Capital Theatres aims to share festive magic and wonder with a line-up for everyone

Capital Theatres celebrates the festive season with entertainment for all ages, including enchanting magical family shows, world-class dance and a specially crafted Christmas Care Home Tour around Edinburgh and the Lothians.  

 This winter Capital Theatres makes a GIANT return to panto magic as Jack and the Beanstalk (13 Dec 2025 – 11 Jan 2026) climbs onto the Festival Theatre stage. This marks the final panto at the Festival Theatre as next year it will return to its traditional home of the King's Theatre, following the venue's exciting redevelopment. 

The much-loved panto favourites Allan Stewart, Grant Stott and Jordan Young return to the stage with Panto Dame Allan Stewart, celebrating his 50th year in pantomime, having starred in his first panto at the Pavilion Theatre in Glasgow in 1975.  

Capital Theatres is thrilled to welcome back three fantastic talents to this year's festive line-up: Clare Gray, Gail Watson and Amber Sylvia-Edwards.   

Returning for her seventh year, Clare Gray plays the lovable Pat the Cow.  Bonnyrigg born and bred Gail Watson returns to play the mythical Spirit of the Beans, guiding Jack on his sky-high climb.   After enchanting audiences in her pantomime debut as Cinderella last year, Coatbridge-born Amber Sylvia Edwards returns to the stage as the charming Princess Jill.   

Produced by Crossroads Pantomimes, the world's biggest pantomime producer, this GIANT of a show is bursting with toe-tapping song and dance numbers, spectacular special effects, a pocketful of magic beans and laughs that will have you grinning all the way up the beanstalk!  

Capital Theatres have once again joined forces with Aberdeen Performing Arts and Eden Court Highlands to offer a unique, multi-year commission to create and produce three small-scale festive productions for early-years audiences, each to be presented in Inverness, Aberdeen and Edinburgh from 2025 to 2027 – each show rotating to a new venue each year. 

The first is Snowy (17-31 December 2025) which jumps onto the Studio Theatre stage in a brand-new festive show for all ages. Snowy, the adorable pup is on a magical adventure to save Christmas in this show filled with fun, friendship and a lot of snow!  Capital Theatres has increased the Studio Theatre capacity to accommodate the higher demand for tickets.

Jordan Blackwood and Ross MacKay reunite with Scottish Theatre Producers' Sarah Gray to bring Snowy to life, following their CATS-nominated production of Treasure Island, and are joined for the first time by composer and sound designer Bethany Tennick. 

The show features an adorable puppet dog designed and made by Fergus Dunnet (who recently designed Hercules in the touring show Hercules the Bear) and the voices of Tollcross Primary School children are one of the highlights of this heartwarming wintery production.  

Capital Theatres' Christmas Care Home Tour delivers festive cheer to 18 care homes and day centres around Edinburgh from 4 December and concludes with two shows at the Festival Theatre on 19 December. The Christmas Box is a live, interactive and highly sensory theatre experience for people living with dementia, care home residents and care staff. It is a production created and performed by Michelle Burke and James Ross, two highly skilled artists and musicians who both regularly work in care settings supporting people with dementia artistically. A playful, interactive performance, this show is sure to bring yuletide cheer. 

Capital Theatres has worked closely with its dementia friendly focus group and a local day centre to ensure that this production is dementia friendly. This unique production offers person-centred sensory interaction and familiar music, inviting the audience to reminisce. Two performances will be held at the Festival Theatre's Event Rooms for participants of its year-round dementia friendly activities. By touring to care homes and day centres The Christmas Box will bring a joyous experience to a community of people that can no longer access the theatre.  

Brrr will return in January 2026 for its second run of performances with Capital Theatres. It is a magical sensory installation and live performance by award-winning Scottish dance artist and choreographer Hayley Earlam, developed in association with Capital Theatres. It has been created especially for young audiences aged 10 plus with complex needs, including profound and multiple learning disabilities (PMLD), neurodiverse and autistic young people, wheelchair users, and those using mobility aids.  

Held inside a cosy inflatable dome, this production features dance, music and immersive video to surround children with the sights, sounds, and feel of winter. For many, winter can be an energetic and overwhelming time of year. Brrr offers a gentle, restorative and inclusive space where everyone is free to enjoy winter in their own way.  After hosting performances at the Studio Theatre, including a private show for children with profound and multiple disabilities who are being supported through NHS respite care, Brrr will take to the road to spread winter joy at Woodlands School and St Crispin's School.  

Capital Theatres aims to be accessible to everyone and provides captioned, BSL interpreted, touch tours, audio-described and dementia friendly performances and activities. The festive season features a relaxed performance of Jack and the Beanstalk for pupils of ASN schools funded by Cash for Kids. 

 It also has relaxed performances for Jack and the Beanstalk for members of the public on 9 January and for Snowy on 21 and 28 December. These inclusive performances are designed for people requiring additional support and their families. Audience members are free to make noise and move around the auditorium, lights are kept on but dimmed to reduce anxiety, and break-out spaces with a live stream of the show give people a chance to leave the auditorium without missing the action.   

All performances of Jack and the Beanstalk are part of Capital Theatres' 25 & Under scheme, which allows people aged 25 and younger to book £10 tickets online on the day of the performance. Further details are available here.    

Capital Theatres' Gift Vouchers offer an ideal festive treat for loved ones and are available to purchase here. Give the Gift of Theatre - Capital Theatres  

The Festival Theatre cafe is open over the Festive period and offers an ideal spot for a delicious bite or drink . Opening Hours - Capital Theatres  

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