The Atkinson's Cinderella runs 4 to 31 December, 37 public performances at £28 to £30 adult. Dick Whittington opens at the Little Theatre on 18 December.

Southport has two pantomimes this Christmas and they barely overlap.

The Atkinson on Lord Street stages Cinderella from Friday 4 to Thursday 31 December 2026, 37 public performances plus seven schools matinees, with every date, time and price already published. Southport Dramatic Club follows at the Little Theatre on Hoghton Street with Dick Whittington from Friday 18 December 2026 to Sunday 3 January 2027, which picks up where The Atkinson finishes and runs into the new year.

If you want a panto in the week between Christmas and New Year, both are open. If you want one in the first week of December, only The Atkinson is.

Cinderella at The Atkinson: prices

Cinderella is produced by KD Theatre Productions, which has made The Atkinson’s panto every year since 2023: Jack and the Beanstalk, then Sleeping Beauty in 2024 and Beauty and the Beast in 2025.

Ticket Price Who it is for
Adult £28 to £30 Age 16 and over
Concession £26 to £28 Over 60s, students, registered unemployed, under 16s. Proof required
Family £98 to £110 Four people, at least one adult
Group of 20 or more £24 each Weekday performances only, Box Office booking
School pupil or teacher £10 Schools matinees only

Add £1.50 a ticket in booking fees if you book online or by phone. The price bands move with the performance, so the £28 and the £30 are the same seat on different days. (The Atkinson)

The early bird rate, £26 to £28 adult and £90 to £102 family, closed on 30 April 2026. If a site is still advertising it, it is out of date.

Two extras are sold with the ticket rather than on the night: a souvenir programme at £4 and a Panto Pack at £10 with sweets, a Fruit Shoot and a light-up toy. Pre-orders close on Thursday 3 December and are collected on arrival.

One inconsistency in The Atkinson’s own listing. The group discount is described as covering performances “Fri 4 to Fri 18 Dec, excluding Sat and Sun”, but there is no public performance on Friday 18 December in the published schedule. Ring the Box Office on 01704 533 333 before you build a group booking around that date.

Every Cinderella performance

Running time is about two hours including the interval.

Date Times
Fri 4 Dec 7pm
Sat 5 Dec 1pm, 5.30pm
Sun 6 Dec 1pm, 5.30pm
Wed 9 Dec 2.30pm
Fri 11 Dec 7pm
Sat 12 Dec 1pm (relaxed), 5.30pm
Sun 13 Dec 1pm, 5.30pm
Wed 16 Dec 2.30pm, 7pm
Thu 17 Dec 2.30pm, 7pm
Sat 19 Dec 1pm, 5.30pm
Sun 20 Dec 1pm, 5.30pm
Mon 21 Dec 2.30pm, 7pm
Tue 22 Dec 2.30pm, 7pm (captioned)
Wed 23 Dec 2.30pm, 7pm
Thu 24 Dec 10.30am, 2.30pm
Sat 26 Dec 2.30pm
Sun 27 Dec 1pm (relaxed), 5.30pm
Mon 28 Dec 2.30pm, 7pm
Tue 29 Dec 2.30pm, 7pm
Wed 30 Dec 2.30pm, 7pm
Thu 31 Dec 2.30pm

Worth noting before you plan a day around it:

  • There is no performance on Christmas Day, and none on 7, 14, 18 or 25 December.
  • Christmas Eve has a 10.30am start, the only morning performance in the run.
  • Boxing Day is a single 2.30pm show, not the usual pair.
  • New Year’s Eve is a 2.30pm matinee and closes the run.

Access performances and seating

  • Relaxed performances: Saturday 12 December 1pm and Sunday 27 December 1pm. You can move around, make noise, and leave and come back. The lighting stays low in the auditorium, the performance is adapted, and ear defenders can be borrowed free. Light-up toys are not allowed at these two shows. The Atkinson says it will publish a visual story closer to the date.
  • Captioned performance: Tuesday 22 December, 7pm, provided with Stagetext. Sit in rows J to X to read the screens either side of the stage.
  • Wheelchair spaces: four, at the rear on row U, available at every performance and bookable only through the Box Office.
  • Visually impaired seating: rows D8 to D15 recommended, at every performance.

No BSL-interpreted performance is listed.

Schools

Seven schools matinees run on Tuesday 8 (1pm), Wednesday 9 (10.30am), Thursday 10 (9.45am and 1pm, the 1pm relaxed), Friday 11 (10.30am) and Tuesday 15 December (9.45am and 1pm). Tickets are £10 per pupil or teacher, with one free teacher ticket for every ten pupil tickets, and the schools version runs about 1 hour 45 minutes with a 20 minute interval.

Reservations must be paid for by the end of business on Friday 23 October 2026, and school bookings go through the Box Office only, on 01704 533 333 or boxoffice@theatkinson.co.uk.

Dick Whittington at the Little Theatre

Southport Dramatic Club’s panto runs from Friday 18 December 2026 to Sunday 3 January 2027 at the Little Theatre, Hoghton Street, PR9 0PA. It is billed as Southport’s classic family panto, with King Rat as the villain. (Little Theatre Southport)

Individual performance times and ticket prices are not published yet. The club’s listing carries the run dates and a booking link and nothing else, and its box office page prints no price list. Box office: 01704 530521.

The SDC has run a panto in this slot for years, Jack and the Beanstalk in 2025 and Snow White in 2024, so the shape of the run is predictable even where the detail is not. We will update this page when the times go up.

Getting there

Both theatres are in the town centre and a short walk from Southport station. The Atkinson is on Lord Street, the Little Theatre a few minutes away on Hoghton Street.

If you are driving to an evening performance, our parking in Southport page has every Sefton tariff, and roadworks and travel has anything blocking the approach.

For the rest of the town’s Christmas programme, including when the lights go on, see Southport Christmas lights.