From a hip-hop makeover of Scrooge to the Royal Shakespeare Company's staging of The BFG, this year's festive theatre offerings across the UK promise a diverse mix of classic tales and fresh adaptations. Highlights include a musical Pinocchio at Shakespeare's Globe, a Jewish-themed Cinderella at JW3, and a circus-inspired The Little Mermaid at New Vic.
At Sadler's Wells East in London, choreographer Dannielle Rhimes Lecointe reimagines A Christmas Carol with a hip-hop twist, centering on a fashion designer who cancels Christmas for her career. The venue also revives The Snowman, The Red Shoes, and The Little Match Girl. Meanwhile, the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon presents Tom Wells' adaptation of Roald Dahl's The BFG, featuring puppetry by Toby Olié and direction by Daniel Evans, with a transfer to Chichester Festival Theatre in March.
Other notable productions include a musical version of Pinocchio at Shakespeare's Globe, written by Charlie Josephine with music by Jim Fortune, and a revival of Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods at the Bridge Theatre, directed by Jordan Fein. In Scotland, the Citizens Theatre in Glasgow stages a new telling of The Snow Queen, while the Gaiety in Ayr follows up its award-winning Mother Goose with a pantomime by Fraser Boyle.
For younger audiences, Theatr Clwyd offers an adaptation of Tom Fletcher's Who's in Your Book? series, and Eden Court in Inverness hosts Frozen Charlotte's comedy about banana-loving beach-dwellers. The Traverse in Edinburgh revives a comedy about a 60-year-old recovering addict who becomes an online dance sensation, directed by Guardian critic Brian Logan.
