With the festive season firmly upon us, Manchester’s stages are once again filled with Christmas magic. Whether it’s traditional pantomimes, circus spectaculars or reimagined classics, there is plenty going on throughout December and beyond for the entire family to enjoy.
Here’s our rundown of the best festive family theatre coming to Manchester this Christmas.
Combining extreme physicality, playful charm and heaps of laughs, two worlds gleefully collide in Shaun the Sheep’s Circus Show, brought to the stage by the internationally-acclaimed Australian circus ensemble Circa and Academy Award-winning, independent studio Aardman
Packed with mesmerising puppetry, adventure and plenty of heart, All in a Mouse’s Night invites little ones to join a mischievous mouse on a journey into the vastness of outer space at the iconic UNESCO World Heritage site, Jodrell Bank.
Heading to Bolton’s neoclassical landmark, Albert Halls, The New Adventures of Peter Pan is filled with spectacular scenery, dazzling costumes, amazing special effects, lots of audience participation and side-splitting laughs for all ages.
Acclaimed theatre company The Big Tiny take over the iconic Contact with a riotous reimagining of the Grimm fairytale this December.
This vibrant production invites audiences into the heart of Bavaria’s Black Forest, where a scheming imp plots against the townspeople from his hovel underneath the haunted hollow tree. With Cupid absent for twenty years and evil in the shadows, the town of Lieblingsberg needs all the help it can get to overcome Rumpelstiltskin’s nastiness and restore holiday cheer to their Alpine home.
A mischievous musical based on Roald Dahl’s beloved children’s book The Enormous Crocodile comes to Lowry for a wondrous festive run.
Complete with toe-tapping tunes by the incredible Ahmed Abdullahi Gallab (AKA Sinkane), the show features an extravagant menagerie of puppets and dazzling costumes as a giant hungry croc hunts down his next meal.
The AO is transformed into a breathtaking big top experience as World’s Biggest Productions presents an all-new staging of the Wicked Wizard of Oz, complete with forty performers and a show-stopping circus twist on the grandest scale.
Performed in an intimate setting with charming community spirit, Salford Arts Theatre’s 2025 retelling of Dick Whittington promises humour, warmth and a generous helping of audience participation for parents and children alike.
Starring Coronation Street‘s Brian Capron, CBBC Presenter Karim Zeroual and the much-loved Scott Gallagher, Stockport’s historic plaza becomes a magical desert realm as it welcomes a rip-roaring, action-packed production of Aladdin this Christmas.
A perfect Twixmas treat, join Little Bear and her woodland friends for a heartwarming seasonal adventure in Little Bear and the Christmas Lights. Produced by Colour The Clouds Theatre Company, this interactive, relaxed performance is the idea introduction to live theatre for younger visitors.
- Words:
- Bradley Lengden
- Published on:
- Fri 5 Dec 2025
This December, the acclaimed West End adaptation of C. S. Lewis’ beloved Christmas tale brings its spellbinding snow-dusted spectacle to Lowry for a festive run filled with wonder and adventure.