Kat Mokrynski

Chloe Petts: Big Naturals might take its name from one of the things comedian Chloe Petts loves the most (it is quite unfair how early a show has to have a title, isn’t it?), but it’s more about the life of Petts, less about one of her favourite things - but more on that later. For now, Petts is ready to tell us all about what it was like for her to grow up. But what inspired this reflection?

Ghosts, a walking tour and a missing Shakespeare play . . . Put these three things together and you have Samuel Barnett’s Unknown. The podcast, written and researched by James Goss and directed by Scott Handcock, stars Samuel Barnett and Tom Price as versions of themselves taking a walking tour around London in order to solve the mystery of Cardenio.

Written by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer and Henry Shields, Christmas Carol Goes Wrong sees the return of Mischief’s beloved Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society, which was first seen by audiences in The Play That Goes Wrong over ten years ago. The show actually picks up where the last “Goes Wrong” show, Peter Pan Goes Wrong, left off, with the Cornley crew putting on a production of Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol.

For those unfamiliar with Phil Ellis and his style of comedy, they might be more than just a bit confused by the start of Bath Mat. Instead of Ellis himself taking the stage, it’s fellow comedian Tom Short dressed up as a DJ, getting the audience warmed up. Finally, the man of the hour arrives, crashing onto the stage, unable to see as he’s wearing a bin bag over his head. This is the start of Bath Mat, and it only gets stranger from there.

Alison Spittle: BIG begins with Spittle entering the stage wearing a costume made out of colourful loofahs, before pulling it off to reveal a sequined outfit underneath. But this isn’t just a costume reveal - Spittle confesses to the audience that, while she is still fat (and has been since she was eight), she has recently lost a considerable amount of weight. BIG is about not only the weight loss journey, but Spittle’s relationship with her body over the years.

In Norwich’s 2025 pantomime, Cinderella, audiences are transported to the beach town of Crabbington Sands, where Cinderella (Georgie May Foote) has been trapped in the old hotel that her deceased parents used to run by her wicked sisters, Lou (Owen Evans) and Lav (Kenny Moore). But, when Cinderella is able to escape for a day, she finds herself running into the Prince (Danny Hatchard) and falling in love, working to achieve her happily ever after with help from her friend Buttons (Joe Tracini) and her Fairy Godmother (Hannah-Jane Fox).

At Theatre Royal Winchester this holiday season, Play to the Crowd is bringing one of the classic pantomimes, Puss in Boots, to life in a pawsome new production, written and directed by Robin Belfield. Audiences join Puss (Bekah Selina), who must not only battle the evil Fluella Frostbite (Emma Fenney) but also train a clumsy young boy named Colin (Liam Watson) to become the hero who will save the day.

After a run at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August, Jazz Emu: The Pleasure Is All Yours arrives at Soho Theatre in London. The show heralds the return of “musical meteor” Jazz Emu (AKA Archie Henderson), who has returned after a world tour with one single goal - to satisfy every single audience member.

For their Christmas show this year, The Mill at Sonning is putting on My Fair Lady, the 1956 Broadway musical written by Alan Jay Lerner (Lyrics and Book) and Frederick Loewe (Music). For those unfamiliar with the venue, it is an intimate, 217-seat theatre in the semi-round that operates as a dinner theatre, where audiences have a lovely two-course meal before the performance begins.

After the show that won him the Edinburgh Comedy Awards Best Newcomer last year, comedian Joe Kent-Walters is back as the Working Men’s Club owner, Frankie Monroe, entertaining audiences with jokes, songs and plenty of interaction. But, there’s a twist - in last year’s show, Frankie was dragged down to Hell “by his balls” after making a deal with the Devil to keep the Misty Moon club open. Now, “Yorkshire’s biggest bastard” has to escape, and he needs your help.

Sherlock Holmes and the 12 Days of Christmas, written by Humphrey Ker and David Reed with original songs by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Price, has the iconic duo of Sherlock Holmes (Ker) and John Watson (Reed) solving a string of mysterious murders on the West End in Victorian England.

Santa has lost his Christmas spirit, and it’s up to you to save it! That’s the main theme of Humbug - a three-hour long experience inside of The Vaults, which has been transformed into a holiday-themed wonderland. But that’s not the only thing audience members have to save - After a long wait out in the cold, they are introduced to Howard the Mailman (Perry Meadowcroft), who has had one too many cocktails in the bar and has somehow managed to lose every letter written to the Big Man in Red. Thrown in a waitress (Savannah Beckford) whose singing brings a Christas curse, and you’ve got yourselves in quite the pickle.

Recently, we had the chance to speak with George Blagden, who plays George in A Ghost In Your Ear. We discussed what made him want to be a part of the production, what it has been like to work on a show with binaural sound and even why a bit of horror can be good for audience members!

After nearly a decade, the hit Netflix television series, Stranger Things, will be coming to a close with Season Five. But fear not, fans - there is still the stage version, Stranger Things: The First Shadow, running in the West End. The play is a prequel to the events on screen, showing some of the older characters in high school and exploring the origins of the show’s main villain, Vecna. Recently, we had the chance to speak with Jack Christou, who plays the role of Henry Creel. We discussed what it is like to be part of the stage adaptation of such a popular television series, how he prepared for the role and even what he hopes audiences take away from the show as a whole.

Next month, J.B. Priestley’s beloved comedy, When We Are Married, will open at the Donmar Warehouse. Directed by Tim Sheader, the play follows three couples in a small Yorkshire town as their lives are turned upside down by a shocking revelation. Recently, we had the chance to speak with Jim Howick, who plays Herbert Soppitt in When We Are Married. We discussed how he first got started in the world of theatre, what made him want to be a part of this production, and what he hopes audiences take away from the play.

Next month, the play Daniel’s Husband will make its UK debut at the Marylebone Theatre. The show, written by Michael McKeever and directed by Alan Souza, follows Daniel [Joel Harper-Jackson] and Mitchell [Luke Fetherston] as a crisis makes them question even the basic foundation of their relationship. Recently, we had the chance to speak with McKeever and Souza about Daniel’s Husband’s upcoming London run. We discussed how each of them first got started in the world of theatre, what it’s been like to prepare the show for its upcoming run and what makes Daniel’s Husband more than just a show about gay marriage.