Panto 2026: The gay guide to adult pantomimes, drag performances and festive shows
Attitude has unwrapped a sackful of pantos worth adding to your Christmas list, including TV stars, adult shows and drag extravaganzas
By Aaron Sugg
IT’S TIMEEEE! The countdown to Christmas has officially begun, and the gays are trading their Halloween costumes for sequins, wigs and a dangerous dose of festive joy. What better way to get into the holly-jolly spirit than with a panto packed with your favourite drag stars, serving up Christmas classics with an outrageously camp twist?
This year, Attitude has unwrapped a sackful – pun intended – of pantos worth adding to your Christmas list. From TV favourites and Big Brother stars to family-friendly fun and a few shows best fit for those who have learnt about the birds and the bees. There’s something for everyone, whether you’ve been naughty or nice this year.
Pulled: The Royal Vauxhall Tavern’s 2026 adult pantomime
King Arthur and his big sword take centre stage at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern’s 2026 panto. Unsheathing its take on the iron-wielding legend, Pulled promises a right royal dose of drag, drama and delicious double entendres as it retells the tale of King Arthur and the Sword in the Stone.
Running from 24 November 2026 until the first week of January 2027, the cast includes Patrick Eamon Cook as Arthur, Hannah Elizabeth Clark as Gwen, Ada Campe as Merlin, Jo Wickham as Mordregana, Robert McNeilly as Ma Mim and Katherine Leyva as Villager Number One.
Tickets are available via the Royal Vauxhall Tavern website.
Cinderella: Buttons Undone!
Cinders is getting a very adult makeover at London’s Charing Cross Theatre, with Cinderella: Buttons Undone!, running from 21 November 2026 to 9 January 2027. Tennis champion Ivan Yassandvich brings his balls to the fictional seaside town of Lob-on-Sea in search of a bride (Cindy). Meanwhile, Buttons, Cindy’s gay best friend, has apparently sworn off straight men – but who knows where his heart (or other parts) might lead him? This saucy spin on the fairytale has enough cheek to make your fairy godmother blush, so it’s probably best to leave the kids at home!
Tickets are available via the Charing Cross Theatre website.
Jack and the Beanstalk: TuckShop’s sixth annual all-drag pantomime
Fee-fi-fo-fum! TuckShop is back for its sixth annual all-drag pantomime, bringing the fairy tale of Jack and the Beanstalk to London’s Emerald Theatre from Wednesday, 2 December 2026 to Sunday, 10 January 2027. Expect some of the UK’s biggest drag names to be chasing that golden egg, with series 7 winner Bones leading the cast as Jack.
Kitty Scott-Claus will play Princess Jill, while Rosé and (from 27 December) series 6 winner Kyran Thrax will share the role of Fleshcreep. Rounding out the cast are Kate Butch as Jack’s Mother, Cheryl Hole as Cheryl the Cow and Ophelia Love as Villager No. 4.
Taking turns as The Giant are Black Peppa, Blu Hydrangea, Blu Romantic, Choriza May, HERR, KY Kelly, Michael Marouli, Mocha, Nyongbella, Tayris Mongardi, Tiana Biscuit and Vanity Milan.
Tickets are available now via TuckShop’s website.
Pirates of the Carabiner: An adult pantomime
Ahoy, gays! Prepare to set sail for a pirate adventure at The Two Brewers in Clapham this Christmas, as the LGBTQ+ venue welcomes its 2026 panto, Pirates of the Carabiner. Running from 27 November 2026 to 3 January 2027, the show will transport audiences to Skull Cove, where Lez Goose is desperate to escape her wealthy father’s expectations, her best friend Willy Turner is harbouring a not-so-secret crush, and Mrs McFish is simply desperate for a day off.
But when the legendary Golden Carabiner resurfaces, things take a decidedly unexpected turn. With pirates closing in, secrets spilling out and unlikely alliances forming, Lez, Willy and Captain Jack must join forces to save the day – with plenty of hot, wet romance on board.
Tickets are available now via OutSavvy.
Cinderella: Featuring Big Brother star The Queen of Scotty Road
Fresh out of the Big Brother house, the Queen of Scotty Road is heading to the ball! Philip Regan has been announced as loyal valet Dandini in Liverpool’s Cinderella panto, taking to the stage at The Auditorium inside the M&S Bank Arena from 12 to 19 December 2026. Joining him is Strictly Come Dancing‘s Neil Jones as Prince Charming (from 20 December), alongside panto favourite Bippo and Dominic Mattos as the Fairy Godmother. Together, the cast will take on one of panto’s greatest classics.
Tickets are available now via the M&S Bank Arena website.
It’s Behind Who!
From the camp brains behind cult cabaret night Gallifrey Cabaret comes It’s Behind Who! An Adventure in PantoTime and Space, an outrageously queer adult pantomime landing at Pleasance Islington from 9 to 19 December 2026.
In a Doctor Who-meets-drag Christmas fever dream, six performers invite you into their TARDIS for a night of alien debauchery. Starring Gallifrey Cabaret regulars Carrot, Mariana Trench and Reece Connolly, alongside So Faux, YuGiHoe and The Fat Black Duchess, it’s enough to get your sonic lipstick excited!
Tickets are available via the Pleasance website.
Jack and the Beanstalk: Featuring Dr Ranj
If anyone knows anything about magical beans, it’s our know-it-all Attitude columnist Dr Ranj. Taking to the stage at Richmond Theatre from 5 December 2026 to 3 January 2027, the TV doctor, alongside Bonnie Langford, Basil Brush, Lloyd Hollett and James Hume, will be performing in panto classic Jack and the Beanstalk.
You know the story – Jack swaps his beloved cow for a handful of beans, which grow into a giant beanstalk, before he sets off to nick the giant’s riches. If you’ve got a beanstalk growing somewhere it shouldn’t, Dr Ranj will cover this in our next issue!
Tickets are available via the British Theatre wesbite.
Dick Whittington: Adults Only at the King’s Head Theatre
Dick Whittington: Adults Only – need we say more? The King’s Head Theatre (God, it gets better) is bringing back its adults-only pantomime for a third year, featuring RuPaul’s Drag Race UK stars alongside a nightly special guest from 26 November to 2 January.
The show centres on Queen Rat, who controls London’s sewers and wants to turn the city into her “forever darkroom”. Dick is being a dick, and he’s trying to stop her.
Tickets are available via the King’s Head Theatre website.
Homo Alone 2: Yikes, We Did It Again
What does any twink do when he’s left home alone with a free house? Hopefully not match with a couple of dodgy burglars on Grindr.
The Other Palace is bringing back its hit Christmas parody with A Homo Alone 2: Yikes, We Did It Again! from 13 November to 3 January, following the success of Homo Alone in 2024.
Kevin (Thomas John Stocks) is back – and this time he’s in New York. His parents have forgotten him again, leaving him lost in the Big Apple with Dad’s credit card. Expect a filthy, camp Christmas comedy featuring dodgy burglars, a Rocky Horror-esque hotel manager and an unexpected orange-faced Donald Trump cameo – after all, Christmas is all about giving!
Tickets are available via The Other Palace website.
Holiday Sauce: Taylor Mac brings festive show to Soho Theatre Walthamstow
No one likes a dry Christmas dinner, do they? Well, Tony Award-nominated performance artist Taylor Mac is serving up a hole-filling buffet this festive season, with Holiday Sauce making its UK debut at Soho Theatre Walthamstow from 17 to 23 December.
The glittering, Christmas-themed cabaret is designed to challenge the capitalism attempting to hijack the season. As Soho Theatre puts it: “Taylor Mac is here to remind you that there’s more to Christmas than rampant gift giving.”
Tickets are available via the Soho Theatre wesbite.
Yankl and the Beanstalk
Here’s one to tickle your pickle. Yankl and the Beanstalk is a 19th-century East End factory worker twist on a panto classic, starring a magnificent five-strong team of Jewish talent.
From 2 to 12 December 2026, the Pleasance Islington will transport audiences to Brick Lane in the Big Smoke. The story follows pickle factory worker Yankl (Nay Oliver Murphy) and his cousin Milly (India Lewis) as they lead a workers’ strike against their exploitative bosses.
The cast also includes Demii Lee Walker (Pickle Fairy), Ann Marcuson (Lady Mayfair), Candy Gigi (Reyzl) and Michael Rosen (the Giant).
Tickets are available via the Pleasance website.
Cinderella: Starring French and Saunders
As if this 1980s comedy sketch duo French & Saunders couldn’t get any more tarty. Well adorned with a breastplate big enough to make drag queen Jimbo jealous, you’ve got gay icons the Ugly Sisters as part of the 2026 London Palladium production of Cinderella. The run, from 5 December 2026 to 10 January 2027, marks the pair uniting in the West End for the first time in 17 years.
As if having those two national treasures wasn’t enough, the cast also includes panto legend Julian Clary as the Fairy Godfather, alongside Paul Zerdin as Buttons, Nigel Havers as King Charmer and Rob Madge as Sequins.
Also in the principal cast are Dex Lee as Prince Charming and Hope Dawe as Cinderella, both making their Palladium pantomime debuts.
Tickets are available via the Palladium Pantomime website.
Tinderella: An adult festive fairytale
Leave your kids at home and put on your glass slippers ‘cos Tinderella is playing at Riverside Studios in Hammersmith, London, from 10 December to 30 December 2026. This adult panto is a modern-day camp twist on one of Disney’s greatest classics. Tinderella is one of those social media influencers who pretends she’s got it all, but in fact can’t even weigh her way into a local restaurant’s new Christmas cocktail launch party. Thirsty for love, she meets two Princes in the woods (we’ve all been there), setting up a rivalry over who has the “biggest balls”. Did we forget to mention that Su Pollard stars as ‘The Voice of the Cock’ – no one else we’d want to narrate a woman’s deepest cruising fantasies.
Tickets are available via the Riverside Studios website.
Peter Pan: Featuring La Voix
What if Tinker Bell was a redhead and came runner-up on RuPaul’s Drag Race UK? Well, at the Wycombe Swan Theatre from 11 December 2026 to 3 January 2027, audiences can see West End star and Strictly Come Dancing contestant La Voix in Michelle Visage’s favourite colour: Tinker Bell green!
Returning to the panto for her fourth year, La Voix is back with even more panto magic. Joining her is comedian and panto legend Kev Orkian as Smee, Steven Serlin as Captain Hook, Beth Scott as Peter Pan, Ruby Mann as Wendy and Eleanor Burke as Mrs Darling.
Tickets are available via the Wycombe Swan Theatre website.