Midlands productions

Published: 17 December 2017
Reporter: Steve Orme

Ben Faulks as Idle Jacques and Morgan Brind as Dame Betty Brioche in Beauty and the Beast at Derby Arena
Robin Hood and the Babes in the Wood the rock ‘n’ roll panto at Stafford Gatehouse Theatre
The Hundred and One Dalmatians at Birmingham REP

Beverley Knight is the Fairy Godmother, Strictly Come Dancing finalist Danny Mac becomes Prince Charming, Matt Slack plays Buttons and Suzanne Shaw takes the lead role in Cinderella at Birmingham Hippodrome from Tuesday until Sunday 28 January while in the Patrick Centre Tall Stories’ The Snow Dragon runs from Thursday until Sunday 7 January.

Bradley Walsh plays Mr Smee, Martin Kemp is Captain Hook and Matt Knight plays Peter Pan in Peter Pan—An Awfully BIG Arena Adventure at Arena Birmingham from Wednesday until Sunday.

The Peepul Centre, Leicester is transformed into Sherwood Forest for Robin Hood, written by Jonathan Ashby-Rock with music by Philip Ryder, which continues until Wednesday 27 December.

Babbling Vagabonds returns to Derby LIVE’s Guildhall Theatre with a new family show, Prince Stroppy Pants and the Christmas Caper, which continues until Thursday 28 December.

The Wardrobe Ensemble brings to life Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows with “humour, song, dance and good old-fashioned storytelling” at The Core at Corby Cube, Northamptonshire which continues until Saturday 30 December.

A new adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland produced by Birmingham Ormiston Academy continues at the Old Rep, Birmingham until Saturday 30 December.

Santa Claus gets ready for his busiest day of the year in Raymond Briggs’s Father Christmas, a Lyric Hammersmith and Pins and Needles presentation, which continues in the theatre at mac Birmingham until Saturday 30 December.

James Holmes (Clive in the BBC TV comedy series Miranda) is Dame Nanny Nora and Jessica Revell (Elektra from CBBC’s Tracy Beaker Returns and The Dumping Ground) is Princess Aurora in Sleeping Beauty which continues at Buxton Opera House until Sunday 31 December.

Red Bridge Arts and Traverse Theatre Company take the bit between their teeth to stage Black Beauty in the Djanogly Theatre at Lakeside Arts, Nottingham which continues until Sunday 31 December.

Jessica Swale’s new adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book continues at Northampton’s Royal until Sunday 31 December; Paul Nicholas, Jaymi Hensley, Sheila Ferguson and Kev Orkian are among the cast of Aladdin in Derngate which continues until Sunday 31 December; and in the Underground Studio, Little Angel Theatre’s adaptation of Julia Donaldson and Lydia Monks’s The Singing Mermaid continues until Saturday 13 January.

Derby-born actress Gwen Taylor takes the role of the Enchantress in Beauty and the Beast at Derby Arena which continues until Sunday 31 December.

Jersey Boys, the story of Frank Valli and the Four Seasons, continues at the New Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham until Saturday 6 January.

Mike Kenny’s adaptation of J M Barrie’s Peter Pan continues at Derby Theatre until Saturday 6 January while in the Studio The Gingerbread Man continues until Sunday 31 December.

Aladdin continues at Lichfield Garrick until Saturday 6 January while in the Studio New Old Friends performs Home for Christmas, a “fun-filled adventure” following a mother’s quest to make it home in time for Christmas, during the day from Tuesday until Sunday 31 December and in the evening New Old Friends presents a new alternative Christmas comedy “inspired by Agatha Christie, The 39 Steps and Jason Bourne”, Crimes on the Christmas Express which continues until Saturday 6 January.

Coventry’s Albany Theatre continues to play host to Mike Kenny’s adaptation of Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows, featuring Coventry actor Paul Nolan as Mole, until Saturday 6 January.

Jonny Wilkes and Christian Patterson team up again for Aladdin at Stoke’s Regent Theatre which continues until Sunday 7 January.

The rock ‘n’ roll panto Robin Hood and the Babes in the Wood continues at Stafford Gatehouse Theatre until Sunday 7 January while in the MET Studio the stage adaptation of Rod Campbell’s children’s book Dear Santa continues until Sunday 24 December.

Mark Little plays Fleshcreep and Bradley Judge is Jack in Jack and the Beanstalk which continues at Mansfield Palace Theatre until Sunday 7 January.

Artistic director Nikolai Foster directs a new production of Scrooge the Musical which continues at Curve, Leicester until Sunday 7 January while in the Studio Roald Dahl’s George’s Marvellous Medicine continues until Saturday 20 January.

The Gloucestershire panto Dick Whittington and His Cat continues at the Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham until Sunday 7 January while in the Studio The Tales of Hans Christian Andersen continues during the day until Saturday 23 December and in the evening an ensemble cast tell the tale of A Gloucestershire Midwinter which also continues until Saturday 23 December.

Debbie Isitt’s adaptation of Dodie Smith’s The Hundred and One Dalmatians continues at Birmingham REP until Saturday 13 January.

Iain Lauchlan takes to the Coventry Belgrade stage for his 23rd panto Cinderella which continues until Saturday 13 January while in the B2 auditorium Lauchlan's Santa's Mixed Up Martian continues during the day until Sunday 24 December and in the evening Cinderella meets the wild West Midlands in a festive alternative to panto, Nick Walker’s The Good, The Bad and the Ugly Sisters, which continues until Saturday 30 December.

Nottingham native Sherrie Hewson leads the cast of Beauty and the Beast at the city’s Theatre Royal which continues until Sunday 14 January.

Gareth Gates plays Jack, Lisa Riley becomes the Spirit of the Beans, Ian Adams is Dame Trot, Adam C Booth is Simple Simon and Graham Cole plays Fleshcreep in Jack and the Beanstalk at Wolverhampton Grand which continues until Sunday 14 January.

Sleeping Beauty, the 2017 panto at The Theatre, Chipping Norton, continues until Sunday 14 January.

Kenneth Alan Taylor writes and directs Cinderella which continues at Nottingham Playhouse until Saturday 20 January while Town Mouse and Country Mouse, Robin Kingsland’s adaptation of Aesop’s fable, continues in the Neville Studio until Saturday 6 January.

A new adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island continues at the New Vic, Newcastle-under-Lyme until Saturday 27 January.

Phil Davis plays Ebenezer Scrooge in David Edgar’s adaptation of Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol which continues in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre Stratford until 4 February; Adrian Edmondson makes his RSC debut as Malvolio and Kara Tointon plays Olivia in Twelfth Night which continues until 24 February; and in the Swan Theatre, Mike Poulton’s adaptation of The Cicero Trilogy by Robert Harris, Imperium Part I: Conspirator and Imperium Part II: Dictator, continue until Saturday 10 February.

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