JW3's panto runs 6 December to 3 January, Stick Man at the Bloomsbury Theatre from 3 December. Prices, dark days and the nearest traditional panto, all checked.

Camden has one traditional pantomime and one big Christmas family show, and both open in the first week of December. Neither is the boo-and-hiss dame show at a receiving house, because Camden does not have one. The nearest of those is in Haringey.

Both runs are on sale now, and both have dark days you need to check before you book.

Dick Whittingberg Gets Into a Pickle, JW3

JW3 on Finchley Road runs the borough’s own panto, written by Nick Cassenbaum, with lyrics by Cassenbaum and Josh Middleton, directed by Abigail Anderson.

  • Runs Sunday 6 December 2026 to Sunday 3 January 2027.
  • £27 or £32 an adult, £17 or £20 a child.
  • Child tickets are for under 16s. Under 2s do not need a ticket.
  • JW3, 341 to 351 Finchley Road, NW3 6ET.

The plot is Dick Whittington rerouted: Dick and his cat Tevye arrive in Victorian London looking for a better life, find a rat who does not want them there, and get help from Bow Bells and Sarah Fritz of Hatton Garden. Songs, puppetry, dancing and a diamond heist.

Finchley Road and Finchley Road & Frognal are both a short walk. Performance times vary by date, so pick the slot on the booking page rather than assuming an evening.

Stick Man, Bloomsbury Theatre

Freckle Productions brings its Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler adaptation to the UCL Bloomsbury Theatre for a month.

  • Thursday 3 December 2026 to Sunday 3 January 2027.
  • Children £10, £17.50, £19.50 or £23.50. Adults £15, £24, £26 or £30. Premium £33.50 or £40.
  • One hour, no interval. All ages.
  • 15 Gordon Street, WC1H 0AH, nearest tube Euston Square or Warren Street.

Most days have performances at 10.30am and 1pm, and some Saturdays and Sundays add a third at 3.30pm.

The dark days matter. Counting the performances the theatre currently lists, there is nothing on 7, 14, 18, 25, 26 and 31 December, or 1 January. Mondays are dark except for 21 and 28 December. If you were planning the week between Christmas and New Year, the show plays 27, 28, 29 and 30 December, then jumps to 2 January.

Two offers worth knowing: the school rate is £12.50 a ticket, groups get one free ticket with every ten paid, and schools booking before Friday 16 October save £1 on every ticket.

Camden People’s Theatre

Camden People’s Theatre on Hampstead Road has run Sh!t Theatre’s Sing-A-Long-A Muppet Christmas Carol in past Decembers, an interactive screening with free whisky and guest artists, firmly for adults rather than children. Its December 2026 dates have not been published yet. They usually appear in the autumn.

The nearest traditional panto

If you want an actual dame, a receiving house and a full-scale panto, you are leaving the borough. The closest options, all currently on sale:

Show Venue Runs
Sherlock Holmes and the 12 Days of Christmas Alexandra Palace Theatre, N22 24 Nov to 17 Jan
Jack and the Beanstalk Hackney Empire, E8 21 Nov to 31 Dec
Cinderella Lyric Hammersmith, W6 14 Nov to 3 Jan
Cinderella London Palladium, W1 5 Dec to 10 Jan
The Snowman Peacock Theatre, WC2 21 Nov to 3 Jan

Alexandra Palace is the closest to most of Camden, and its run is the longest of the five.

Booking notes

  • Book the JW3 panto early if you want a weekend. It is a single-venue run in a building that also programmes cinema and music, so the slots are finite.
  • Stick Man’s cheapest children’s ticket is £10, but the band structure means the same seat costs more on a weekend, so compare dates before you compare seats.
  • Neither venue is a place to drive to. Every public highway in Camden sits in a controlled parking zone: see the parking page if you have no choice, and the roadworks page if you are crossing the borough.

Sources

Prices and dates were checked against each venue’s own booking page on 5 September 2026. Runs get extended and performances get added; confirm before you book.