Cheer up, Scrooge! The merriest Christmas theatre shows, from musketeers to a penguin party

The festive season brings swashbuckling adventure, heartwarming Antarctic antics, a yuletide spin on Pride and Prejudice and Matthew Bourne’s Cinderella

Royal Exchange theatre, Manchester, 5 December to 30 January

Selina Cartmell is sending in the clowns this Christmas, directing Stephen Sondheim’s fairytale musical about mismatched couples. Originally inspired by an Ingmar Bergman film, it has some of the most exquisite songs of Sondheim’s magnificent oeuvre and is choreographed by former Strictly judge Arlene Phillips.

Royal Shakespeare theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, 28 November to 9 January

Buckle up for some swashbuckling: the RSC’s version of D’Artagnan’s duelling adventures alongside Athos, Porthos and Aramis is co-produced with Told By an Idiot, a company known for its visual comedy. It is billed as a “wild” new adaptation of Alexandre Dumas’s novel and features an international company of performers.

Barn theatre, Cirencester, 21 November to 3 January

In George Stiles and Anthony Drewe’s musical drama for all ages, Ugly is a plucky wee duck, teased by siblings and friends alike for his idiosyncratic looks. We find him undertaking a perilous wild goose (duckling?) chase in his quest to discover the beautiful drake within.

Birmingham Rep until 1 November, then Peacock theatre, London, 21 November to 3 January 2027

Raymond Briggs’s gorgeous snowman goes walking in the air again in a new version of the Christmas classic, about an unlikely friendship that takes delightful flight. Featuring Howard Blake’s timeless score, it is now directed and choreographed by Will Tuckett and features puppets designed by Tahra Zafar, who recreated Michael Bond’s Paddington Bear for the West End musical.

Sherman theatre, Cardiff, 27 November to 2 January

The Robin Hood story is relocated and respun to place a female outlaw at its centre. Now it is Maid Marian of south Wales, whose resistance against the king’s men will be accompanied by familiar faces from the legend. Performed by a band of actor-musicians and directed by Lee Lyford.

Polka theatre, London, 27 November to 17 January

Here’s a south pole show filled with icy wildlife, from tripping penguins to cheeky albatrosses. There are clowns, puppets and the promise of some magical surprises in this tale of what lies at the bottom of our planet. A winter wonderland for children, aimed at three- to seven-year-olds.

Amid the season’s flurry of fairytale princesses in glass slippers is Matthew Bourne’s 30-year-old ballet, twirling back for an anniversary tour. Set during the second world war, it situates the romance in blitz-torn London. Hannah Kremer and Katrina Lyndon share the role of Cinders, who meets an RAF pilot. The show travels to 17 venues over 24 weeks.

Theatre Royal Stratford East, 21 November to 2 January

Another spin on the heroic outlaws of Sherwood folklore. This Robin Hood hails from E15 and hits east London in a hoodie, along with his merry band of “mandem”. Nottinghamshire’s forest is swapped for housing estates, retail jungles and the Central Line commuter rush as Robin’s men take from the undeserving rich to give to the area’s poor.

Marlowe theatre, Canterbury, 5 December to 3 January

A child befriends a flamboyant, poetry-reciting dragon and embarks on an intrepid campaign to save it from a slayer who mistakes it for a fire-breathing fiend in Kenneth Grahame’s book. A David and Goliath story in reverse, now told as a musical family show.

Unicorn theatre, London, 14 November to 3 January

The elves want old Saint Nicholas to take five from shimmying up and down chimneys and drink in some yuletide spirit himself in this adaptation of Mac Barnett’s book. Directed and choreographed by Olivier award-winner James Cousins, it has songs by Harry Blake.

National Theatre, London, 13 November to 6 February

The National Theatre’s Christmas shows have hit the mark in recent years. This one reimagines Rudyard Kipling’s classic tale of Mowgli and friends’ adventures through the mangroves of the Sundarbans. It’s adapted by Anupama Chandrasekhar and staged by the NT’s artistic director, Indhu Rubasingham, with puppetry by Nick Barnes and Finn Caldwell.

Grand Opera House York, 5 December to 3 January

Just when we thought Neverland was safe! Captain Hook strikes back in this continuation of JM Barrie’s story about the pirate’s feud with the forever young leader of the Lost Boys. Here it comes in the form of a pantomime, complete with songs and aerial stunts.

Park theatre, London, 2 December to 10 January

The hot new takes on Pride and Prejudice keep on coming. This festive permutation by playwrights Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon finds the Bennets reuniting at the family estate, and centres on bookish middle sister, Mary, and a Christmas visit from Lord Arthur de Bourgh.

Royal Lyceum theatre, Edinburgh, 28 November to 3 January

What’s Christmas without this classic about moral wrongdoings, ghostly reckonings and redemption, featuring the stingy Ebenezer Scrooge? Charles Dickens’ Victorian London is swapped for Edinburgh in the Lyceum’s production, adapted by Deborah McAndrew and directed by James Brining. It might be comfy Christmas fare, but it still contains resonant messages for our times about the duty to be charitable.