By Grace Hatchell
I’ve had some strange things happen on a post round.
Dogs have chased me. A goose once disliked me for reasons I still don’t understand. And I’ve delivered parcels to houses where the numbering system appears to have been devised by somebody who actively hates posties.
But I’ve never stumbled into Sherwood Forest before.
There I was, satchel over my shoulder, looking for number 27, when a man dressed entirely in green appeared from behind a tree.
“Stand and deliver!”
“Excuse me?”
“We take from the rich and give to the poor!”
“Well, unless you’re after Mrs Jenkins’ council tax letter, there’s not much in here for you.”
Turns out I’d wandered straight into Robin Hood at the Lichfield Garrick, where Sherwood Forest is taking over the theatre from 20 November 2026 to 10 January 2027.
And this isn’t just any old panto for the Garrick. It’s the theatre’s first in-house-produced pantomime in more than a decade.
It comes at the end of quite a year for the venue. The Garrick produced its first in-house musical, Disenchanted!, which headed to the Edinburgh Fringe, Lichfield District Council extended the theatre’s lease, and its Arts Council-backed Creative Burntwood project officially launched.
Now they’re bringing all that homegrown creativity to Christmas.
Leading the charge as Robin Hood is Garrick favourite Ben Thornton, who clearly knows exactly what he’s letting himself in for.
“I love the people of Lichfield,” he says, “especially if they get involved!”
Oh, they’ll get involved, Ben. It’s panto. There will always be somebody three rows back taking “HE’S BEHIND YOU!” as a personal responsibility.
And apparently one Ben isn’t enough.
Joining Thornton is Great British Pantomime Award winner Ben Stock as Nurse Nellie. Stock has performed everywhere from Trafalgar Square to the airwaves of BBC Radio Bristol, released two albums and now faces perhaps his greatest challenge yet: getting through Tesco after a performance without being recognised as the dame.
“I’ve heard that the audiences at the Lichfield Garrick are the best in the country, so I’m really looking forward to playing for them, and possibly seeing them in Tesco on the way home.”
That’s the sort of glamour I appreciate.
The cast also sees Joe Feeney return as the dastardly Sheriff of Nottingham, while Rosie Napper swaps her Disenchanted! Cinderella credentials for something rather more wicked as Morgana.
Eliza Waters plays Maid Marian, Ashley Cavender is Merlin and Anna Soden appears as Bluebell, Robin Hood’s sister.
There’s a lovely bit of Garrick history behind Eliza’s return too. Before graduating from the Royal Academy of Music in 2019, she once worked at the theatre as a deputy stage manager.
“It feels so crazy to be stood here now,” she says, stepping out of the wings and onto the Garrick stage.
Meanwhile, Rosie Napper is equally pleased to be back after winning over audiences in Disenchanted!.
“I’m thrilled to be back.”
Behind the scenes, there’s another familiar Garrick family gathering.
Barry Smith returns on lighting design, Gary Jerry directs the music and Disenchanted! choreographer Kayleigh Dettmer is back to get everybody moving. Garrick CEO and Artistic Director Daniel Buckroyd directs the whole festive adventure, while John Brooking is responsible for design and costume.
And apparently he’s been given permission to go gloriously overboard.
“With pantomime, the brakes are off a bit,” says John. “You can actually go a bit mad.”
Judging by the costumes, he took that as an instruction rather than a suggestion.
Morgana gets a suitably devilish swirling headpiece. Nurse Nellie has a red fringed gown covered in enough polka dots to cause a minor incident. Merlin is covered in stars, Maid Marian gets florals and Robin Hood and Bluebell are naturally decked out in forest greens.
Much of the costume work is being hand-stitched by the Garrick’s own talented team, which feels rather fitting for a pantomime being billed as coming directly from the Garrick family to yours.
There’s something rather lovely about that.
Pantomime is one of those bits of theatre that becomes part of a family’s Christmas traditions. Last year, the Garrick saw audience retention rise by nearly a quarter, meaning even more families are coming back.
And this year, they’ll be coming back to something the theatre has created itself.
So if you happen to be passing through Lichfield this Christmas and spot a suspicious number of people disappearing into Sherwood Forest, don’t worry.
It’s only Robin Hood.
Just keep hold of your purse.
And your post.
Grace x
Robin Hood plays at the Lichfield Garrick from 20 November 2026 to 10 January 2027.
You can book tickets via the Garrick website at lichfieldgarrick.com or by calling the Box Office on 01543 412121.
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