We lift the curtain on the festive season’s theatre productions across the region.
December 1st - January 1st
SLEEPING BEAUTY - THE PANTOMIME
Worthing panto favourites Patrick Monahan, Katie Pritchard and Ross Muir are joined by Britain’s Got Talent record-breaking magician Jay Rawlings and Michael Auger of musical theatre group Collabro, which won Simon Cowell’s talent search in 2014. They will create a fairytale world of castles, wicked spells and the titular snoozer waiting to be awoken by a magical rose.
Pavilion Theatre, Worthing, December 1-January 1, various times, from £10, wtm.uk/panto
December 1st - 2nd
THE NUTCRACKER
The most Christmassy of ballets returns in a kid-sized version courtesy of the Let’s All Dance ballet company. Clara and her Nutcracker Prince explore a magical world accompanied by the Sugar Plum Fairy and the Mouse King.
The Hawth Studio, Crawley, Friday December 1, 4.30pm, Saturday December 2, 11am, 1pm and 3pm, £14, £12 under-16s, hawth.co.uk
December 3rd
CAN BEARS SKI?
Pied Piper Theatre Company has joined forces with Paula Garfield, of Deafinitely Theatre for this adaptation of Raymond Antrobus’ picture book about a young bear struggling to hear the world around him.
The Hawth Studio, Crawley, Sunday, December 3, noon and 2pm, £8, hawth.co.uk
December 8th - 31st
SLEEPING BEAUTY
The West End meets CBeebies in the cast for this year’s Hawth panto. Taking the role of wicked fairy Carrabosse is Carrie Hope Fletcher, who has won awards for her roles in Heathers, The Addams Family and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cinderella, with preschoolers’ favourite Andy Day as Jangles and the return of Michael J Batchelor as the Dame.
The Hawth, Crawley, December 8-31, various times, from £21, £17 under 16s, hawth.co.uk
December 8th - January 14th
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST
Tucker and Martyn Knight are back in Eastbourne for the annual panto, which also stars Carli Norris as Malevolent, Brendan Hooper, Rebecca Vere, Lewes Roberts and Katie Cochrane as the titular Beauty. Look out for the final performance where anything can (and often does) happen...
Devonshire Park Theatre, Eastbourne, December 8-January 14, various times, from £13, eastbournetheatres.co.uk
December 9th - 10th
JURASSIC LIVE CHRISTMAS SPECIAL
Disregarding whether they really celebrated Christmas in prehistoric times, this is a great chance for dinosaur-lovers to get up close to life-sized beasts – from a triceratops to a tyrannosaurus rex, plus a marine mosasaur in his own tank and a flying pterodactyl.
Theatre Royal Brighton, December 9-10, 11am and 3pm, from £13, atgtickets.com/venues/theatre-royal-brighton
December 11th - 24th
THE GINGERBREAD BOY
Billed as a brand-new Christmas story about friendship and celebrating our differences, The Gingerbread Boy is about a boy made entirely of gingerbread, whose life is changed forever when a young villager stumbles across his cookie cottage in the depths of a fairytale forest. Here’s hoping he wasn’t carrying a flask of milk...
The Capitol Theatre, Horsham, December 11-24, various times, £15.50, thecapitolhorsham.com
December 13th - 17th
SNOWED IN
When four friends wake up one winter morning to discover they are snowed in, they dream up an incredible imaginary hotel where adults are nowhere to be seen and they’re free to sing, dance down corridors, throw snowballs and explore the mysterious Room Zero.
Brighton Dome Corn Exchange, December 13-17, various times, £12, £8 under-16s, brightondome.org
December 13th - 22nd
THE KING AND I
Following a sold-out season at the London Palladium, this multi-award-winning Broadway production of the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic comes to Eastbourne, with Call the Midwife’s Helen George sharing the lead role of Anna with Maria Coyne. Tony Award-winner Bartlett Sher directs a 50-strong company and full-scale orchestra.
Congress Theatre, Eastbourne, December 13-22, 7.30pm, 2.30pm matinees Tues-Thurs and Sat, from £29, eastbournetheatres.co.uk
December 14th - January 7th
THE THREE BILLY GOATS GRUFF
Directed by Justin Audibert, Chichester Festival Theatre’s new artistic director, this family-friendly fairy tale is aimed at audiences aged three to seven. A trio of hungry goats and Little Bo-Frilly want to cross over a bridge to the grassy haven on the other side – but they must contend with the tricksy troll living underneath it first.
Minerva Theatre, Chichester, December 14-January 7, various times, from £10, cft.org.uk
December 15th - 31st
CINDERELLA
The ultimate in Christmas pantos – boasting a fairy godmother and two dames – Hastings' tale of rags to riches stars Ben Watson as Buttons, Tim McArthur as the Fairy Godmother and Hannah Ponting as the titular character trying to get to the ball.
White Rock Theatre, Hastings, December 15-31, various times, from £20, whiterocktheatre.org.uk
December 16th - 24th
WILL TELL AND THE BIG BARON
Inspired by her hero Robin Hood, young Will sets out on a quest to rescue her dad from the Big Bad Baron’s deepest dungeon – but doesn’t expect the Baron’s daughter to want to run off with her as well. Along the way there’s some life-size jousting and a medieval Strictly Come Dancing courtesy of theatre company Fideri Fidera.
Komedia, Brighton, December 16-24, various times, £9, komedia.co.uk/brighton
December 16th
HORRIBLE CHRISTMAS
Terry Deary’s Horrible Histories book series has fascinated whole generations of youngsters – augmented by the excellent CBBC TV series. This live show brings together unbelievable but true tales of Christmas through the ages in a quest to save the festive season. Also at the De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill on Friday, December 22.
Theatre Royal Brighton, Saturday December 16, 2pm and 5.30pm, from £21.75, atgtickets.com/venues/theatre-royal-brighton
December 16th - 31st
THE JUNGLE BOOK
The brilliant Chichester Festival Youth Theatre bring Rudyard Kipling’s classic tale to life in a new adaptation penned by Sonali Bhattacharyya with original songs by Ruth Chan. Alongside the well-known characters Kaa the snake, Baloo the bear, Bagheera the panther and the fearsome Shere Khan the tiger, are Tabaqui the jackal, Ikki the porcupine and Mao the peacock, who all come together to help the abandoned child Mowgli survive in the jungle.
Chichester Festival Theatre, December 16-31, various times, from £10, cft.org.uk
December 17th
PETER PAN
It’s a one-day only deal with Bexhill’s affordable swashbuckling pantomime, featuring Diana Freedman’s School of Dance and Performing Arts performers.
De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill, Sunday, December 17, 11am and 5pm, from £13, dlwp.com
December 20th - 30th
CINDERELLA
Ensuring that the city isn’t without a traditional Christmas spectacle, producer David Hill is back with a traditional family-friendly romp through possibly the ultimate panto tale. Taking the lead roles are BBC Radio Sussex’s Allison Ferns as Baroness Hardup, Kane Matthews as Prince Charming, fresh from a role touring the UK in Dreamgirls, and Brighton’s own Ellie Earl as Cinders.
Hilton Brighton Metropole, December 20-30, various times, from £8.83, brightonfamilypanto.com
December 20th - 24th
THE LITTLE MATCH GIRL
Hans Christian Andersen’s tear-jerking Christmas fable is reimagined through dance by choreographer Arthur Pita, to atmospheric music by Frank Moon.
Brighton Dome Corn Exchange, December 20-24, 7pm (not Dec 24), 2pm (not Dec 20/24), 2.30pm Dec 24, from £17.50, brightondome.org
