The best Christmas shows you can still get tickets to

Between naughty pantomimes, yuletide classics, and big-budget musicals, there’s still plenty of shows you can book to see this festive season. Alice Saville picks the best of the bunch

Christmas confections abound on the West End and beyond (Johan Persson)

Theatres all over the capital pull in their biggest audiences when Christmas rolls round, and small wonder. There’s something about the wintry chill outside that makes us long to huddle close, get warm, and tell stories. And that doesn’t have to mean the cringey childhood anecdotes that’ll get their thousandth airing at the Christmas dinner table.

London’s theatremakers are forever cooking up deliciously fresh tales to entrance you and your loved ones, laced with edgy wit and served up with serious style.

Our pick of the best festive shows is a mix of bold new creations and returning favourites that have been recast and reimagined for 2025. So plan a child’s first theatre outing. Assemble friends for a ribald night of panto fun. See a festive movie fave burst into life on stage. Tis the season to gather, and this city’s theatres have got plenty to lure you in from the cold.

Ballet Shoes – The National Theatre

The name might suggest this production is squarely aimed at little girls whose every possession is pastel pink. The reality is more colourful and complex. The National Theatre has turned Noel Streatfeild’s 1936 novel into a gloriously eccentric show about finding your chosen family. Three orphaned kids grow up surrounded by their mysterious benefactor’s collection of fossils and dinosaur bones. And soon, they each unearth dreams of their own, of dancing, being an actress – and of zooming into a career as a mechanic. It’s offbeat, very witty and there’s a pretty high chance that boys of all ages will enjoy it, too. Until 21 February 2026

‘Ballet Shoes’ (Manuel Harlan)

Beauty and the Beast: A Horny Love Story – Charing Cross Theatre

Don’t even dream of bringing your kids, parents, or indeed any blood relative to this very rude take on Beauty and the Beast. Writing team Jon Bradfield and Martin Hooper have won a cult following with their annual queer pantos (formerly housed by much-missed gay theatre Above The Stag). And for good reason. Each year they put a bawdy spin on a classic story, gleefully shoving innuendo into panto traditions. “He’s behind you!” gets a whole new meaning. So book yourself in for a trip to the wintry Scottish village of Lickmanochers, where beautiful Bertie is trapped in a hairy posho’s castle – both the weather and the jokes will be bracing. Until 11 January 2026

‘Beauty and the Beast: A Horny Love Story’ (Steve Gregson)

A Christmas Carol – The Old Vic

There’s never a shortage of stagings of Dickens’ ever-relevant festive morality fable. But The Old Vic’s lavish take on the story of a miser made good has quickly become the definitive version. Darken the theatre’s doors and you’ll feel as though you’ve stumbled into an expansive, interactive version of Victorian London that’s both quaint and contemporary. The show is back for its ninth consecutive season this winter with Paul Hilton taking his turn at the central role of Scrooge, the penny-pinching banker. This year, there’s an added incentive to visit with The Old Vic’s stylish new annexe Backstage open for business. It offers an affordable (£24-£30) pre-show dinner menu so you won’t be as hungry as poor Bob Cratchit by the time the interval rolls round. Until 10 January 2026

‘A Christmas Carol’ (Manuel Harlan)

Elf the Musical – Aldwych Theatre

It’s hard not to love this joyfully bouncy (if sometimes clumsy) theatrical take on the 2003 Will Ferrell movie. It first landed in the West End a decade ago, delighting fans of the film with its extravagant setpieces (Santa’s sleigh really seems to fly across the stage), nifty choreography, and feel-good message. This year’s big-name cast includes Carrie Hope Fletcher (Cinderella) and Aled Jones (The Snowman) as well as Joel Montague as the fish-out-of-water protagonist Buddy. Is this perky, oversized elf going to survive in big, bad New York City? Find out in this huge-hearted and very festive confection of a show. Until 3 January

‘Elf the Musical’ (Matt-Crockett)

Sleeping Beauty – Palladium

It’s 10 years since the West End’s massive Palladium Theatre started putting on annual pantos and now, it's hard to imagine a London Christmas without them. This is a wonderfully staged old-school panto that’s less about the plot (in fact, you’ll probably forget there is one) and more about a series of comic turns from various professional funny people. Julian Clary is a regular, and this year he’ll no doubt be stealing the limelight as King Julian (a flimsy excuse to play himself). He’ll be joined by Catherine Tate, Nigel Havers and Rob Madge, who’ll be padding out this fairytale with jokes, innuendo, and glitter aplenty. Until 11 January 2026

‘Sleeping Beauty’ (London Palladium)

Pinocchio – Shakespeare’s Globe

For the past couple of winters, Shakespeare's Globe has been dipping a (chilly) toe into the world of outdoor festive theatre. But this year it’s truly taking the plunge, with all the awe-inspiring bravery of a Christmas Day cold water swimmer. Writer Charlie Josephine has re-imagined Pinocchio as a new full-scale family musical, directed by the always-energising Sean Holmes. So don’t expect any Disney-fied schmaltz here. Instead, there’ll be Tudor-style costumes, cavorting dancers with animal heads, and of course, plenty of puppets. Rug up warmly for an Elizabethan-style theatrical adventure, for everyone aged five-plus. Until 4 January

‘Pinocchio’ (Johan Persson)

A Merry Misrule – Battersea Arts Centre

Generally speaking, celebrating Christmas involves quite a lot of sitting down. So break up the traditional torpor with this interactive family show, which will send you romping all over the crumbling, gorgeous Battersea Arts Centre. Wild Rumpus won fans with their anarchic approach last year and 2025’s offering sounds pretty similar, inviting audiences to band together and save winter from the forces of ancient chaos. Join in yuletide traditions from all across Europe, journey through magical lands – and build up a much-needed appetite for the feasting ahead. Until 24 December