5 of the best Christmas pantos in Edinburgh and the Lothians

PANTO season is well and truly in full flow... oh, yes it is! So if you've not been yet, come along to boo and cheer and cry out for all to hear, '˜It's behind you!' Jack and the Beanstalk appears to be the most popular pantomime this year with no less than three productions in and around the Capital.
Jack and the Beanstalk, Brunton Theatre, Musselburgh.Jack and the Beanstalk, Brunton Theatre, Musselburgh.
Jack and the Beanstalk, Brunton Theatre, Musselburgh.

But if you just can’t get enough of the traditional festive family cheer, here are five of the best pantos around to see.

Once Upon a Christmas, Brunton Theatre, Musselburgh

All your favourite fairy tales are going wrong and it’s up to the gang to make sure everyone lives happily ever after.

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Packed with singalong favourites like Old King Cole and Ye Canny Shove Yer Granny Aff A Bus, to festive classics like Jingle Bells and brand new songs, Once Upon A Christmas is the perfect seasonal treat for all the family. You might even get to help on stage and who knows, you may see the big man in the red suit himself.

Once Upon a Christmas Show at Musselburgh’s Brunton theatre, presented by Funbox, runs from December 21 to Christmas Eve.

Little Red Riding Hood, Churchill Theatre, Edinburgh

The production of Little Red Riding Hood at Churchill theatre is adapted from the Clarke and Howarth original.

Haggy, the wicked witch, sets out to change the ‘happily ever after’ ending to all fairy tales – starting with Little Red Riding Hood. The rest of the villagers are looking forward to their Midsummer Festival but can they first thwart evil Haggy’s plans?

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Come along and join in the mirth and mayhem, running up to December 21.

Beauty and the Beast, King’s Theatre, Edinburgh

Beauty and the Beast has made a triumphant return to The King’s panto repertoire with this fast-paced, laugh a minute retelling of the tale as old as time.

Played out on one of the most magical sets to grace the Leven Street stage for some 
time, the story of the beautiful Belle and the vain Prince Calum unfolds.

Running until January 20.

Jack and the Beanstalk, Brunton Theatre, Musselburgh

Jack and The Beanstalk at the Brunton theatre in Musselburgh has the usual beanstalk, magic beans and a nasty rent-collector, however, in this retelling there’s little else recognisable from the traditional tale. When local dairy owner Mither Mandy Moo Moo can’t pay her rent she takes part in TV talent show The Voice and The Great Brunton Bake-Off to rise money. Ends January 5.

Wendy and Peter Pan, Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh

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Head to the Lyceum this Christmas for Wendy and Peter Pan, one of the world’s best loved stories about the boy who never grows up from Scottish writer JM Barrie.

This adaptation has 
all the magic and wonder of the original, as they 
fly to Neverland and find all is not well in the kingdom of the Lost Boys with the villainous Captain Hook wreaking havoc.

Full of fairy-dust, adventure.

Running until January 5.