Storyhouse's 2026 panto is Rapunzel, 4 December to 3 January, from £19.50. Plus every access performance date, and the Northwich and Ellesmere Port pantos.

Chester’s pantomime this year is Rapunzel, in the Main Theatre at Storyhouse, running Friday 4 December 2026 to Sunday 3 January 2027. Tickets are on sale now.

It is a Storyhouse Originals production, written by Anne Odeke, who is back after last year’s Beauty and the Beast. Storyhouse’s creative director Suzie Henderson says that show drew close to 25,000 people, and that the theatre was “absolutely delighted to welcome Anne Odeke back to write Rapunzel” (Chester Standard). Storyhouse promises “big beats, big hair and even bigger festive fun”.

Prices

Range
Storyhouse members £17.70 to £43.35
Non-members £19.50 to £48

Prices are per seat and vary by date and where you sit, so a weekday matinee early in the run is the cheap end and a Saturday in the week before Christmas is the top. Group and school rates exist and are handled by email at groups@storyhouse.com (Storyhouse). The Chester Standard’s announcement quotes a member price from £16.20, lower than the range Storyhouse’s own page is now showing, so book from the theatre’s page rather than a press figure.

Every access performance

This is the part most panto listings leave out, and Chester does better than most theatres on it.

  • Captions: every performance. Not a selected date, all of them
  • Audio described: Sunday 20 December, 12pm, with a touch tour at 11am
  • Relaxed performance: Sunday 27 December, 12pm
  • BSL interpreted: Saturday 2 January, 2pm

Storyhouse is at Hunter Street, Chester CH1 2AR, five minutes from the Christmas market in Town Hall Square and a ten minute walk from the station.

Storyhouse is a charity, and the fireworks paid for some of this

Worth knowing if you are deciding where to spend: Storyhouse is a registered charity and runs a Young Leaders programme that it says reaches more than 3,000 local young people a year. In March 2026 it received £10,000 from the Lord Mayor’s Fireworks Extravaganza at Chester Racecourse, raised on the door at last year’s display. Storyhouse’s development director Victoria Harrison said the theatre “is powered by the generosity of local partners” (Chester Racecourse, 6 March 2026). This year’s display is on 31 October.

Northwich: Snow White at Memorial Court

Sunday 6 December to Thursday 31 December 2026, Northwich Memorial Court, Chester Way, CW9 5QJ, produced by Anton Benson Productions for Brio Entertainment.

Performances run between 10.30am and 6pm, doors half an hour before. Three dates stand out:

  • Friday 18 December, 2pm: adapted performance, low noise and lights with a BSL interpreter
  • Saturday 19 December and Tuesday 29 December, 7pm: Naughty Adults Show, over 18s only, with bad language and sexual references
  • Sunday 13 December, 6pm: meet and greet tickets available, and Wednesday 30 December, 6pm is billed as a prank show

Ellesmere Port: Jack and the Beanstalk at the Civic Hall

Saturday 12 December to Thursday 24 December 2026, Ellesmere Port Civic Hall, Civic Way, CH65 0AZ, also Anton Benson Productions for Brio.

  • Matinees 2pm, doors 1.30pm. Evenings 6pm, doors 5.30pm
  • Christmas Eve is different: 11am and 3pm
  • Adapted performance Saturday 19 December, 10.30am, low noise and effects with a BSL interpreter
  • Box office 0333 666 3366, booking through TicketSource

Neither Brio page publishes prices, and TicketSource blocks automated reading, so we cannot confirm what either show costs. Ring the box office.

The three side by side

Chester Northwich Ellesmere Port
Show Rapunzel Snow White Jack and the Beanstalk
Venue Storyhouse Main Theatre Memorial Court Civic Hall
Runs 4 Dec to 3 Jan 6 Dec to 31 Dec 12 Dec to 24 Dec
Producer Storyhouse Originals Anton Benson Anton Benson
Prices published Yes, £19.50 to £48 No No
Captioned Every performance No No
BSL Sat 2 Jan, 2pm Fri 18 Dec, 2pm Sat 19 Dec, 10.30am
Relaxed or low sensory Sun 27 Dec, 12pm Fri 18 Dec, 2pm Sat 19 Dec, 10.30am
Adults only night No Sat 19 and Tue 29 Dec, 7pm No

Getting there

Storyhouse has no car park of its own. The Northgate car parks are the closest, and tariffs for every council site, plus the free bays the council does not advertise, are on our parking in Chester page. A matinee finishing around 4.30pm puts you back on the road in the dark and in traffic, so check roadworks and travel first, particularly on parade Thursdays when city centre streets close in the evening.

Northwich Memorial Court and Ellesmere Port Civic Hall both have parking on site.

What we will do with this page

We will add Rapunzel’s cast as Storyhouse announces it, and prices for the Northwich and Ellesmere Port shows if Brio publishes them or the box office confirms them.