Three Cinderellas, a new Scrooge at the Old Vic and a Nutcracker with more than 100 dancers and musicians behind it. These are the Christmas shows in London for 2026, from pantomime and ballet to picture books for the under-fives and festive comedy for grown-ups.
London's Christmas line-up is usually settled by the time the clocks go back. This year it is settled early: the festive season starts at the Old Vic on 10 November, and some of it is still running in late January. Here is what is on, sorted by the kind of night out you are after.
A Christmas Carol, three ways
A Christmas Carol, The Old Vic. The production many London families now book before anything else turns ten this year. Giles Terera, Olivier winner for Hamilton, is the new Scrooge in Jack Thorne's adaptation, directed by Matthew Warchus with the audience on every side. From Tuesday 10 November 2026 to Saturday 9 January 2027. Our guide has the full company.
Christmas Carol Goes Wrong, Wyndham's Theatre. The same Dickens, with the Cornley Amateur Drama Society in charge, so expect the set to give way before Scrooge does. Mischief's festive comedy runs from Friday 18 December 2026 to Saturday 23 January 2027, and for its last ten days two of its writers, Henry Lewis and Jonathan Sayer, step back into the roles they created.
A Dickens of a Christmas, Park Theatre. For anyone who knows Scrooge by heart: this one gathers several of Dickens's lesser-known Christmas stories and sets them across a single Christmas Eve. From Tuesday 15 December 2026 to Saturday 9 January 2027.
Pantomime
Cinderella, London Palladium. The headline casting of the season. Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders play the Ugly Sisters, their first West End stage together in 17 years, and Julian Clary returns, this year as the Fairy Godfather, alongside Palladium regulars Paul Zerdin, Nigel Havers and Rob Madge. Hope Dawe and Dex Lee are Cinderella and her Prince. From Saturday 5 December 2026 to Sunday 10 January 2027; the full company was confirmed last week.
Cinderella, Lyric Hammersmith Theatre. West London gets its own Cinderella, with Chrissie Bhima in the title role and Ashh Blackwood as Buttons. Joel Horwood, who wrote the Lyric's Aladdin ten years ago, has the script, and Robin Belfield directs. From Saturday 14 November 2026 to Sunday 3 January 2027. Read our guide.
Jack and the Beanstalk, Hackney Empire. The panto that east London plans its December around. Clive Rowe directs and plays Dame Trot, with Kat B as Simple Simon Trot, and the run takes the theatre through its 125th birthday. From Saturday 21 November to Thursday 31 December 2026.
Potted Panto, Apollo Theatre. Can't pick one panto? This one does seven, in about 70 minutes. From Sunday 6 December 2026 to Sunday 3 January 2027.
Ballet, dance and circus
The Nutcracker, London Coliseum. English National Ballet's Christmas fixture is set in Edwardian London, where Clara meets an enchanted Nutcracker doll on Christmas Eve and Tchaikovsky's score does the rest. More than 100 dancers and musicians take part. From Thursday 17 December 2026 to Sunday 10 January 2027. See the production photos.
Matthew Bourne's Cinderella, Sadler's Wells. The third Cinderella in town, and the least like a panto. Matthew Bourne moves the fairy tale to London in the Blitz, where Cinderella gets one night with an RAF pilot. The production is 30 this year, and Katrina Lyndon and Hannah Kremer share the title role. From Tuesday 1 December 2026 to Sunday 17 January 2027.
The Snowman, Peacock Theatre. A Christmas tradition here since 1997, and this year it is a new one. Will Tuckett has rebuilt the staging from scratch, working from Raymond Briggs's book, and Howard Blake's score, Walking in the Air included, is still there. From Saturday 21 November 2026 to Sunday 3 January 2027. Our guide explains what has changed.
Cirque Alice, Royal Festival Hall. Wonderland as a circus, in its European premiere: Layla Schillert is Alice, comedy magician Darren 'Dizzy' Partridge the Mad Hatter, and the Caterpillar is a contortion act. From Saturday 12 December 2026 to Sunday 3 January 2027.
For the youngest theatregoers
Room on the Broom, Lyric Theatre. Tall Stories' hour-long version of the Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler picture book, made for ages three and up, with Elle Dillon-Reams as the Witch. From Friday 27 November 2026 to Sunday 3 January 2027. Read our guide.
The Smartest Giant In Town, St Martin's Theatre. Another Donaldson and Scheffler book on stage, this one about a giant who gives his new clothes away to animals in need. From Wednesday 9 December 2026 to Sunday 3 January 2027.
Peppa Pig's Big Family Show!, Theatre Royal Haymarket. A new stage show marking 21 years of Peppa Pig, in which the family get ready for a new baby. From Friday 4 December 2026 to Sunday 3 January 2027.
Father Christmas Needs a Wee!, The Arts at Marble Arch. The title is the plot. Father Christmas eats and drinks his way through the treats left out at every house, and then realises he badly needs the loo. Saturday 12 December to Thursday 24 December 2026, so it finishes on Christmas Eve itself.
Family shows for all ages
Pinocchio, Shakespeare's Globe. Last year's family hit, seen by more than 33,000 people, is back for a second Christmas, with Lee Braithwaite returning as the wooden boy, Gabrielle Brooks new as the Blue Fairy and Colm Gormley as Geppetto. From Saturday 28 November 2026 to Sunday 3 January 2027. Our guide has the full cast.
The Jungle Book, Olivier Theatre, National Theatre. The National's new family show, and a reunion: Hiran Abeysekera, who won an Olivier as Pi, plays Mowgli, with puppetry by Finn Caldwell and Nick Barnes, who made the tiger in Life of Pi. Anupama Chandrasekhar adapts Kipling and Indhu Rubasingham directs. The world premiere is on Friday 13 November 2026, and it runs until Saturday 6 February 2027. Read our guide.
My Neighbour Totoro, Gillian Lynne Theatre. Not a Christmas show, but this is its last Christmas: the Studio Ghibli adaptation closes on Sunday 3 January 2027.
Festive nights out for grown-ups
Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley, Park Theatre. The Bennet sister nobody remembers finally gets her own story. Chloe Wade plays Mary Bennet in the UK premiere of Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon's sequel to Pride and Prejudice, set over a Christmas at the Darcys' estate. From Wednesday 2 December 2026 to Sunday 10 January 2027. Meet the company.
Sherlock Holmes and the Twelve Days of Christmas, Alexandra Palace Theatre. A whodunnit in which West End performers keep dropping dead, and the clue is in a Christmas song. Bo Poraj is Holmes and Marc Antolin is Watson, in a comedy by Humphrey Ker and David Reed with songs by Tim Rice and Howard Goodall. From Tuesday 24 November 2026 to Sunday 17 January 2027. Read our guide.
A Homo Alone 2: Yikes We Did It Again!, The Other Palace Studio. Leave the children at home for this one. Jodie Prenger and Neil Hurst's sequel sends Kevin, played by Thomas John Stocks, to New York, with four actors covering ten characters. From Friday 13 November 2026 to Sunday 3 January 2027. Our guide has the rest.
Before you book
The season also gets an early start in the West End streets: the company of Into the Woods switches on the St Martin's Lane lights on Tuesday 3 November. For everything else starting soon, see what's opening in the West End, and for the last chances of the year, what's closing soon.
![The live television variety show beneath its VANE sign in To Die For [A Comedy], Nederlandse Reisopera's 2026 Dutch touring production](/blog/public/shows/.to-die-for-eno-uk-premiere-07_s.jpg)
