News, reviews, features and podcast on theatre across the UK
The British Theatre Guide Newsletter
No 1242: 14 December 2025
Editorial
We are right in the heart of panto season here in the UK (oh yes we… sorry), which, whether you are a fan or not, is a very important part of the season for many theatres—as Steve Marmion of Watford Palace said on our podcast last month, “the old adage of panto pays for Pinter is still true”.
But it isn’t just in the seasons of theatres up and down the land for commercial reasons; there are lots of people involved in creating panto who are passionate about the form and are keen not only to keep up its various traditions but to continually reinvent them for new audiences.
And audiences seem to love them too—the newish tradition of theatres opening ticket sales for next year’s panto during this year’s run, capturing them while still on a high from the current festivities, proves profitable year after year for many. A lady leaned across to me during the interval of one I attended this week to say how great it was and just what we all need to take our minds off what’s going on in the outside world.
Our reviewers seem to be enjoying themselves too, as while some have pointed out a few things that could have been better, I think all of our panto reviews have been pretty positive overall. Although one of the best reviews I saw was an audience comment on a theatre’s web site—I can’t remember which one—which said something like “my teenager, who never smiles, was laughing all the way through”. That has got to be chalked up as a major win for any show.
One of the pantos I saw this week was the first for some time at Contact in Manchester, a theatre that has had its troubles over the last few years going back even to before the pandemic, though that couldn’t have helped. I had a long chat with the current CEO, who was cautiously optimistic about their future plans, which is great to hear about this unique theatre that looked in danger of closing at one time.
Philip Fisher’s feature this week is about a company that has closed after having had a significant effect on British Theatre for several decades in its various forms, especially for introducing new plays and playwrights to the stage. The ‘Joint Stock method’, where a writer would work with a director and actors on the initial ideas for a play in the rehearsal room some weeks or months in advance of the actual rehearsal period before going away to write it, was named after the initial incarnation of this company.
Founder Max Stafford-Clark continued the ethos of the company into Out of Joint, which again kicked off the careers of some great writers as well as staging the classics, until he was forced to step down just a few years ago after serious allegations against him. The final iteration of the company, Stockroom, has now announced it is to close, but it has left quite a legacy.
Finally, if you are booking for the West End in the near future, LOVEtheatre has a winter sale starting tomorrow (15 December), continuing until the end of January—shows taking part include The Snowman, Starlight Express, SIX, The Red Shoes and Bluey's Big Play. If you book through the links in this newsletter or our web site, we may get a small cut at no cost to you, which goes towards the cost of keeping us online.
But, as Kermit almost sang in The Muppet Christmas Carol, there’s only one more BTG newsletter till Christmas…
Birmingham Rep’s festive offering for younger audiences, Anansi The Spider, will tour 17 libraries across the city and the West Midlands in January and February 2026.
Birmingham Rep’s festive offering for younger audiences, Anansi The Spider, will tour 17 libraries across the city and the West Midlands in January and February 2026.
The Little Mermaid New Vic Theatre at New Vic Theatre, Newcastle-under-Lyme
The BFG Royal Shakespeare Company, Chichester Festival Theatre, Singapore Repertory Theatre - Esplanade Theatres On The Bay, Roald Dahl Story Company at Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon
Beautiful Resistance Live The Amos Trust Christmas Appeal presented in association with Bethlehem Cultural Festival at Union Chapel Islington
