Loud, proud and frighteningly funny, the region’s theatres are welcoming dames of all descriptions as the festive season gets in full swing.
Venues will welcome record crowds to watch productions of all shapes and sizes as big names and amateurs rub shoulders during the next month.
Pantomime season is the most important of all for most theatres as they boast packed houses. They welcome audiences of all ages, including many people who are making their only visit to the theatre since last year.
And that means they generate enough money to stay afloat and book other shows that keep punters entertained through spring, summer and autumn.
Craig Reeves, at Theatre Severn, in Shrewsbury, said records are broken year after year for many venues.
“Pantomime is so important to the long term for most theatres. It’s the one time of year when all of the family goes to see a show. Young kids, mums and dads, aunties and uncles and grandparents all enjoy a night out or an afternoon together.
“And the benefits to the theatre are felt throughout the year. Wherever people live, we’d encourage them to get along to their local show – ours here in Shrewsbury is absolutely brilliant and we’re selling more tickets than ever.”
See a list of all the top pantos taking place across the Midlands and Shropshire below.
Jack and The Beanstalk - Wolverhampton Grand
See the trailer here:
Gareth Gates stars as Jack, with returning favourites Lisa Riley as Spirit of the Beans, Doreen Tipton as the Trot’s lazy next door neighbour, Ian Adams as Dame Trot and Adam C Booth as Simple Simon, joined by television star Graham Cole as the evil Fleshcreep.
Join Jack Trot and his family and climb a beanstalk to Cloudland in this year’s spectacular family pantomime Jack and the Beanstalk. Doomed to sell his trusty cow, join Jack as he fights to save the beautiful Princess, outwit the evil Giant and win riches beyond his wildest dreams and the hand of the girl he loves. With over 60,000 theatregoers attending the annual Wolverhampton Grand pantomime every year, don’t miss out on tickets to this year’s gigantic show, packed full of laughter, music, special effects, magic beans and bundles of audience participation.
Tickets from £16.00
Cinderella, Birmingham Hippodrome
See the trailer here:
Soul-diva Beverley Knight will make her pantomime debut in this year’s Hippodrome spectacular, alongside Strictly Come Dancing finalist Danny Mac, Birmingham panto-favourite Matt Slack, pop and TV star Suzanne Shaw, comedy duo The Grumbleweeds, and the most faaaaabulous Ugly Sisters in show business, Ceri Dupree and Phil Randall.
Cinderella, produced by Olivier-nominated pantomime producer Qdos Entertainment, will feature all of the ingredients of the perfect Hippodrome pantomime – a fabulous cast and orchestra, laugh-out-loud comedy, stunning scenery and special effects, beautiful costumes and plenty of boos and hisses for all the family to enjoy. The clock is ticking…book your tickets to the ball today.
Tickets from £15.50
Snow White, Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury
This year's spectacular family pantomime stars Shropshire's favourite Dame, the hilarious Brad Fitt, as Nurse Nellie and the legendary Eric Smith (BBC Radio Shropshire) as Herman the Henchman.
Also returning are leading ladies from last year’s Cinderella, Victoria McCabe and Joanne Heywood. This year Victoria will be playing the title role of the beautiful Snow White and Joanne will be transforming from sweet Fairy Godmother to this year’s villainous Wicked Queen. The talented cast is sprinkled with even more stardust than usual this year as they welcome their magnificent seven; Ali Sarebani, Alice Lambert, Brian Wheeler, Craig Garner, Craig Salisbury, Dean Whatton and George Appleby, who between them boast film and television credits including Star Wars, Harry Potter, Maleficent, Game of Thrones, Little Britain plus many more. Snow White is proving to be the most popular pantomime ever staged at the Theatre Severn with ticket sales exceeding the venue’s own high expectations. With over 90% of tickets already snapped up and a record breaking 40,000 people expected to attend, just a few tickets are still available for selected dates- don't be disappointed…book today.
Ticket prices: £24.50-£12.00
Aladdin, Lichfield Garrick
See the trailer here:
CBeebies' Cat Sandion will be playing the role of Princess Jasmine and the Garrick will welcome back Sam Rabone as Widow Twankey and Ben Thornton as Wishee Washee after their stellar performances had audiences in stitches in last years sell out show, Sleeping Beauty.
The trio will be joined by children’s author Ian Billings as the Emperor of China, Lichfield-based actress Lizzie Wofford as the Spirit of the Ring, pantomime favourite James Mitchell as PC Pongo, stage and musical theatre actor Cameron Johnson as the Genie of the Lamp, Laine Theatre Arts Graduate Adrian Bevan as Aladdin, and Sutton Coldfield’s finest baddie Robin Johnson as Abanazar (booooooooo!).
Aladdin promises to be the most fun-filled family pantomime ever seen at the Lichfield Garrick, full of magic, spectacular scenes and an all-singing, all-dancing cast of fantastic performers. Tickets are selling incredibly fast with a high level of shows already sold out. The theatre has added in an extra week of performances in the first week of January to meet demand.
Ticket prices: £16-£29
Alice In Wonderland - The Old Rep, Birmingham
Grace Dean takes on the title role of Alice with Alec Fellows-Bennett taking on the role of the Mad Hatter. Katie Paine plays the Queen of Hearts, Ewan Goddard is The White Rabbit, Mark Collier joins the cast in the dual roles of the Caterpillar and Tweedle-Dum alongside Laura Curnick’s Tweedle-Dee and Dormouse.
The professional cast is joined by an ensemble cast of 26 students from Birmingham Ormiston Academy. The Cheshire Cat will be extra-special for this production - expect a puppet cat and a digital rabbit hole.
This modern adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s classic tale follows Alice on her journey through the enchanted and extraordinary Wonderland, meeting many peculiar characters along the way.
From intriguing white rabbits, bizarre riddles, mad tea parties and dangerous encounters with the Queen of Hearts, will Alice ever find her way home?
Tickets cost £16.50 for adults and £13.80 for children and concessions.
Peter Pan - Oakengates Theatre, Telford
See the trailer here:
Follow the boy who refuses to grow up and his fairy sidekick Tinkerbell as they visit the nursery of Wendy, John and Michael Darling.
With a sprinkle of magical fairy dust watch Peter and his new friends fly out the nursery window and over London to Neverland. Will Peter Pan and his gang beat the evil Captain Hook and rid Neverland of Evil?
Joining a quality cast of professional performers is Thomas Redgrave from Collabro and Britian’s Got Talent Winners, comedy star Adam Kelly as Smee, Jonas Gemm as Captain Hook and the hilarious Steve Boyce as Mrs Smee.
Audiences can expect one of the best loved pantomime stories with all the recipes of a traditional pantomime packed with audience participation, comedy and music along with stunning sets and costumes.
Tickets cost £17.50 for adults and £15.50 for children and concessions.
101 Dalmatians, Birmingham Rep
See the trailer here:
Dalmatians Pongo and Missis enjoy an idyllic life with their humans, Mr and Mrs Dearly. Then one day, the house is filled with the patter of tiny paws when Missis gives birth to a litter of adorable puppies. But just as the Dearlys get used to their new housemates, the puppies mysteriously vanish.
With the help of the canine community and an Old English Sheepdog, Pongo and Missis set out on an adventure to find the missing puppies. Their quest leads them to the vicious Cruella de Vil, above, who hates dogs but loves fur coats and has set her sights on a certain black and white spotty pattern. Will the animals be able to get home safely in time for Christmas?
Dodie Smith’s delightful tale is the perfect festive treat and has been brilliantly transformed for the stage by Debbie Isitt, the writer and director of the hugely popular Nativity! films. Tessa Walker returns to direct another family favourite following her record-breaking 2015 production, The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe. You know the book and film, now experience the magical story live on stage.
Tickets from £15
Jersey Boys - New Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham
See the trailer here:
West End Smash hit Jersey Boys is working its way back to the New Alexandra Theatre this festive season, as it gets set to be the venue’s Christmas Show.
The much-loved musical will open its UK tour at the Station Street venue on Saturday 16 December 2017 and runs until Saturday 6 January 2018. Michael Watson will be playing Frankie Valli, Simon Bailey will be Tommy De Vito, Declan Egan will be Bob Gaudio and Lewis Griffiths will be Nick Massi.
Michael, Simon, Declan and Lewis have all previously performed their roles in Jersey Boys to great acclaim: Michael and Simon in the West End, Declan in the West End and Australia, and Lewis in the first UK and Ireland tour.
Jersey Boys is the remarkable true story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons and their rise to stardom from the wrong side of the tracks. The four boys from New Jersey became one of the most successful bands in pop history, were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and sold 175 million records worldwide, all before they turned 30.
The show is packed with their hits, including Beggin’, Sherry, Walk Like A Man, December, 1963 (Oh What a Night), Big Girls Don’t Cry, My Eyes Adored You, Let’s Hang On (To What We’ve Got), Bye Bye Baby, Can’t Take My Eyes Off You and Working My Way Back to You.
Tickets prices: £26.50-£72.50
Robin Hood and the Babes in the Wood the rock ‘n’ roll panto - Stafford Gatehouse Theatre
This hilarious version of the traditional tale provides a rock ‘n’ rolling rollercoaster of an adventure story. Robin Hood attempts to outwit the evil Sheriff of Nottingham, free the unfortunate Babes and their outrageous, oversize Nanny, Nellie Nightnurse, and marry the beautiful Maid Marion. The result is a fast, furious and funny feast of entertainment, designed to delight all the family. A talented cast of actor/musicians serve up over twenty rock and soul classic songs including The Hippy Hippy Shake, I Shot the Sheriff, Girls Just Want To Have Fun, Kiss, Born to Run, Signed, Sealed, Delivered and many, many more. It’s classic entertainment which combines the best live music with all the fun of traditional pantomime to create the perfect Christmas show. Stafford Gatehouse Theatre’s rock ‘n’ roll panto becomes more popular every year - as ever, early booking is strongly recommended.
Tickets cost £20 for adults and £15.50 for concessions
Peter Pan, Arena Birmingham
See the trailer here:
Peter Pan is an epic arena sized adventure that’s set to transport fans to a world of spectacle and comedy, headlined by two of the UK’s favourite stars, Bradley Walsh and Martin Kemp.
This perfect festive treat will be brought to life by a cast of over 100 performers across three arena stages, including a thrilling team of flying trapeze and West End artists, BMX bike stuntmen and Matt Knight of BBC’s Let It Shine as Peter Pan.
Watch out for the terrifying twenty-five-foot animatronic crocodile on the movie style Neverland set, while a life-sized galleon sails around the Arena in front of a 10,000-gallon water wall. A giant 60 feet wide LED screen with both computer graphic imagery and live close-up TV relay of the action will also ensure the audience never misses a moment of this sensational family adventure.
Tickets priced from £27.90
