Top theatre shows to see this week (December 16-22)

Snowflake – Kiln Theatre, London

Mike Bartlett (Cock, Bull, Albion) brings his play about a complicated father-daughter relationship, which premiered last year in Oxford, to Kiln Theatre. Clare Lizzimore’s production opens on December 16.

Snowflake review at the Old Fire Station, Oxford – ‘Mike Bartlett’s heart-warming new play’

Girl from the North Country – Gielgud Theatre, London

The acclaimed Bob Dylan musical returns to the West End with a new cast including Gloria Obianyo and Ferdy Roberts. It opens on December 16.

Girl from the North Country. Photos: Cylla von Tiedemann

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Pippi Longstocking – Royal and Derngate, Northampton

The Wardrobe Ensemble’s (Education, Education, Education) Jesse Jones and Helena Middleton direct a musical take on Astrid Lindgren’s popular children’s books featuring the flame-haired super-strong nine-year-old. Emily Mae plays the title role and there’s music by frequent Kneehigh collaborator Stu Barker, in the show that opens on December 18.

Peter Pan Goes Wrong – Alexandra Palace, London

Mischief Theatre, the company behind The Play That Goes Wrong, The Comedy About a Bank Robbery, and latterly Groan Ups, returns, with its take on JM Barrie’s classic. Expect aerial mishaps aplenty in the show, which opens on December 19.

Peter Pan Goes Wrong at the Apollo review – ‘blissful comic timing’

The Little Mermaid  – Jubilee Hall, Hull

Middle Child’s rock’n’roll Christmas show has become an annual Hull highlight. Artistic director Paul Smith’s production boasts a live band and promises plenty of anarchic energy as it blends panto with gig theatre. It opens on December 21.

Beauty and the Beast review at Jubilee Central, Hull – ‘anarchic and riotous’