Pantos and Christmas shows 2026 in the North West, sorted by age

The wrong panto at the wrong age is two and a half hours of a small child asking to go home. So this guide sorts the North West's 2026 Christmas shows by the youngest age each theatre itself recommends, then lists the big traditional pantos by what four tickets cost. Dates and prices come from each theatre's own page on 25 September 2026.

Seat prices move with the date, so I give the range as published. A family of four means two adults and two children. Relaxed, BSL and captioned performances are picked out where the theatre lists them, and there is a list of those near the end.

Under fours

A Very Messy Christmas at Shakespeare North Playhouse in Prescot is made for ages 0 to 4: a 40 minute sensory show with clowning, music and a mysterious box full of festive chaos, in the small Studio from Tuesday 8 to Saturday 19 December at 10am, 12pm and 2pm. It is pay what you decide, from £5 to £30. For a first theatre trip I would pick nothing else.

Three and up

Tinsel, also in the Shakespeare North Studio, follows on from 22 December to 2 January (not Christmas Day or Boxing Day): 45 minutes of puppets and live music about a boy who wants to be the fairy on top of the tree. Same pay what you decide pricing.

A Town Called Christmas in the Studio at Theatre by the Lake, Keswick, runs 8 to 27 December. It is 55 minutes with no interval, about a robot helping save a forgotten town's Christmas, at £15 a ticket or £12 for under 26s.

The World of Beatrix Potter in Bowness has two. The Gingerbread Boy runs daily 19 to 24 December, 50 minutes followed by a meet and greet with Santa and a gift for every child, at £10 a child and £12 an adult. Tomte's Yuletide Tale, a 45 minute Nordic puppet and shadow show for ages 3 to 10, takes over from 28 December to 2 January at £10 a child for the show.

Mr Popper's Penguins at Waterside Arts in Sale is an hour-long penguin musical from the team behind the Father Christmas stage show, 5 to 27 December, £16.50 to £21.50 with the dearest dates between 19 and 26 December, and £10 low-income tickets on some dates. The 11am show on Saturday 5 December is BSL interpreted and relaxed.

Jack and the Beanstalk at the Blackpool Grand, 4 December to 3 January, is recommended for 3 and up and starts at £18 a ticket. It has strobe, smoke, pyrotechnics and loud bangs, toned down for the relaxed performance on Sunday 27 December at 5pm.

Four and five up

Pinocchio in the Theatre by the Lake Studio, 28 December to 3 January, is an hour of puppetry and shadow play for 4 and up, £15 or £12 for under 26s. A good one for the flat week after Christmas.

Cinderella: A Fairytale at the Octagon in Bolton, 20 November to 9 January, is Sally Cookson's retelling rather than a panto. The Octagon pitches it at 5 and up, warns some scenes may frighten younger children and does not admit babes in arms under 18 months. Tickets from £15, with children saving up to £8, and there are relaxed, audio-described and signed performances.

Six and seven up

A Christmas Carol is the big show at Theatre by the Lake in Keswick, 13 November to 3 January, the full Dickens with music from Goblin, for 6 and up and from £11. There is a relaxed performance on 24 November and captioned and signed shows on 12 December.

Shakespeare North's own Christmas Carol, 20 November to 2 January, is a foot-stomping musical version set in a pub where landlord Scrooge has banned music until the spirits come up from the cellar. The age guidance is 7 and up. Tickets from £10.

The traditional pantos, cheapest first for four

Most of these welcome small children, but a proper panto is usually two hours or more with an interval, and Waterside Arts says as much about the Sale Nomads show below.

From £36 plus fees: Aladdin at Parr Hall, Warrington, 30 December to 10 January, seats £9 to £20 plus fees. On a two adult, two child booking the adults pay child prices, which is why it is first. Helen Flanagan and Steven Arnold head the cast.

From £48: Aladdin at Blackpool Pleasure Beach, 21 November to 24 December, £12 for restricted-view side seats, £18.50 to £22.50 in the main blocks or £25 a head at a table.

£49: Robin Hood at Lancaster Grand, 28 November to 28 December, with a family ticket for four at £49, or £54 on Christmas Eve and Boxing Day. Relaxed performance on Saturday 5 December at 10.30am.

£58: Aladdin at Blackburn Empire, 21 November to 3 January, child £14, adult £20, family £58, with no premium dates. The December weekends were already selling fast in September. Robin Hood and His Merry Men at Waterside Arts in Sale, 8 to 17 January, is also £58 for a family; it is an amateur production, it runs two and a half hours, and the theatre says that may be long for under 3s.

From £58: The Wizard of Oz at King George's Hall, Blackburn, 11 to 31 December, £14.50 to £22.50. Rated for all ages, and nearly every show is at midday or 4pm, which is kind to nap times.

From £60: Dick Whittington at Manchester's Opera House, 5 December to 3 January, from £15 a seat, with Jason Manford and Ben Nickless. Early December weekdays have 1pm shows, and under 18 months can sit on your lap free with a babes in arms voucher. Aladdin at the Floral Pavilion in New Brighton, 5 December to 3 January, has a few £15 stalls seats at every performance, then up to £38.50 for adults and £35.50 for children.

From £62: Cinderella at The Dukes, Lancaster, 21 November to 2 January, played in the round. Seats are £18 to £26 for adults and £13 to £19.50 for children. The cheap standing tickets are marked unsuitable for young children, so pay for seats.

From £68: Sleeping Beauty at Crewe Lyceum, 11 December to 3 January, £17 to £29 a seat, already flagged as selling fast.

From £72: Jack and the Beanstalk at the Blackpool Grand, above.

From £78: Rapunzel at Storyhouse in Chester, 4 December to 3 January, £19.50 to £48. Every performance is captioned.

From £80: The Rock 'n' Roll Panto at the Liverpool Everyman, Beauty and the Beast this year, 14 November to 16 January, £20 to £47 a seat. A November weekday or a January date is far easier to get than a December Saturday matinee.

£90.20: Jack and the Beanstalk at the Stockport Plaza, 4 December to 3 January, family ticket online, with no booking fee if you buy in person at the box office.

No price yet: Cinderella at The Atkinson in Southport, 4 to 31 December, and a one-hour Cinderella at Rheged near Penrith on 28 and 29 December at 11.30am and 2.30pm, which is short enough for a three-year-old.

Relaxed, BSL and captioned performances

As listed on 25 September. Relaxed: Theatre by the Lake's A Christmas Carol on 24 November, Lancaster Grand on 5 December at 10.30am, Mr Popper's Penguins at Waterside on 5 December at 11am, the Blackpool Grand on 27 December at 5pm, Storyhouse on 27 December at noon, and the Octagon on dates it lists. BSL: Mr Popper's Penguins on 5 December, the Stockport Plaza on 5 and 10 December, Theatre by the Lake on 12 December and Storyhouse on 2 January. Every Storyhouse performance is captioned, and Theatre by the Lake has a captioned show on 12 December. The Atkinson had not listed its accessible performances, so ring the box office on 01704 533333.

After Christmas

The dead days between Christmas and school going back are well covered: Tinsel and Tomte's Yuletide Tale to 2 January, Pinocchio in Keswick to 3 January, Rheged on 28 and 29 December, Parr Hall's Aladdin from 30 December, the Octagon to 9 January, the Everyman to 16 January and Sale's Robin Hood from 8 January. The Christmas holidays page has the rest of the fortnight.

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