Bang and Whimper
Most Favoured
by David Ireland
19thStreet Productions and María Inés Olmedo Projects at The Soho Theatre, Soho until 24thJanuary 2026
Review by Harry Zimmerman
Most Favoured is a relatively succinct production, (45 minutes long) with an intriguing seasonal premise.
In a cheap and cheerful hotel room, with dishevelled bedding and clothing strewn over the headboard and across the floor, we encounter Glaswegian Mary and American Michael after a rather torrid one-night stand during The Edinburgh Festival.
Both characters are ecstatic, but for different reasons. Mary is on a high from having had the best sex of her life. Michael’s satisfaction manifests itself in a very different way. His euphoria is a result not of the physical events of the night before, but his rapturous appreciation of a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken, which he has never experienced before, despite being American.
Read more…Sparklers and Bangers
Cinderella
by Harry Michaels and Alan McHugh, additional material by Gary Wilmot
Crossroads Pantomimes at Richmond Theatre until 4th January 2026
Review by Mark Aspen
For this panto shades are obligatory. But we haven’t seen the sun since September and they’re certainly not to “hide” one’s celebrity status from the paparazzi. (Critics definitely have to keep a low profile!) No, it’s its to protect one’s eyesight from the dazzle of the glistening, gleaming, glinting glitter, and the scintillating sparkle of the show.
Best of all, Richmond’s pantomime is a traditional telling of the Cinderella story. There’s no trying to shoehorn the story into a sci-fi setting, or a horror history or a rock ‘n’ roll rollick. That’s not to say here isn’t plenty of fantasy, scary bits, or lovely loud music. We have it in silver-coachloads. There’s fantasy from the fairy godmother, scares from the (s)catty ugly sisters and a blast of bold bangers from the band. The only shoehorning is from the ugly sisters trying to squeeze soapbox feet into the glass slipper.
Read more…Festive Fun and Fantasy
Millie and Snowy’s Magical Christmas Tree
by David Kerby-Kendall
Stephen Leslie Productions at the Hampton Hill Theatre until 24th December
Review by Gill Martin
The England goalie arrives on stage by scooter, boasting a football shirt, tutu and a frizz of pink curls. This Queen Mother of Fairies is named Doris, whose spells go hilariously wrong.
This is a cracker of a Christmas show. Fifty joyous minutes to entrance three to eight-year-olds sharing popcorn with mummies, daddies, grannies and grandpas.
They’re an enthusiastic bunch at Hampton Hill Theatre, all up for a treat before 25th December that doesn’t involve panic shopping for overpriced gifts or overdosing on mince pies and cinnamon lattes.
Read more…Funding Neverland
Peter Pan-to
by Megan Good, Owen Thomas James, Roger Blitz, and Tim Iredale
Putney Theatre Company at the Putney Arts Theatre, until 21st December
Review by Andrew Lawston
They make plenty of jokes about their budget, but Putney Theatre Company have pulled out the stops for their panto this year for Peter Pan-to, with a huge cast, a small but powerful live band on stage, and colourful costumes galore.
In Kensington, Wendy, John, and Michael Darling meet Peter Pan, the boy who never grew up. He breaks into their bedroom brandishing a potato peeler, in search of his misplaced shadow. With the help of Peter’s best friend Tinkerbell, the children follow him back to Neverland for a couple of hours of festive adventure with pirates, mermaids, and Peter’s own gang, the Lost Boys.
Read more…Cutting Drama
The Signalman
by Charles Dickens, dramatised by Jennie-Mae James
Mudlark Creativeat Drayton Arms Theatre, South Kensington until 2ndJanuary 2026
Review by Harry Zimmerman
We are in the middle of peak season for two forms of theatre, both very different but hugely popular. The first, of course, is pantomime. The second feeds in to our love of a creepy ghost story to while away the long winter nights and inject a frisson of fear into our festive gatherings.
Mudlark Creative have chosen as their seasonal offering Charles Dickens’s The Signalman, a well-known eerie tale which has been featured regularly in film, radio and on stage as a contribution to the Christmas supernatural canon. One of the most famous adaptations was in 1976 as part of the much-loved BBC series A Ghost Story for Christmas, with Denholm Elliott in the eponymous role. A wider UK national tour of the piece is also currently taking place. The appeal of the ghost story remains undiminished.
Read more…A Jewel in a Perfect Setting
Messiah
by George Frideric Handel, text by Charles Jennens
Wild Arts at Sinfonia, Smith Square, Westminster, 9th December and on tour until 18th December
Review by Patrick Shorrock
It is hard to think of a more suitable setting for Handel’s Messiah than St John’s, Smith Square (now rebranded as Sinfonia Smith Square, but still as gorgeously baroque as ever). Built in the early 18th Century, this a church where the white ornateness of the Corinthian columns forms a pleasing contrast with the symmetry of the interior (plain in its neatness, to use Milton’s phrase) and the glorious wackiness of its four towers. It has been a delightful concert venue since 1969 and needs to be less of a well-kept secret.
Read more…Merry Magic Men
Robin Hood
by Harry Michaels, additional material by Pete Firman
Crossroads Live at the New Wimbledon Theatre until 4thJanuary 2026
Review by Thea Diamond
Arriving at New Wimbledon Theatre for press night, the auditorium was bustling with excitement and Christmas sparkle in anticipation of the panto spectacle, Robin Hood. Starring Ashley Banjo, Jordan Banjo, Perri Kiely and the rest of Diversity, this was set to be a night to remember.
Who could forget being completely wowed way back in 2009 when Diversity burst onto our screens, winning Britain’s Got Talent, securing first place over bookies’ favourite, Susan Boyle. And their performance last night certainly didn’t disappoint. From the moment the acclaimed street dance troop somersaulted onto the stage, Ashley Banjo’s choreography was executed so precisely that the audience went wild with every gravity defying move.
Read more…Out of This World
Cinderella
by James Rushbrooke
The Questors Theatre at the Judi Dench Playhouse, Ealing until 31st December
Review by Polly Davies
I can think of no better way to cope with the run-up to Christmas than to make time for a trip to Questors to see this production of Cinderella. Totally engaging, beautifully produced, it delivers sheer joy. If you can go on an evening that has a group as infectiously enthusiastic as the young scouts who were in the audience tonight even better. It was an added bonus to see children so total invested in the performance. All credit to the leaders who were skilfully managing this excited and engaged group whose enthusiasm was infectious.
It was a stroke of genius by James Rushbrooke to set the story of Cinderella in the 1980s in a universe far far away, a modernisation that made the evening even more pantomime than a traditional setting. With exaggerated costumes, big hair, neon-bright colours, director Rory Hobson was able to go full out brash, blousy and fun. The script didn’t miss an opportunity for the corniest of corny jokes, and lots of familiar pantomime audience interaction. Some story lines were scary enough for some raise-the-roof booing. There was an interesting double love story which brought out the “aahs” for the inevitable happy endings, and a really good use of the auditorium to bring the players closer to the audience all added to the atmosphere.
Read more…Infernal Nonsense = Jolly Good Evening
H.M.S. Pinafore
by Arthur Sullivan, words by W.S. Gilbert
English National Opera at the London Coliseum until 7th February 2026
Review by Patrick Shorrock
This ship-shape revival of what Major General Stanley in The Pirates of Penzance called ‘infernal nonsense’ sails triumphantly back into the Coliseum to be welcomed enthusiastically by a delighted audience. It’s a perfect Christmas treat. Nothing very demanding. Lavish sets and costumes by takis that equal Julian Clary’s Palladium panto shows in their colourful splendour. Generally excellent performers (including someone from the telly). And stuffed with great comic gags. (Over stuffed perhaps? No, never! What, never? Well, hardly ever!)
Read more…Fresh From the Oven
A Christmas Carol
by Charles Dickens, adapted by Beth Flintoff
ReadingRep Company at the Reading Rep Theatre until 3rdJanuary 2026
Review by Sam Martin
Reading Rep’s latest festive offering, Beth Flintoff’s re-imagining of A Christmas Carol, is a joyous reminder of why this company has become synonymous with bold, heartfelt reinventions of classic tales. Here Dickens’s familiar morality story is transplanted into the beating heart of Reading’s industrial past: Huntley and Palmer’s biscuit factory. It is a choice that proves both quaint and quietly brilliant. Local references ripple warmly through the script, doubling the audience’s sense of belonging and making the story feel as though it has risen, fresh from the oven, out of Reading’s own history.
Read more…
Mark Aspen 