Cinders
Emporium, London Road, Brighton, until Saturday, January 4, 2pm and 7pm, from £17/£14, emporiumbrighton.com


PANTOMIMES have been in short supply in Brighton since the Theatre Royal Brighton turned its attention to family Christmas shows and blockbuster touring productions in the past few years.

To fill the gap, grassroots theatre venue Emporium is offering their take on the seasonal favourite, albeit without the minor TV celebs and chart pop songs.

Writer Nigel Fairs plays Baron Hardup in the slapstick rags to riches tale, complete with ugly sisters, a cruel stepmother and a dashing Prince Charming.

Jack And The Beanstalk
Connaught Theatre, Union Place, Worthing, Friday, December 6, to Saturday, January 4, various times, £17.75/£15.75, 01903 206206.

GROUND Force star and horticultural pin-up Charlie Dimmock will be cultivating a very unusual plant for this year’s Worthing pantomime.

Having created new gardens across the world with Alan Titchmarsh and Tommy Walsh, she is starring as the Organic Fairy in Jack And The Beanstalk.

It follows stints on stage in the touring version of West End hit Calendar Girls, and playing the Fairy Godmother in Cinderella at Windsor Theatre Royal.

Joining her on stage will be funnyman Tony Rudd and Tom and Jack from Heart FM’s breakfast show.

Oedipuss In Boots
Upstairs At Three And Ten, Steine Street, Saturday, December 7, to Friday, December 13, 8pm, from £7.50, 07800 983290

THE Wardrobe Theatre brings their 2012 mother- loving “puntomime” from their home in Bristol to Brighton for the first time.

The all-male cast, backed by music from Kid Carpet, tells the darkly comic story of a royal kitten who is prophesied to kill his father and marry his mother, and the incredible journey he goes on to outrun his future.

The Sugar Dandies Tea Party – The Christmas Blend
De La Warr Pavilion, Marina, Bexhill, Sunday, December 8, 3pm, £12, 01424 229111

DANCE couple The Sugar Dandies celebrate Christmas with an interactive afternoon of social dancing, party games and cabaret.

That’ll Be The Day Christmas Show
The Triangle, Triangle Way, Burgess Hill, Sunday, December 8, 7.30pm, £22, 01444 800045

Theatre Royal Brighton, New Road, Friday, December 13, 7.45pm, from £18, 0844 8717650

Congress Theatre, Carlisle Road, Eastbourne, Sunday 15 December, 7.30pm, from £22, 01323 412000

The Hawth, Hawth Avenue, Crawley, Tuesday, December 17, 7.30pm, £25.50, 01293 553636
 

Worthing Assembly Hall, Stoke Abbott Road, Worthing, Friday, December 27, 7.30pm, £23.50, 01903 206206

NOW well into its third decade, the touring celebration of classic pop and cheeky comedy takes its all-new Christmas show back on the road.

Expect all the Christmas pop hits from the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s – if you’re not already sick of hearing them in every shop and supermarket since the middle of November...

Suspiciously Elvis Christmas Special
Komedia, Gardner Street, Brighton, Sunday, December 8, and Sunday, December 15, food from 6pm, show from 7pm, from £22, 0845 2938480

THE King famously loved Christmas, releasing two albums of seasonal tunes in 1957 and 1971, and going out of his way to buy his friends and family lavish gifts.

Ivor Potter has been bringing a seasonal take on Elvis Presley to Komedia since 2004, and still remains ever popular, with fans able to eat a three-course festive meal before each performance for £44.50 each.

Santa Claus The Musical
Pavilion Theatre, Marine Parade, Worthing, Wednesday, December 11, to Sunday, January 5, various times, £17.75/£15.75, 01903 206206

WORTHING is ditching its second pantomime for a Christmas musical, starring West End favourite and former Brookside actress Claire Sweeney.

Santa Claus The Musical sees Father Christmas and his chief elf do battle with the wicked Ice Queen and Jack Frost, who want to cancel Christmas.

On the side of the jolly man in red are dancing penguins, polar bears and singing crows, while Sweeney is playing his nemesis the Ice Queen.

The show, which had its world premiere at the Mayflower Theatre in 2005, is packed with classic seasonal songs, from Jingle Bell Rock to Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer, all performed with a live band.

Hansel And Gretel
Unitarian Church, New Road, Brighton, Wednesday, December 11, Saturday, December 14, Wednesday, December 18, and Friday, December 20, at 7pm; Monday, December 23, at 2pm and 7pm, £8/£6, lanternlight theatre.weebly.com

BRIGHTON-BASED Lantern Light theatre company give a new take on the tale of the two children tempted by a giant gingerbread house in an interactive theatre show set in the Black Forest.

Along the way, the team tackle the temptations of the city and countryside, the importance of family and teach the audience the Forest Song in a show suitable for children aged five and above.

Peter Pan
The Capitol, North Street, Horsham, Thursday, December 12, to Sunday, January 5, various times, £18/£16, 01403 750220

HAVING been crushed by a derailed tram in ever-popular Manchester soap Coronation Street, Steven Arnold, aka Ashley Peacock, is back from the dead to play Captain Hook’s henchman in Horsham’s Christmas panto.

Peter Pan was written more than 100 years ago by JM Barrie, about a boy who never grew up and inhabited the magical world of Neverland, located at the second star to the right.

Joining Arnold is James Dinsmore as the fearsome Captain Hook, while Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat star Benjamin Pomeroy plays the title role.

The Christmas magic will be augmented by flying scenes and swashbuckling adventure.

Dick Whittington
White Rock Theatre, White Rock, Hastings, Friday, December 13, to Saturday, January 4, various times, from £15/£13, 01424 462288

BENIDORM’S acid-tongued Madge, aka Sheila Reid, dumps the swimsuit and mobility scooter to play glamorous Fairy Bowbells in White Rock Theatre’s tale of London’s former Lord Mayor.

Starring alongside her are Carnaby Street star Mark Pearce as King Rat, Ben Watson as Simple Simon, and BBC Radio 2 Friday Night Is Music Night host Jimmy Johnston as Sarah The Cook.

Sid Lester’s Christmas Special
Brighton Dome Studio Theatre, New Road, Friday, December 13, and Saturday December 14, 7.30pm, £12/£10, 01273 709709

FORMER vaudevillian Sid Lester brings a traditional Christmas variety show to Brighton, aided and abetted by his daughter Valerie.

Pick up The Guide next week for an interview with Sue MacLaine about her flat-capped alter-ego

Cinderella
The Hawth, Hawth Avenue, Crawley, Friday, December 13, to Sunday, January 5, various times, from £15.95, 01293 553636

CATCHPHRASE and Britain’s Got More Talent host Stephen Mulhern is joined by former CBeebies’ favourite Sid Sloane for The Hawth’s 25th anniversary pantomime.

Mulhern will play Buttons and Sloane is Dandini in the much-loved panto staple, which sees the poor put-upon Cinders turned into the most glamorous woman in the kingdom for one night at Prince Charming’s ball.

Aladdin
Devonshire Park Theatre, Compton Street, Eastbourne, Friday, December 13, to Sunday, January 12, various times, from £12, 01323 412000

HAVING suffered the taunts and jibes of Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant in Extras, Shaun Williamson (aka Barry From EastEnders) is set to deliver some tricks of his own in Eastbourne’s panto.

Williamson stars as the evil Abanazar in the Arabian-set tale of a young street rat whose life changes when he stumbles across a genie trapped in a lamp.

Taking the title role of Aladdin is West End star Charlene Ford, with Eastbourne’s comedy double-act of Tucker and Martyn Knight playing Wishee Washee and dame Widow Twankey.

Grimm’s Fairy Tales
Eastbourne Underground Theatre, below the library, Grove Road, Eastbourne, Sunday, December 15, 2pm, £6.50, 0845 6801926

TOURING family drama company The Pantaloons use puppetry, poetry, music, magic and masks to tell some of the most-loved children’s stories collected by the titular brothers.

Priscilla Queen Of The Desert
Theatre Royal Brighton, New Road, Tuesday, December 17, to Sunday, January 5, various times, from £15, 0844 8717650.

FOR the past six years, Theatre Royal Brighton has been providing an alternative to the traditional Christmas pantomime.

And this year is no exception, as the New Road venue follows up last year’s Rocky Horror Show with the touring version of the West End hit musical Priscilla Queen Of The Desert.

Former Hear’Say singer Noel Sullivan takes the role of Tick in this story of two drag queens and a transexual battling the Australian desert and small-town prejudice in a rickety old bus.

The show is packed with singalong party anthems, from It’s Raining Men to Go West, as well as an array of fabulous costume changes.

Duncan Hall takes a peek backstage in next week’s edition of The Guide

Petit Mal: Concrete Circus
Brighton Dome Concert Hall, Church Street, Tuesday, December 17, to Sunday, December 22, 7.30pm (3pm Sunday), from £10, 01273 709709

FINNISH contemporary circus group Race Horse Company transform a littered stage into a setting for amazing gymnastic feats and anarchic physical comedy.

Read our interview with the creators in next week’s edition of The Guide

Aladdin
The Barn, Southwick Street, Southwick, Wednesday, December 18, to Tuesday, December 24, various times, tickets from £13. Call 01273 597094.

MUSIC Theatre 2000 return to The Barn with another fundraiser for the Martlets Hospice, two years on from a successful production of Cinderella.

Simon Gray and Nathan Potter turn their directorial and choreographing skills to Aladdin, the Middle Eastern folk tale turned family pantomime favourite.

An all-Sussex cast includes Steve Emery as Widow Twankey, Jim Upton as Abanazar, Madison Horne as Princess Jasmine and Karen Young as the empress.

White Christmas
Royal Hippodrome, Seaside Road, Eastbourne, Thursday, December 19, to Saturday, January 4, various times, from £10, 01323 412000

SING to the hits from Irving Berlin’s White Christmas in this seasonal production based on Bing Crosby’s 1954 musical of the same name.

Bob Wallace and Phil Davis, two iconic song-and-dance men, follow a sister act to Vermont only to discover the nearly bankrupt lodge they were to perform at is owned by their former commanding general. They decide to put on a show and make great friends in the process.

The Royal Hippodrome presents a version by RHT Community Productions, with a local cast directed and choreographed by Sarah Dormady and musical direction by Nicola Brazier.

Pop The Magic Christmas
The Nightingale, above Grand Central, Surrey Street, Brighton, Thursday, December 19, to Friday, December 20, 9pm, £8/£10, 01273 702563

ECCENTRIC club host and sometime disc jockey Boogaloo Stu attempts to create a chartbusting classic in one hour at this off-the-wall Christmas show.

Stu will chart the highs and lows of the classic Christmas single and invite the audience to assist in the song-writing and recording process.

Aladdin… (sane?) A Pantomime...
The Hanover Centre, Southover Street, Brighton, Saturday, December 21, 4pm and 8pm, £3, 07412 050224

A STREET level modern take on the traditional panto story from Cascade Creative Recovery, offering fun, frolics, despair and ultimately redemption in a slapstick style.

Aladdin
Ropetackle Arts Centre, Little High Street, Shoreham, Sunday, December 22 to Sunday, January 5, various times, £7, 01273 464440

WRITER and comedian Tom Beard stars as Abanazar in his version of Aladdin.

Michael Heywood appears as Widow Twankey, Jess Hathaway plays Princess Jasmine, and Peter Willoughby will be hero Aladdin in Beard’s take called Make A Wish Come True.

Who’s Been Sitting In My Chair
Komedia, Gardner Street, Brighton, Sunday, December 22, to Saturday, January 4, 11am and 2pm (not Christmas Day, Boxing Day or New Year’s Day), £9/£7, 0845 2938480

A DIFFERENT seasonal take on the Goldilocks And The Three Bears story, as the storyteller finds the bears won’t wake up from their winter hibernation to face the cheeky porridge thief.

Yorkshire-based Freehand Theatre has previously appeared at Komedia’s Sundae Club performing a new version of Little Red Riding Hood.

Scrooge The Musical
Brighton Centre, King’s Road, Monday, December 23, to Saturday, January 4, 2pm and 7.30pm, from £24.50, 0844 8471515

BRITAIN’S first teen idol and rock ’n’ roll star Tommy Steele leads a cast of Dickensian characters in the award-winning musical Scrooge.

Steele, who has had more than 20 hit singles, plays the miserly Ebenezer encouraged to change his ways by a series of spirits in the Yuletide family story.

The musical features specially created illusions by magician Paul Kieve, who received acclaim for the magic effects in the Harry Potter films.

Read an interview with Tommy Steele in The Argus’s Seven Days magazine, on Saturday, December 14.

Pinocchio
The Old Market, Upper Market Street, Hove, Saturday, December 28 to Thursday, January 2, 2pm and 4pm, £8, 01273 201800

PUPPETRY, shadows, illusion and music combine to bring Pinocchio to life in Scamp Theatre and Indefinite Article’s inventive alternative to the pantomime.

Playing Gepetto, Steve Tiplady uses the objects of a carpenter’s workshop to tell the tale of the puppet that wants to be a real boy, and the puppetmaker who wants to be a real father.

ROBIN THE HOOD
The Old Courtroom, Church Street, Brighton, Friday, December 6, to Sunday, December 8, 7.30pm, £7/£5, 01273 709709

ENGLAND’S medieval folk hero Robin Hood is brought back to the stage this Christmas by Brighton University Drama Society (BUDS).

Adam Fresco’s new panto sees Robin, Maid Marian and the Merry Men of Sherwood Forest pitting their wits against the wicked Sheriff Of Nottingham.