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The best Christmas shows to see in London 2022
✍️ by Caitlin Devlin
There’s nothing quite like the theatre at Christmas. A season built on love, merriment and human connection makes for magic both on and off the West End, and kids and adults alike will be spellbound by the incredible roster of shows coming to London this festive season. From childhood favourites to Christmas classics, a perfect West End season is headed your way, gift-wrapped. With this much to see, you won’t want to be driving home for Christmas – you’ll be off to the theatre instead!
Take a magical trip with a man made out of snow. Journey through a wardrobe into another land. Or discover your favourite Christmas story all over again – this time as told by a multi-platinum-selling musician. Whatever the occasion, from family fun days to wintery date nights, there’s plenty under the tree this year. You should probably start writing your Christmas list now…
We’ve gathered together some of the most unmissable shows in London this Christmas to help you plan the perfect festive night out or holiday treat.
1) Dolly Parton’s Smoky Mountain Christmas Carol
If a Christmas story brought to you by country singer Dolly Parton sounds like the most warming, festive thing you can imagine, you’d be right. Parton lends her incredible song-writing to a brand new retelling of one of the most famous – and timeless – Christmas tales. Set in the foothills of Parton’s own Smoky Mountains in East Tennessee, Dolly Parton’s Smoky Mountain Christmas Carol brings Scrooge’s story to a small mining town, where the town’s owner must learn to set aside his greed and embrace his giving side. It’s a fantastic opportunity to fall in love with Dickens’ classic tale all over again.
Find Dolly Parton's Smoky Mountain Christmas Carol here
2) The Snowman
One of the most irresistible Christmas treats on the West End returns for 2023. A treat for the eyes, the ears and the soul, The Snowman takes you on the journey of a lifetime with an impossible new friend. This festive spectacle never disappoints, and Howard Blake’s music, including the beloved ‘Walking In The Air’, is sure to get you in the Christmas spirit. Enjoy show-stopping choreography, a live orchestra, and a heart-warming friendship.
3) Elf The Musical
If the story of Buddy the elf is on your Christmas movies list every year, then you’ll adore this festive musical, returning with all its vim and vigour to the West End this year. Follow Buddy as he sets out on his own to discover the mystery of his parentage and laugh along at all the missteps he makes along the way. Buddy may not always manage to say the right thing, but when it comes to Christmas spirit, he’s got it in spades. We challenge you not to leave the theatre smiling.
Find Elf The Musical tickets here
4) A Christmas Carol
Would it be Christmas if this wasn’t playing in London? The Old Vic takes on this festive tome, bringing its magical adaptation back for another season. With a unique immersive staging and all the heart-warming, soul-cleansing twists and turns of the original, A Christmas Carol is here to truly make it feel like Christmas.
You can also catch Rosie Jones’ version of A Christmas Carol at the Rose Theatre Kingston, where local and professional talent are also joining forces to take on the story. Featuring all new songs by Eamonn O’Dwyer (Beauty and the Beast), this one is also going to be a festive treat.
Find A Christmas Carol tickets here
5) Mother Goose
Pantomimes are a Christmas classic, and this one just so happens to star Ian McKellen and John Bishop. Mother Goose (McKellen) and Vic Goose (Bishop) live a happy life inside an abandoned Debenhams, providing sanctuary for waifs and strays. But when a new visitor threatens to cause chaos, what will they do to protect their home? With plenty of dance, songs and silliness, as well as its astonishing cast, this is a must-see for families this Christmas.
Find Mother Goose tickets here
6) Frozen
The story of two sisters and their powerful love for each other deserves to be seen year-round, but Elsa’s ice powers feel particularly seasonal in December. Experience this stunning production for the first or the tenth time this Christmas and be just as awed by the magic. With all the songs you know and love from the film plus plenty of show-stopping additions, there’s nothing not to love about Frozen.
7) Father Christmas Needs A Wee!
Little ones will adore this hilarious new production from TaleGate Theatre. At every house he enters, Father Christmas eats and drinks the things that children have so generously left for him. But further down the street, he realises that he forgot to do something very important back in the North Pole… and now he really, really needs a wee! Packed full of jokes, music and Christmas spirit, this is one for kids and adults to enjoy together.
Find Father Christmas Needs a Wee tickets here
8) The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe
Slip through the wardrobe into a magical world… This stunning production comes to the West End just in time for the festive season. A reimagining of the treasured children’s story, The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe invites you on the trip of a lifetime, to discover the land of Narnia with the Pevensey children. Just watch out for the White Witch! This brand new staging of a timeless classic makes for the perfect theatregoing experience this Christmas.
Find The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe tickets here
9) I Remember It Well
This one’s going to be a real treat. Have you ever wanted to go to a party thrown by Dame Judi Dench? That’s a rhetorical question. This Christmas, Dench invites you to the soiree of the season, with a cast list including William Shakespeare, James Bond and Clint Eastwood – to name a few! Join the actress as she unfolds her extraordinary life onstage before inviting her guests in to celebrate and unwrapping the Christmas presents that some of them have remembered to bring. If you can’t get down to London to see this one, fear not: the show will also be available to stream for a limited time.
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