Christmas theatre season is here and the dames and genies and feisty heroines have been turning up on stages around Wales and making audiences young and old laugh and sing along. Yes, it's panto season and the theatres around the country are full of Christmas cheer, so we've been to as many as we can to bring you what it's like to go and see them.
We'll be adding to this list of shows as the weeks go on, with trips to Disney's Aladdin at Cardiff's Wales Millennium Centre, Cinderella at Swansea Grand, and Carmarthen's Civic Hall and more, so stay tuned to see what we thought of the panto near you. If you want to hear what the magic was like at Wales' big events like Luminate, Christmas in Bute Park and more, click here.
So, if you're going to a show this Christmas and we've covered it, you might like to read on to see what to expect. Find out about the latest events in Wales by signing up to our What's On newsletter here
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Castellana, Sophia Gardens, Cardiff
Sexy, sensual, thrilling, mesmerising, dangerous, jaw-dropping, naughty and hilarious - it’s impossible to sum up Castellana in just one word. This 16+ production has been running every evening from December 6 as part of the second annual Cardiff Christmas Festival, which is being held in 550-seat Fortuna Spiegeltent in Sophia Gardens.
There is still time to get tickets for the last few nights of the production, which will run up until Christmas Eve. And if you do, brace yourself for a kaleidoscope of talent from internationally renowned Cirque du Soleil trained performers. There is seductive burlesque dancing, gravity-defying aerial acrobatics, hand-to-hand balancing, contortion, fierce whip-cracking, passionate fire dancing, and terrifying roller-skating stunts. You can also expect risque outfits, sultry make-up and some nudity. Indeed, though billed as a cabaret show, Castellana is more like a blend of cabaret, circus and drag.
As a generally risk-averse person, I’ll admit I spent a large part of the night with my heart in my mouth as I peeked from behind my hands. But if you’re also of a nervous disposition, fear not - the acts don’t last too long. The format of the show is a whistle stop tour of performances and it is paced perfectly. There is quite a lot of singing thrown in there too, courtesy of the two MCs, Drag Queen Velma Celli and Cardiff vocalist Justine Marie.
Marie stood out from the pair when it came to the singing, but it was Celli who brought the whole night together as the main host for the show. Opening the evening with a performance of Sam Sparro’s Black and Gold - one of many well-known and catchy songs which featured throughout the evening - Celli’s first words to the audience were: “Good evening, motherf*****s”. And so began her amusing X-rated commentary throughout the production, which, in her own words, is not for anyone “easily offended”. Impressively, she never let up in terms of energy and hilarity throughout the night and got (often rather embarrassed) audience members involved in her gags.
In terms of the acts themselves, they ranged from duo to single performers and every single one was impressive in their own way.. I had two personal favourites. First, burlesque performer Miss Betsy Rose, whose precise, effortless movements, cheeky facial expressions and gorgeous outfits left me transfixed. Second, duo Little Finch, whose breath-taking acrobatic routine using a suspended net - while dressed in sailor outfits uncannily reminiscent of that famous Jean Paul Gaultier advert - was, in my opinion, the best of the entire night.
I must finish this review with a word on the speigeltent itself. It is an ornate and colourful baroque-style mirrored tent, with wooden furniture and stained glass windows. It was shipped to Cardiff from Holland, took two days to build and is only of only a handful left in the world. It truly makes for a magical setting - I felt like I’d been transported back in time to a travelling circus of a century gone by. It had a stage in the round, which added to the intensity and intimacy of the performances in Castellana.
4 out of 5 stars - Reem Ahmed
Castellana runs until December 24 and tickets start at £25. For more information and to book, click here.
Cinderella, Swansea Grand Theatre
If there’s one thing that officially heralds the start of Christmas in Swansea, it’s the return of the Grand Theatre’s annual pantomime. For generations, it has been a time honoured tradition for families living in the city to head to the historic venue to enjoy stories of fairytale adventures, and this year is no different.
Cinderella is this year’s offering, a production by Imagine Theatre which tells the famous rags to riches tale much loved by audiences young and old. It returned on December 9, and by the end of its run on January 7, will have entertained thousands. It had plenty to live up to, as last year’s show, Beauty and the Beast, won two top accolades at the UK Pantomime Association Awards, named best pantomime in venues with more than 900 seats, and the prize for best set design.
The real strength of this year’s show is its double acts. Many tickets will have been sold on the back of the casting of professional dancing brothers AJ and Curtis Pritchard, who have won legions of fans thanks to Strictly Come Dancing and Love Island. They play Prince Charming and Dandini, and are naturals in the world of panto, throwing themselves wholeheartedly into the fun and frolics, including one scene where Curtis’s face is continuously caked in custard pies - a far cry from his time lazing around in a Spanish villa. There’s plenty of sequences which show off their dancing skills, and plenty of Strictly gags, making use of those all-important scorecards.
Regulars at the Swansea panto will be pleased to see Kev Johns and Matt Edwards back together again. Over the years they’ve proven to have great on stage chemistry together and this year is no different. Kev needs no introduction, with this show marking his 25th panto at the theatre and his 31st in his career. His performance was as stellar as ever, keeping the audience laughing with his quick-fire gags and costume changes, along with his character Dame Penny Pockets’ many localised titles, including the Duchess of Dunvant, the Baroness of Brynmill and the Countess of Cockett.
Matt, who first rose to fame in Britains Got Talent, having reached the grand final back in 2017, is fast becoming part of furniture at the panto, having made many past appearances in the annual production. He is the consummate panto performer, with his wide range of expressions and comedy antics keeping audiences entertained throughout. Ella Biddlecombe, and Sophie Sheridan also combine brilliantly to play Whitney and Britney, Cinderella’s evil stepsisters, showing great chemistry together to pull off memorable and hilarious performances.
The digital stage and scenery of this year’s show is once again top notch, and is done best in the scene where the ball gown of Cinderella, played with warmth and aplomb by Samantha Thomas, is unveiled. It is the standout scene to look out for which captures the magic of this year’s show. Stefan Pejic links up well with Samantha, and shows exactly why he's been in demand over the course of his 26-year entertainment career, helping to weave magic in the role of Cinderella's fairy godparent.
It’s easy to see why the Grand has built up such a reputation for its panto through the years, and if this year’s show is anything to go by, it can start to find space in its trophy cabinet for more panto awards ahead of the next time the judges make their deliberations. It’s a fun few hours out, so round up the family, head to the theatre and enjoy.
The show runs until January 7 and tickets start at £17. For more information and to book, click here.
5 out of 5 stars - Robert Dalling
Jac and the Beanstalk, New Theatre Cardiff
It’s a familiar trope that pantomimes often feature a giant. They’re often literal (at least in the sense of the plot) but sometimes the best things come in small packages.
The diminutive Lesley Joseph, playing the Spirit of the Beans in this knockabout romp that mixes neat crowd work and improv with classy writing, is living proof of that. She exudes the class and confidence of someone who has made a career on stage and screen while Aaron James, as the well-used Silly Simon, and perennial panto dame Mike Doyle were natural comic foils for her lively repartee.
A smart script was tight enough that the gags were on point but had enough flex in it that parts felt ad-libbed (and Joseph’s easy command of the cast clearly allowed for that more relaxed vibe) while the writing was self-conscious enough to poke fun at the fairly flimsy plot that acted more as reference points to knit together the different skits rather than the basis for them. There’s everything from a farmyard tap dance to a tongue-twisting two-hander that pits Joseph and Doyle against one another in surely the closest thing to a ribald rap battle ever seen in this august venue (with James in the MC role before taking centre stage later with a highly enjoyable A to Z of impressions) while there’s a lovely nod in the staging to Joseph’s Birds of a Feather co-star Linda Robson for the eagle-eyed to pick out.
Steve Arnott (no, not the one from Line of Duty) as Fleshcreep was a pleasingly chilling villain with a series of brilliant costumes and an unsettling Childcatcher energy though it’s worth noting that the scary bits are, actually, quite scary and while it’s certainly not enough to keep younger kids away it’s worth bearing in mind that more sensitive youngsters and the under-fives might get the jitters occasionally. That’s a price worth paying not just for Arnott’s acting but also the impressive and innovative 3D elements of the second half at the giant’s castle (don’t forget to get your glasses at the interval). The way it’s done – almost 4D with some of the extra sensory elements – is a real addition to the typical pantomime offering and brings a very 21st-century feel to this distinguished and grand Grade II*-listed building that has just marked its 117th birthday.
The knockabout number If I Weren’t In Pantomime once again features among the musical numbers and it’s a delightfully daft closer that also acts as a neat counterpoint because if this cast, and this venue, weren’t in pantomime then panto would be much the poorer for it.
4 out of 5 stars - Ciaran Jones
The show runs until January 7 and tickets start at £24.50. For more information and to book go here.
Aladdin - The Musical, Wales Millennium Centre
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit.” I’d love to claim that as my own but, I’ll level with you, Aristotle usually gets the credit for that one (even if there’s some dispute over the exact attribution).
But the origin isn’t the point – the theme is. When we look at sustained excellence – whether in the context of go-again sporting greats like Michael Jordan or global titan brands like Rolex or Apple – the commonality is in their capability to keep on going to the well and returning, time after time, with consistent quality.
So, too, is the case with Disney. From the moment the kaleidoscopic colours burst into the cavernous glory of the Donald Gordon Theatre at the WMC you’re left in no doubt that you’re in the presence of the kind of peerless production value that characterises those very top-tier brands where excellence is, indeed, a habit and expectation rather than an aspiration.
As we dive into sword-swallowing within seconds and the massive energy of Genie (the truly splendid Yeukayi Ushe) in Arabian Nights there’s crisp choreography, seamless stagecraft, and a relentless kinetic energy that seldom lets up for the duration of the 130-minute run time (there is a 20-minute interval to catch your breath).
While the versatile Ushe feels like the star of the show, especially in the first half, our eponymous underdog hero (played with Disneyfied cheekiness and sensitivity by the impressive Gavin Adams) and his pals are highly charismatic and offer several changes of pace while the glittering (often literally but also metaphorically) Jasmine, portrayed with a delightful mixture of peevishness and poise by Desmonda Cathabel, provides an empowering and welcome reminder of the story’s message about equality.
The show as a whole sets – or at the very least sustains and matches – the standard we’ve come to expect from these huge touring productions with the Disney name still a watchword not just for quality but consistency as well as innovative touches and intertextual nods. The knock-’em-dead energy of the first half features an homage to Strictly and a gameshow send-up while there’s an extended and utterly mesmeric version of Friend Like Me (complete with Disney medley) that would be a fitting finale to any show going and indeed gets the lengthiest spell of applause of the whole night – I’d go as far as to say there won’t be an individual stage scene of the calibre of the several minutes it runs to anywhere else in Wales during the seven-week stay of this production in Cardiff Bay.
There’s an enchanting version of A Whole New World complete with magic carpet that marks another highlight while elsewhere in the performance the pointy-toed Iago (Angelo Paragoso) brings a madcap Lee Evans vibe to his highly entertaining turn opposite Adam Strong’s sinister portrayal of Jafar. It’s impossible to pick out everyone or every moment of individual quality – everything from the hundreds of costumes to the orchestra to the staging (often so dazzling you could be forgiven for going full rock star and wearing your shades indoors) shows that maybe, just sometimes, all that glitters might really be gold.
4.5 out of 5 stars - Ciaran Jones
The show runs until January 14 and tickets start at £20. No under-threes will be admitted. For more information and to book go here.
Cinderella, St Peter's Civic Hall, Carmarthen
Pantomimes in Carmarthen are like buses: you wait ages for one and then two come along at once. After Covid-19 brought the curtain down on performances in 2020 and 2021, a planned production of Sleeping Beauty never arose from its slumber and was cancelled in 2022. But fear not, panto-lovers of Carmarthen, for this year a fairy godmother has given us two. Jack and the Beanstalk is showing at the Lyric Theatre until December 28, and about 50 yards down the road a new production company has created a rip-roaring version of Cinderella at St Peter’s Civic Hall - which will run until Saturday, December 23.
Bow Productions is a semi-professional theatre company which aims to provide a platform for talented individuals who were born and bred in and around Carmarthen. Straight from the first scene, there’s a great community feel to Cinderalla which can be felt intently by the audience. Forgive the cliché but this feels like a local pantomime for local people, with many of the cast recognisable if you’re familiar with Carmarthen. The evil stepsisters, for example, are played by two local businesswomen, while Buttons - forever showering Cinders with unrequited love - is played with aplomb by a local trader who runs a high street clothing store.
We all know the plot of Cinderella by now - our heroine is trapped in a miserable existence living with her cruel offspring while she fervently yet quietly wants to go to the ball with a dashing Prince. And yes, she will go to the ball. It’s not the plot that makes a panto, however, it’s the cast, the music, the camaraderie with the audience and the smiles put on the faces of children sat back from the stage. This production provides all of that and more in a riotous two hours (including break) which flies by in a flicker of song and laughter.
The performances are delivered with passion and enthusiasm, with a heady mix of witty dialogue and both contemporary and classic catchy tunes, including a simultaneously poignant and funny rendition of Fairytale of New York. All the cast are in fine form but the major laughs come from Grizelda and Ezmerelda, who are evil in their bickering and pestering of their glamorous step-sister but, crucially and impressively, are evil with enough warmth and humour that even Cinders’ biggest fans in the crowd can’t really dislike them.
Buttons too brings humour (and an impressive singing voice), and special praise goes to Dan Williams in the role of Dandini - I’ve never seen anyone work harder during a panto, from singing to dancing, from quick wordplay to even doing most of the set changes in between scenes when the lights are down.
The amateur style of this production doesn’t hinder it, it makes it better. Tongues are firmly in-cheek throughout and the participation from the children in the audience highlights a real connection between them and the cast, while the mums and dads are always in on the joke. Everyone leaving the Civic Hall in Carmarthen had smiles on their faces after the final curtain had come down. This was a fun and heart-warming evening of entertainment that everyone should experience in the run-up to Christmas.
5 out of 5 stars - Rob Harries
The show runs until Saturday, December 23 and tickets are priced at £10 and £12. For more information and to book go here.
Beauty and the Beast, Grand Pavilion, Porthcawl
New Year’s Eve is the only time of year I associate with a countdown so there was a pavlovian element to the reverse numerical intro to the Grand Pavilion’s Beauty and the Beast that had me all set to cross my arms and bluff my way through Auld Lang Syne. But, thankfully, Fairy Ffion (Samantha Spragg) sprang to the rescue and opened the show with a musical number instead to kickstart a raucous and fantastically fun family panto that was filled with festive frivolity.
The flamboyant Gaston (played impeccably by Harry Pudwell, who will probably never want to hear LMFAO’s Sexy and I Know It ever again once this run ends) makes for an early highlight while the show opens up with lots of local material and even a 20mph joke that roots us firmly into late 2023. There are predictable panto gags aplenty (“You can stop groaning now – there’s another two hours of this rubbish,” Vern Griffiths’ Dame Dolly gently chides early on) with a whole host to appeal across the age ranges – including Gaston’s self-indulgent reworking of George Ezra’s Shotgun, which remains catnip to primary-age kids.
Griffiths gets many of the best lines and duly rewards the writers by delivering them with his usual aplomb while there’s a highly entertaining cooking scene for Dame Dolly and her son Lazy Larry (given a full Mr Tumble energy by the loveable Kyle Tovey) that comes to a fine denouement.
The junior members of the ensemble, too, are highly impressive and the rousing opening to the second half is particularly enjoyable while things then get rather more earnest as Belle (Ceri-Anne Thomas) and Beast (Aled Thomas Davies) bring genuine pathos to their roles as their love story sets in. In perfect panto style that’s beautifully undercut by Larry and his dog Tiddles (one minute you’re wooing a prospective partner, the next you’re covered in pee – what’s a Beast to do?). Davies gets to add a little more emotional heft with a well-rendered version of Lewis Capaldi’s Someone You Loved that shows his range when the tenderness is set against his very convincing outbursts of aggression.
Davies and Thomas also get the full-on intensity of a duet to Goo Goo Dolls’ heartbreaker Iris, with the latter especially strong, but the pick of the musical numbers is the sheer romp that is the four-handed chaos of the 12 Days of Christmas. It embodies all that is good about this show – humour, heart, and high jinks. It’s a Beauty.
4 out of 5 stars - Ciaran Jones
The show runs until December 31 and tickets start at £22. For more information and to book go here.
