By Grace Hathcell
There are certain things you can rely upon at Christmas. Someone will buy you socks. Someone will insist they actually like sprouts. And somewhere in Britain, a perfectly sensible family will exchange their cow for a handful of beans.
The Mercury Theatre in Colchester is getting ready to climb into panto season with Jack and the Beanstalk, running from 21 November 2026 until 17 January 2027.
And the Mercury isn’t doing things by halves.
Colchester panto favourites Antony Stuart-Hicks and Dale Superville are returning, with Stuart-Hicks playing Tilly Trott and Superville taking on Trevor. Stuart-Hicks is celebrating an impressive 31 years in pantomime and his 11th year as the Mercury’s resident Dame, so there should be a very safe pair of hands steering the inevitable chaos.
The story takes us to Trott’s farm, where money is running short and ruthless landowner Augusta Bigbucks has managed to get her hands on the farm. That leaves the family facing the heartbreaking business of selling their beloved cow, Pat, at Culver Square market.
Obviously, somebody then produces some beans.
Up shoots a giant beanstalk, the possibility of a returning giant has Colchester rather worried, and Jack is left with the small matter of climbing into Cloudland, taking on said giant and saving the town.
The Mercury is promising plenty of comedy alongside music, choreography and some suitably enormous-looking sets. This is panto, after all. Subtlety can come back in February.
There is also a substantial programme of accessible performances. Relaxed performances take place on 3 December and 10 January, with Audio Described, Captioned and BSL-interpreted performances scheduled across the run. Pre-show touch tours are available alongside selected Audio Described performances.
And if ordinary pantomime isn’t quite mischievous enough for you, the Mercury has a run of 18+ performances during January. These are billed as a little more risqué, which is usually theatre language for leaving the children at home and discovering exactly how many double entendres were hiding in the family version.
The theatre has even thought about dinner.
New for 2026 are its Festive Picky Bits for two, with meat and vegetarian versions featuring the likes of crispy roast potatoes, honey roast vegetables and breaded Camembert. The adult performances can go one step further with a Naughty but Nice package, adding prosecco and a programme.
Frankly, Grace appreciates any theatre that understands a giant beanstalk is improved by the possibility of Camembert.
Jack and the Beanstalk runs at the Mercury Theatre, Colchester, from 21 November 2026 to 17 January 2027. Tickets range from £10 to £43, including the theatre’s £2.50 ticket levy.
Family performances are recommended for ages five and over, while designated adult performances are strictly 18+.
More information and tickets are available directly from the Mercury Theatre.
Jack and the Beanstalk – Mercury Theatre
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