THEATRE
1 Alice In Wonderland
Mike Kenny’s clever production makes sense of Lewis Carroll’s slice of absurdity for modern kids by reframing the tale as Alice’s anxiety nightmare the night before an exam. Familiar characters appear in different guises: Tweedles Dee and Dum are bullies, while the school head doubles as the despotic Red Queen. It’s not the most Christmassy show, but is high-quality family-friendly theatre that strips the story of Victoriana.
2 Beauty And The Beast
The simple but inventive style adopted by the New International Encounter company is well suited to fairytales. It produced a delicious Hansel And Gretel in 2012 and now reimagines a classic, transposing it to 1920s France and providing songs with a hint of Gallic folk. It’s a show that sparks the imagination with its magical stagecraft and treats include a terrific double act of truly beastly ugly sisters. It’s lots of fun but thoughtful, too, in its exploration of the deceptiveness of appearances and how beauty is only skin deep.
The Junction, Cambridge, to New Year’s Eve
3 The Snow Queen
Too scary for the small members of the family, but a shivery pleasure for everyone else. Vivienne Franzmann’s Snow Queen is a terrifying child snatcher who guzzles on the naughtiness in children’s hearts, the whole show being a celebration of difference and learning that happiness comes when you be yourself. Lee Lyford’s staging makes great use of puppets and is brilliantly designed by Tom Rogers.
4 In The Heights
You’re going to have get your dancing shoes on quickly if you want to see Lin-Manuel Miranda’s pre-Hamilton hit; it finishes its long run early in the new year. Set amid an impoverished Puerto Rican community in Washington Heights, this fairytale with Latino rhythms and rap is not merely an essential intro to the work of the Hamilton creator, but a joyous night out in its own right.
King’s Cross Theatre, N1, to 8 Jan
5 Aladdin
The pick of this year’s London pantos: Aladdin writer Joel Horwood and director Ellen McDougall take onlookers to the land of Hammerboosh, where poor people aren’t allowed to gaze upon the Emperor One Per Cent and his daughter, or indeed come anywhere near their palace. It’s not the Dame, but the baddie (Vikki Stone’s show-stealing Abanazer) who gets all the best lines in what promises some neat twists on an old formula. Stone is a ball of energy, proving that vice is twice as nice as virtue.
Lyric Hammersmith, W6, to 7 Jan
DANCE
1 The Royal Ballet
Grown-up balletomanes can get their Christmas fix at the Royal Opera House, WC2, with a revival of Petipa’s The Sleeping Beauty (to 14 Mar), which is paired this season with Peter Wright’s pitch-perfect, captivatingly styled staging of The Nutcracker (until 12 Jan).
2 The Nutcracker On Ice
Amid the traditional pointe shoes and tutus, the Imperial Ice Stars’ dance spectacle at Winter Wonderland offers a very different Nutcracker, with aerial routines, acrobatics and internationally recognised Russian skaters.
3 Strictly Ballroom
Ambitious young choreographer Drew McOnie turns first–time director in adapting the Baz Luhrmann movie musical for the stage.
