December Preview: 40 Shows To Count Down To Christmas
- All That Dazzles
- 2 days ago
- 8 min read
Tis the season to feel jolly, and there are plenty of festive new shows to do just that this month. For all you Grinches out there too, there is a smattering of non-Christmas shows to enjoy as well, and even a bit of misery - what would December be without it
I haven’t included many pantos due to the sheer number of them and to stop this being 4000 shows, but there are many to check out in a venue near you all over the UK. Oh yes, there are!
Here are 40 shows to count down to Christmas this month:
THE CHRISTMAS THING (Seven Dials Playhouse)
2nd - 20th December
Part live variety show and part chaotic ‘TV special’, this show transforms the theatre into a makeshift broadcast studio - complete with live cameras, video sketches, music, games, surprise guests and plenty of technical hijinks.
THE RED SHOES (Sadler’s Wells)
2nd December - 18th January
Matthew Bourne’s magical double Olivier Award-winning production returns to Sadler’s Wells for a festive season in an intoxicating drama where life imitates art with fateful consequences.
Tickets from https://allthatdazzles.londontheatredirect.com/dance/matthew-bournes-the-red-shoes-tickets
THE FIT PRINCE (King’s Head Theatre)
2nd December - 3rd January
Harbingers of queer chaos, Awkward Productions, return with their latest offering, putting their own spin on the traditional holiday movies.
INTO THE WOODS (Bridge Theatre)
2nd December - 18th April
Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s musical returns with a new production as the Baker, the Baker’s Wife, the Witch, Jack, Little Red Ridinghood, Cinderella and Rapunzel take us beyond happy ever after to discover what really matters.
BENGAL TIGER AT THE BAGHDAD ZOO (Young Vic)
2nd December - 31st January
David Threlfall and Arinzé Kene star in this surreal dark comedy as several people search for meaning, revenge, forgiveness, and a solid gold toilet seat that’s worth a fortune.
POTTED PANTO (Wilton’s Music Hall)
3rd December - 3rd January
Returning for a third Christmas season, experience seven classic pantomimes in 80 hilarious minutes in a madcap ride through the biggest stories and best-loved characters from the wonderful world of pantomime.
IT’S A WONDERFUL KNIFE (Old Joint Stock)
3rd - 30th December
Combining the beloved Christmas movie It’s A Wonderful Life with Crocodile Dundee, this is a fresh and playful addition to the Christmas theatre canon, promising audiences a festive rollercoaster of laughs, surprises, and heartwarming holiday moments.
KENREX (The Other Palace)
3rd December - 1st February
After an acclaimed run earlier this year, Jack Holden’s true crime masterpiece transfers to The Other Palace in what might be my favourite show of the year. Experience the unbelievable true story of a community taking back control — part True Crime, part Western, with a foot-stomping live Americana soundtrack.
OH, MARY! (Trafalgar Theatre)
3rd December - 25th April
The Tony Award-winning play transfers to London with Mason Alexander Park starring as Mary Toodd Lincoln, the miserable, suffocated wife of President Abraham Lincoln in the weeks leading up to his assassination.
DRACAPELLA (Park Theatre)
3rd December - 17th January
This riotous, laugh-a-minute reimagining of the Dracula story features a score of close-harmony acapella renditions of your favourite jukebox hits, with mind-blowing twists, performed by a cast including Keala Settle and Ako Mitchell.
INDIAN INK (Hampstead Theatre)
3rd December - 31st January
Satirising the self-importance of both academia and the ruling class, Tom Stoppard’s play is an evocative meditation on art and love, exploring how creativity can bridge even the most profound cultural barriers.
COCKFOSTERS (Southwark Playhouse Borough)
4th December - 3rd January
After previous sellout runs, the comedy returns for its longest stint yet as two strangers take the Piccadilly line across London on a journey they’ll never forget.
HMS PINAFORE (London Coliseum)
4th December - 7th February
This hilarious revival of Gilbert & Sullivan’s nautical love triangle, where the comic opera duo navigate the tricky waters of class, rank, patriotism and power, in their signature slapstick style.
THE PLAYBOY OF THE WESTERN WORLD (Lyttlelton Theatre)
4th December - 28th February
John Millington Synge’s riveting story of youth and self-discovery stars Nicola Coughlan, Éanna Hardwicke and Siobhán McSweeney.
TREASURE ISLAND: A NEW MUSICAL ADVENTURE (Bristol Old Vic)
4th December - 10th January
A brand new musical from Jake Brunger and Pippa Cleary, Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic tale is brought to life as a story of friendship, hope and reaching for dreams just beyond the horizon.
DANIEL’S HUSBAND (Marylebone Theatre)
4th December - 10th January
After a hit run off-Broadway, the UK premiere of this poignant and provocative exploration of same sex relationships, love, partnership, and conviction asks where our deepest loyalties truly live — in the heart or in the mind.
PARANORMAL ACTIVITY (Ambassador’s Theatre)
5th December - 28th March
Inspired by the terrifying film series, this new story is directed by Felix Barrett, the visionary direction behind Punchdrunk. This production blends domestic horror with mind-bending theatricality.
THE RAILWAY CHILDREN (Theatre At The Tabard)
5th December - 3rd January
A heartwarming new adaptation of E. Nesbit’s classic joyful and moving tale celebrating family, friendship and the power of community.
Tickets from https://tabard.org.uk
MUSEUM OF AUSTERITY (The Maria, Young Vic)
5th December - 16th January
A mixed reality installation and holographic gallery from theatre/XR director Sacha Wares and editor of Disability News Service John Pring, which brings the human stories of Austerity Britain, laying bare the consequences when state safety nets fail.
UNFORTUNATE: THE UNTOLD STORY OF URSULA THE SEA-WITCH (The Lowry)
5th December - 11th January
The critically acclaimed musical parody returns for a new Christmas season in Salford, starring Sam Buttery in the iconic lead role, alongside Miracle Chance as Ariel.
Tickets from https://unfortunatemusical.com/
CHRISTMAS CAROL GOES WRONG (Apollo Theatre)
6th December - 25th January
Mischief Comedy bring their latest offering to the West End in the middle of a UK tour, bringing their own chaotic take on the Charles Dickens story.
SLEEPING BEAUTY (London Palladium)
6th December - 11th January
The biggest pantomime in the UK returns for its tenth anniversary season, with regulars Julian Clary, Paul Zerdin, Nigel Havers and Rob Madge joined by Catherine Tate, Jon Culshaw, Emily Lane and Amonik Melaco.
Tickets from www.palladiumpantomime.com
WHEN WE ARE MARRIED (Donmar Warehouse)
6th December - 7th February
Tim Sheader’s joyful revival of J.B. Priestley’s much-loved comedy boasts a stellar cast including Tori Allen-Martin and Samatha Spiro
Tickets from www.donmarwarehouse.com
A GHOST IN YOUR EAR (Hampstead Theatre)
6th December - 24th January
Jamie Armitage direct his new play in a chilling and immersive new play using binaural sound technology.
Tickets from www.hampsteadtheatre.com
REVENGE: AFTER THE LEVOYAH (Soho Theatre)
8th December - 25th January
This chaotic Jewish heist comedy that blends madcap comedy and biting political satire returns to London following previous sell-out runs.
TWELFTH NIGHT (Barbican Theatre)
8th December - 17th January
This spellbinding adaptation of Shakespeare's masterpiece is a bittersweet freewheeling miracle of farce, longing, love and life
CHRISTMAS BY CANDLELIGHT (Adelphi Theatre)
9th December
Jordan Luke Gage, Rachel John, Oliver Tompsett and Rachael Wooding bring a magical evening of beloved festive songs performed by candlelight, accompanied by an epic live band.
Tickets from concertsbycandlelight.com
SH!T THEATRE: EVITA TOO (Southbank Centre)
9th - 31st December
This show looks at forgotten female presidents, notably the first woman president in the world,
populism, and legacy. With the pairs’ signature collage of DIY documentary and original songs, turning the most obscure historical footnotes into theatre.
Tickets from www.southbankcentre.co.uk
CHRISTMAS DAY (Almeida Theatre)
9th December - 10th January
A viciously funny new play about identity, belonging, and the rituals we perform with the people we love.
Tickets from https://almeida.co.uk/whats-on/christmas-day/
WOMAN IN MIND (Duke Of York’s Theatre)
9th December - 28th February
Olivier Award winner Sheridan Smith stars in Alan Ayckbourn's darkly comic psychological drama Woman in Mind, alongside multi award-winning comedian Romesh Ranganathan.
LITTLE MISS CHRISTMAS (Southwark Playhouse Borough)
10th December - 3rd January
A raucous and heartfelt musical cabaret from rising drag star Patti Boo Rae. Expect live vocals, lip syncs, singalongs, audience interaction, quick changes, synchronized swimming!
GAWAIN AND THE GREEN KNIGHT (Park Theatre)
10th December - 10th January
Join Gawain, the ultimate office everyman – diligent, dependable, and about as exciting as a stapler – as he prepares to attend the Christmas party of his eccentric workplace, Camelot Corp: a company of knights that offers the best cyber-security service, fit for a king.
MOST FAVOURED (Soho Theatre)
11th December - 24th January
David Ireland brings a sharp and hilarious exploration of faith and loneliness in a Travelodge,
Tickets from https://sohotheatre.com/events/most-favoured/
PIPPIN (Upstairs At The Gatehouse)
11th December - 11th January
Broadway meets Bognor Regis in this reimagining of Stephen Schwartz’s Tony Award-winning classic.
Tickets from https://www.upstairsatthegatehouse.com/
TOP HAT (Southbank Centre)
12th December - 17th January
Effervescent, elegant and exhilarating, this heady romantic cocktail laced with sparklingly witty dialogue, stunning choreography, lavish sets and gorgeous costumes taps into London for a festive season as part of its current tour.
A BOY CALLED CHRISTMAS (Chichester Festival Theatre)
15th - 31st December
Philip Wilson adapts Matt Haig’s enthralling, charming and magical tale that tells the true story of Father Christmas.
Tickets from https://www.cft.org.uk/events/a-boy-called-christmas
SNOW WHITE (Emerald Theatre)
17th December - 4th January
TuckShop’s All-Drag, West End Pantomime returns for the fifth year, bigger and better than ever! Rude, crude and not for prudes, this is the very adult, very hilarious, very demure pantomime from the team who brought you The Diana Mixtape and Death Drop.
HIGH NOON (Harold Pinter Theatre)
17th December - 7th March
Billy Crudup and Denise Gough star in this gripping new adaptation of the iconic, four-time Oscar-winning 1952 film originally produced by Stanley Kramer.
ALICE’S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND (Orange Tree Theatre)
18th - 22nd December
In Chinonyerem Odimba’s dazzling new version, Lewis Carroll’s classic is reborn, taking the audience through the looking glass and reimagining a timeless world of curiosity, chaos, and croquet.
THE ELMER ADVENTURE (Soho Theatre Walthamstow)
20th December - 4th January
Join three adventurers on a joyful jungle quest in Tall Stories’ magical, musical adaptation of the much-loved Elmer books by David McKee
Tickets from https://sohotheatre.com/events/the-elmer-adventure/
What are you most looking forward to seeing in December?
Let me know in the comments or on all my socials - @ATDazzles on X, Instagram, Threads, Facebook and TikTok, and look out for reviews of many of them on the website over the next month as well as conversations with the stars of some of these shows on my podcast All That Chat - series 2 of this concludes with a yearly round up this month.
Look out for two previews from me in December - a January one, but also your big 2026 preview going live over the Christmas holidays.
To have your show included in the January preview or any other monthly post, send me an email with details of your show and I’ll include as many as possible.
See you in the theatre!