Chelmsford’s 2026 panto on sale following a spectacular year for the theatre

Chelmsford Theatre is already looking ahead to its 2026 pantomime, with tickets for the magical Cinderella on sale now.

It follows the news that the theatre’s 2025 panto – Aladdin, which closed on Sunday 4 January – was their best attended panto of all time, topping off another outstanding year for Chelmsford Theatre.

More than ever before enjoying Chelmsford’s brilliant panto production

The five-week run of Aladdin outstripped 2024’s Snow White success, with 29,198 visitors welcomed across 65 performances, including 7,463 schoolchildren from across Chelmsford and Essex. That’s 94% of seats filled, with many performances selling out weeks ahead.

The production run was highly popular with audiences and critics alike, with feedback dubbing it “a most entertaining production!” and “as good as the West End”.

Aladdin at Chelmsford Theatre. Photos by Aaron Crowe.

Aladdin run concludes another positive year for the theatre

Aladdin’s success continues an exceptional upwards trajectory for Chelmsford Theatre. Last year the venue saw another significant increase in productions, with 405 shows received in 2025 (compared to 341 in 2024). These included major West End productions Cruel Intentions and Little Women, as well as big-name comedy acts Kiell Smith-Bynoe (Ghosts, The Great British Sewing Bee) and Baga Chipz (RuPaul’s Drag Race UK).

Audience figures matched this increase in shows, with more people enjoying a night of entertainment at their local theatre last year. 160,808 people were welcomed through Chelmsford Theatre’s doors in 2025 (151,720 in 2024), resulting in an average capacity of 76% across all productions in 2025. This places the 500-seater venue above the national average of 62% capacity for a medium presenting venue according to TRG Arts.

Partnerships and outreach projects boost access to the arts for all

Local students on stage (left) and Mountview students in class at Chelmsford Theatre (right).

Alongside this increase in productions, in 2025 the theatre invested in new partnerships and increased community programming in a commitment to improving access to creative opportunities for all, including:

• An expanded Discover programme of affordable arts and performance workshops for both kids and adults, designed to develop skills and support wellbeing.
• ‘Vibrant Voices’ – a free project with Essex Music Services and local secondary schools to give 150 students the chance to experience putting together and performing in their own live production.
• A brand-new partnership with renowned theatre school, Mountview Academy of Arts to deliver a CertHE qualification in Musical Theatre in Chelmsford, taught by local practitioners, with a new CertHE in Acting set to expand this offer in 2026.
• Dementia Accessible Cinema – a regular opportunity for people living with dementia to watch their favourite movies in a safe, welcoming space.
• Work with Essex Activate to welcome more than 40 low-income Essex families to see Aladdin at the theatre – families that may otherwise not have been able to afford to experience panto at Christmas.
• A new Panto Travel Fund to support the cost of travel for schools attending the theatre’s panto productions, reducing the cost barrier and enabling more schoolchildren to experience the magic of panto.

The city council’s Cabinet Deputy for Cultural Services, Councillor Jennie Lardge, says these important community projects are made possible thanks to the year-round support the theatre receives from its loyal audiences through income and donations:

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“Chelmsford Theatre is in high demand, with more shows and bigger audiences than ever before! These successes are important because they enable the theatre to invest in developing and expanding its outreach and community projects. This year, more people from Chelmsford and the surrounding areas have been able to engage with art and performance at Chelmsford Theatre through affordable wellbeing workshops, low-cost events for vulnerable groups, and financial support initiatives for local schools.

“With three further West End shows set to come to the theatre this year; another great panto production underway already; and more ambitious plans in the works for outreach activities, we’re expecting another great year ahead for the theatre team in 2026.”

Councillor Jennie Lardge, Cabinet Deputy for Cultural Services, Chelmsford City Council

Book your tickets for Cinderella

Panto is over for another season (boo!) but Chelmsford Theatre is getting ready for a ball in 2026, with Cinderella confirmed as this year’s fairytale production.

Audiences will adore the theatre’s fun and colourful retelling of this classic rags to riches story as the kind Cinderella meets a dashing stranger and receives a royal invitation that will transform her life forever.

Cinderella and her ugly sisters come to the theatre from Friday 27 November 2026 to Sunday 3 January 2027. To ensure you get your favoured date and seats, don’t delay booking – over 20% of tickets have already sold! Book your spaces now at www.chelmsfordtheatre.co.uk/event/cinderella-2026.

Whilst you wait for this year’s magical pantomime, there’s plenty more to enjoy at Chelmsford Theatre, including the world-renowned stage play The Woman in Black (3-7 February – limited tickets now remaining) and Royal Shakespeare Company production The Constant Wife – starring the hugely successful and popular Kara Tointon (2-7 March).