Stratford Panto: Robin Hood, 22 Shows from 12 December

Stratford has two pantomimes this Christmas and they are from the same company. Tread the Boards plays Robin Hood The Pantomime at Rother Street Arts House from 12 to 31 December, and its adults-only Jack and the Beanstalk runs at the Attic Theatre from 19 December to 2 January. Both are on sale now.

Neither is at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. The RSC does not do panto, but it does put on a Christmas show, and this year it is The Three Musketeers.

Robin Hood: the family one

The company is Tread the Boards, which bills itself as Stratford-upon-Avon’s longest running pantomime producer. Its show page casts George Ormerod as Robin Hood, Jon Kerr as the Sheriff of Nottingham, Emily Tietz as Fairy Fabulous, Matt Rousseau as Silly Willy, John-Robert Partridge as Dame Dotty and Abigail Drennan as Maid Marian.

Every performance

Matinees are at 2.30pm and evening shows at 6.30pm, with one exception. This list is taken from the venue’s own box office data on 3 September 2026.

Three things that list tells you and the venue’s own headline does not.

• There is nothing between 13 and 19 December. The run opens on one weekend, then goes dark for five days before the main block starts.
• Christmas Day and 28 December are dark, but Boxing Day is not.
• The opening Saturday evening is already gone. The 6.30pm VIP Night on 12 December was showing sold out on 3 September, the only performance in the run that was. Everything else still had seats.

The relaxed performance is at 11am on Christmas Eve, and it is the only 11am show in the run. If you need it, that is the single date to book.

Access at the venue: it is reachable by two flights of stairs or a lift and is suitable for wheelchair users. The theatre asks you to check the seating plan and to tell the box office when you book if you need wheelchair access. Note the company’s separate standing notice that the lift at its Attic Theatre site is out of service for maintenance.

Jack and the Beanstalk: the 18+ one

Same company, different building, very different show. Jack and the Beanstalk (The Adult Pantomime) is at the Attic Theatre, Cox’s Yard, Bridgefoot, CV37 6YY, directed by Andrew Woolley, at £18.50.

The theatre’s own warning is worth quoting in full: “Age 18+ only. This pantomime is designed for an adult audience with elements some might find offensive including swearing, sexual references and partial nudity.”

Twelve performances are on sale. Every one is at 7.30pm except the two Sundays, which are at 5pm:

• Saturday 19 December, 7.30pm
• Sunday 20 December, 5pm
• Tuesday 22, Wednesday 23, Thursday 24 December, 7.30pm
• Saturday 26 December, 7.30pm
• Sunday 27 December, 5pm
• Monday 28, Tuesday 29, Wednesday 30, Thursday 31 December, 7.30pm
• Saturday 2 January 2027, 7.30pm

One discrepancy to be aware of. The theatre’s website advertises the run as “19 December - 3 January”, but the box office lists no performance on Sunday 3 January. On the dates actually on sale, the last show is Saturday 2 January.

The RSC’s Christmas show

The Royal Shakespeare Company’s big Christmas production this year is The Three Musketeers at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, 28 November 2026 to 9 January 2027. It is by Paul Hunter from the Dumas novel, a co-production with Told by an Idiot. The RSC’s own page still lists the running time as “To be confirmed”.

For younger children the RSC has The Bear and the Piano at The Other Place, 11 December 2026 to 10 January 2027, a wordless puppetry adaptation of David Litchfield’s book made with Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre. The RSC describes it as “for anyone aged 3 and over”.

About the Rother Street venue

If you have not been for a few years, the building has changed hands and changed name. 14 Rother Street was the Civic Hall, then Stratford ArtsHouse, then Stratford Playhouse. Stratford Town Trust records that a new charity, Rother Street Arts House, formed by Catherine Prout, Laura Ashfield, Hattie Human and John-Robert Partridge, took over in September 2025. Partridge plays Dame Dotty in this year’s panto.

That matters practically: the family panto has moved off the Attic’s small stage at Cox’s Yard and into the bigger Rother Street room, while the adult show stays at the Attic.

Getting there

Rother Street is in the middle of the town centre and inside the streets that close for the Mop and the Christmas events, though not in late December. The Attic Theatre at Cox’s Yard is by the river at Bridgefoot, a short walk from the Bridgeway and Riverside car parks.

Tariffs and the traps, including the two Bridgeway car parks where a Blue Badge does not get you in free, are on our Stratford parking page. The overnight rate, 4pm to 8am, is £3.50, which covers an evening show. Check roadworks and travel before an evening in town.

Two other festive dates at Rother Street Arts House, from the same box office listing: A Christmas Carol, A Radio Play Live on Stage on Thursday 12 November at 7.30pm, followed by a book signing, and Karl Loxley, The Songs of Christmas on Friday 27 November at 7.30pm.