Mercury Theatre Colchester Will Stage JACK AND THE BEANSTALK Panto in 2026
Mercury Theatre Colchester will present a new production of PANTO in 2026
The Mercury Theatre Colchester have announced their 2026 pantomime, Jack and the Beanstalk! Colchester panto legends Antony Stuart-Hicks and Dale Superville are back and ready to cause more mischief and mayhem in this GIANT adventure! This year, they are reunited with Dale as Jack, and Antony as his Mum, Tilly. Performances run Sat 21 Nov 2026 - Sun 17 Jan 2027.
Join Jack, Trevor (Superville) and their Mum, Tilly (Stuart-Hicks) at Trott's farm. Money is running low and when the ruthless landowner Augusta Bigbucks buys the farm for a steal, things get even more precarious. Down to their last few pennies, the family make the difficult decision to sell their beloved cow Pat at Culver Square market. Overnight, a giant beanstalk appears! And the town fears the ferocious giant will return to cause havoc. Will Jack be brave enough to climb up to Cloudland, defeat the giant and save Colchester before it's too late?
Expect jokes galore, marvellous music, spellbinding choreography and jaw-dropping sets in this unmissable festive extravaganza that promises fee-fi-fo-FUN for everyone!
This year, winner of the UK Pantomime Awards 2025 Best Dame, Antony Stuart Hicks, celebrates 31 years in pantomime and 11 years as the Mercury's resident dame. Dale Superville's previous Mercury Theatre panto credits include Smee in The New Adventures of Peter Pan, Spud in Sleeping Beauty, Almondé in Beauty and the Beast and Humphrey the Camel in Aladdin. He also appeared in Fawlty Towers and Witness For The Prosecution in The West End. Anthony and Dale together won Best Ugly Sisters in the 2020 UK Pantomime Awards for Mercury's 2019 production of Cinderella,
Jack and The Beanstalk is written by David Phipps-Davis, who has a host of pantomime writing credits to his name and was last year nominated for the UK Pantomime Award for Best Script for The Mercury's production of The New Adventures of Peter Pan. It will be directed by Mercury Theatre Artistic Director Natasha Rickman. Full cast and creatives to be announced.
Senior Producer and Resident Dame, Antony Stuart Hicks says, “I am beyond delighted to be spending another festive season as the Mercury's resident Dame! Each year our team go above and beyond to ensure that whether it's someone's 1st or 51st time attending the Mercury pantomime, they have the most memorable experience and it's such a joy for both Dale and I to be part of that.”
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