Event type: Theatre

The Crooners Christmas Special

Superbly original, hilariously festive, and bursting with seasonal cheer, The Crooners Christmas Special is the ultimate Christmas comedy music show to get you in the festive mood.  

This unforgettable evening is a glittering blend of laugh-out-loud antics, razor-sharp one-liners, and the sensational sounds of Big Band swing. From side-splitting comedy routines to the iconic festive classics of the greatest crooners, it’s a celebration of everything you love about Christmas—wrapped up in one dazzling performance. 

Brought to you by the creators of the smash-hit UK show Crooners, this festive spin-off comes with even more outrageous fun and is accompanied by their phenomenal live Big Band. Expect timeless Christmas crooner favourites from the likes of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Bing Cosby and Michael Buble, alongside the quick wit and charm that have made Crooners a fan-favourite. 

Whether you’re looking to laugh until your sides hurt, tap your feet to the classics, or immerse yourself in the ultimate holiday atmosphere, The Crooners Christmas Special delivers on all fronts. Gather your loved ones, warm your hearts with festive joy, and join us for a Christmas experience that’s truly unforgettable. 

Leap 2026’s Big Burlesque Cabaret

Enter a world of raucous entertainment as we close this year’s festival with an evening of burlesque, cabaret and aerial performances, in Shakespeare North’s breathtaking Cockpit Stage. 

Featuring: The Classic Tease Serving British Sleaze Cadbury Parfait, Ooh La La Cabaret’s Paul Curran,  boylesque artist Joss La Porta, circus performer Velma Von Bon Bon and The Stiletto Prince Rajan Das.

This is an inclusive, LGBTQIA+ event, and everyone is welcome (18+). This event takes place in Shakespeare North Playhouse’s Cockpit Theatre

Produced by Chaos Arts CIC for Leap Dance Festival

 

Leap Dance Festival Scratch

Three new dance works in development, created for Leap 2026, exploring identity, intimacy and liberation. This event takes place in Shakespeare North Playhouse’s Studio.

 

Taciturn | Women Holding Things  

In the rhythm of everyday life, their hands gather the things that keep the world moving. They carry the quiet responsibility of nurturing and sustaining the spaces where life unfolds. Within them rests a living archive of memories, joys, griefs and hopes. In their care, love becomes both weight and strength, something held gently yet carried forward. 

 

C(P)LAY | Price of Silence

What happens to the body when adapting and complying become the only way to maintain stability within a relationship?

Price of Silence examines the subtle and often invisible pressures that exist within unequal relationships. In many situations from intimate partnerships to wider social structures, stability is maintained through constant adjustment, and this adaptation is rarely shared equally.

 

Olena Hrabchak | Canvas of Becoming 

Canvas of Becoming is a symbolic exploration of personal growth and self-liberation. The dancer’s white costume represents openness and possibility. What begins as beauty evolves into visual and physical burden.

 

Produced by Chaos Arts CIC for Leap Dance Festival. Find out more about Leap 2026: leapfestival.co.uk

 

Blippi

Get ready to see the world more curiously, because Blippi is coming to your hometown in the all-new Be Like Blippi Tour!

Join Blippi and Meekah live on stage for a one-of-a-kind interactive adventure that inspires kids to move like, play like, and explore just like Blippi!

This brand-new show is packed with high-energy music and surprises, featuring fan-favorite songs like “The Excavator Song,” “Monster Truck,” “Dino Dance,” and “Curious Like Me.”  With Blippi’s signature mix of play, learning, and exploration, families can get curious together while singing, laughing, and dancing along during this unforgettable adventure full of fun and discovery. 

The Be Like Blippi Tour invites you to break out your orange Blippi glasses and ignite that spark of curiosity that lives inside every single one of us and share in an unforgettable experience that encourages kids to… Be Like Blippi!

For the Be Like Blippi Tour, the characters Blippi and Meekah will be played by professional stage performers selected specifically for the tour.

Bluey’s Big Play

Bring the whole family to M&S Bank Arena for Bluey’s Big Play, the official theatrical adaptation of the Emmy® award-winning children’s television series. Packed with music, laughter, and brilliant puppetry, this show is an unforgettable experience for children and adults alike.

Why Parents Love It:

⭐ Perfect for little ones: recommended for ages 2+

⭐ Runs around 50 minutes with no interval – easy to fit into your day

⭐Engaging puppets, original songs, and stories inspired by imaginative play

⭐Designed for family enjoyment – adults will laugh just as much as the kids

Professor Brian Cox

After performing his smash-hit show ‘Horizons’ to nearly half a million people across the world, Professor Brian Cox is back with his new world tour Emergence. 

Brian has appeared in many landmark science programmes for BBC radio and television over the last 15 years, from the Peabody Award-winning Wonders of the Solar System to the world-wide hit series The Planets.

Professor Brian Cox said: “I’ve loved creating Emergence – it’s the most ambitious live show I’ve ever written. I’ve been very lucky to collaborate with a wonderful group of scientists, musicians, filmmakers and graphic artists to bring cosmology, biology, philosophy and history to the largest and most advanced LED screens available, with the best sound and lights I could find. I hope the show is an all-encompassing experience, and I hope it leaves everyone, whether they love science or music or history, or simply contemplating the beauty of Nature, with something new to think about.” 

The Mark Drama

No props. No costumes. Just people telling a story that has shaped cultures and conversations for centuries.

A simple, powerful live performance that brings history’s most influential story to life.

The Mark Drama invites you to explore big themes – justice, compassion, power, sacrifice, and hope – through an unforgettable shared experience. It is a theatre-in-the-round performance, and in just 90 minutes, you will see every event and hear nearly every word spoken by Jesus as recorded in the book of Mark in the Bible.

Whether you’re familiar with the story or hearing it for the first time, come along and join the conversation.

The Wiggles

Families are invited to experience the magic of The Wiggles live in The Wiggles Tree of Wisdom Spectacular, their biggest and brightest show yet. This high-energy, all-ages concert promises a joyful celebration packed with surprises, sing-along moments and plenty of dancing from start to finish ?✨

Audiences can enjoy beloved classics including Rock-A-Bye Your Bear, Fruit Salad Yummy Yummy and Hot Potato, alongside newer favourites such as Big Red Ute and Bin Night. Whether it’s a first Wiggles concert or a family tradition, this colourful live experience is designed to create lasting memories for fans of all ages.

Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre

Orphaned…Oppressed…Unbreakable.

 

Jane Eyre’s fight for freedom, happiness and a sense of belonging, blazes from the cruelty of her childhood to the creepy corridors of Thornfield Hall, where she discovers passion, dark secrets, and a love that overcomes every obstacle.

 

Charlotte Brontë’s gothic romance, swept against the backdrop of the Yorkshire moors, with a haunting atmosphere and unforgettable emotion, tells a story of independence, resilience, and the courage to follow one’s heart.

 

Thrillingly brought to life in a new staging by Conn Artists Theatre Company, following on from their recent adaptation of Far from the Madding Crowd, and performed with an ensemble cast of five actors with original music and songs.

 

The play will be directed by Nick Young (RSC and Connaught Theatre, Worthing).

 

Jane Eyre is a GCSE set text on AQA, Edexcel, OCR and Eduqas school examination boards.

 

 

“Nick Young and Ross Muir have done an excellent job of adapting this play” ★★★??

(Liberty Nokes, Fairy Powered Productions on Far from the Madding Crowd)

 

“richly inventive adaptation”

(Sussex Express on Far from the Madding Crowd)

 

“as a faithful adaptation of the classic novel, it can’t be faulted in its accuracy”

(Southern Arts Reviews on Far from the Madding Crowd)

 

“a riveting example of ensemble theatre at its very best.” ★★★★??

(The Argus on Silas Marner)

 

“strong, vivid and emotional story telling.” ★★★??

(Remote Goat on Silas Marner)

 

“Conn Artists has made regional theatre feel in ruder health overnight.” ★★★??

(The Stage on The Four Men)

Cinderella: Christmas Pantomime 2026

Southport’s Most Enchanting Pantomime Yet!

• Cinderella is The Atkinson’s 2026 Christmas Pantomime •

Join us at The Atkinson for another spectacular Christmas pantomime guaranteed to delight all ages. Oh, yes it will!

This festive production is brought you to by KD Theatre Productions, the hitmakers behind ‘Beauty and the Beast’ (2025), ‘Sleeping Beauty’ (2024) and ‘Jack & the Beanstalk’ (2023).

Expect magic, romance and wicked sisters as Cinders goes from rags to riches!

This sparkling production promises everything you love about The Atkinson pantomime – dazzling costumes, hilarious comedy, live music and a little bit of pumpkin spice…

The clock is ticking, so book your Early-Bird tickets now!