From a timeless fairytale reimagined at Shakespeare’s Globe to a much-loved children’s classic returning to the stage, this season’s theatre line-up moves between family entertainment, literary adaptation, celebrity-led drama and the enduring pull of a cinematic favourite.
There is plenty here for audiences looking beyond the obvious, too: Affluenza brings a rising television star to the London stage for the first time, while Ballet Shoes revisits a beloved story about three young women determined to make their own way in a world that expects something different of them. And for anyone who simply wants a great night out, Dirty Dancing brings one of cinema’s most recognisable romances back to Oxford.
Pinocchio
Globe Theatre, London.
Booking from 28 Nov 2026 to 03 Jan 2027. Tickets from £6.00
The story of the wooden puppet who longs to become human receives a fresh musical treatment at Shakespeare’s Globe, with Pinocchio placing Geppetto and his creation at the heart of a tale about family, belonging and the desire to escape the confines of an expected life.
Written by Charlie Josephine, whose previous work includes I, Joan at the Globe and Cowbois at the Royal Court, with music and lyrics by Jim Fortune, the production promises a distinctly theatrical take on the familiar story. Geppetto is presented as a restless maverick dreaming of a life beyond his traditional town; together, he and Pinocchio embark on a journey that becomes as much about discovering what it means to be human as it is about adventure.
Directed by Globe Associate Artistic Director Sean Holmes, the production combines live music with the kind of exuberant humour that should make it an appealing festive choice for a mixed-age audience. Previous productions have attracted four-star notices from The Telegraph, The Guardian, The Independent and The Reviews Hub, with WhatsOnStage describing it as a “beautiful new musical”.
Best for: Families looking for a substantial festive theatre experience, fans of inventive musical theatre, and audiences who enjoy classic stories with a contemporary sensibility.
Tips: The running time is approximately 2 hours 10 minutes including an interval. Age guidance is 5+, making it particularly suited to families with primary-school-age children and upwards.
Peppa Pig’s Big Family Show!
Theatre Royal Haymarket, London.
Booking from 04 Dec 2026 to 03 Jan 2027. Tickets from £12.00. Save up to 44%
Christmas at the theatre gets a distinctly oinktastic makeover as Peppa Pig and her family return to the Theatre Royal Haymarket in a new live adventure. This time, there is a new arrival on the way, and Peppa, George, Mummy Pig and Daddy Pig have a house to prepare before baby Evie arrives.
The premise is deliberately close to the everyday world familiar to the show’s youngest fans: there is building, decorating and plenty to organise, with the audience invited to help the family get everything finished in time. Music, adventure and surprises provide the theatrical framework, turning a recognisable television world into an accessible first stage experience.
At around 1 hour 20 minutes including an interval, it is also sensibly paced for younger theatre-goers. The production allows babies under 12 months to sit on an adult’s lap without a ticket, while prams and buggies can be left in the theatre cloakroom, subject to space.
Best for: Pre-school and early-years audiences, first-time theatre-goers, and families looking for an easy introduction to live performance.
Tips: The short running time makes this one of the more manageable family theatre outings. Babes in arms are permitted, although cloakroom space for collapsed prams and buggies is limited.
Affluenza
Riverside Studios, Studio 2, London.
Booking from 26 Sep to 21 Nov 2026. Tickets from £30.00
Noah Schnapp, best known for playing Will Byers in Stranger Things, makes his professional stage debut in Affluenza, a drama set among the ultra-wealthy world of the Hamptons. He appears alongside Janette Manrara, Juliet Cowan, Wallis Currie-Wood and Rupert Young.
The play takes its starting point from the controversial idea of “affluenza” — whether extreme privilege can distort a person’s understanding of responsibility and right and wrong. A teenager’s drunken car journey ends in devastation, leading to a legal case that raises uncomfortable questions about wealth, family influence and the workings of the American justice system.
Rather than treating privilege simply as a backdrop, Affluenza looks at its consequences: the expectations inherited through family, the power available to those who possess it and the moral choices made when wealth changes the rules. Schnapp’s stage debut adds another layer of interest, particularly for audiences familiar with his television work.
The production is part of a five-play season at Riverside Studios, with further creative and casting information still to be announced.
Best for: Audiences interested in contemporary drama, stories about wealth and privilege, and those curious to see a familiar screen actor take on the stage for the first time.
Tips: Running time, age guidance and content warnings are yet to be confirmed, so check the theatre’s information before booking. The subject matter suggests a more serious and potentially challenging evening than the family productions elsewhere in this selection.
Dirty Dancing
New Theatre Oxford.
06 to 10 Oct 2026. Tickets from £19.69
Some films become so embedded in popular culture that their stories seem almost impossible to separate from the music that accompanies them. Dirty Dancing is one of them, and its stage incarnation returns to Oxford with the romance of Baby and Johnny, the heat of summer and a soundtrack packed with songs that have become cultural touchstones.
The story follows Baby and Johnny, two fiercely independent young people from very different worlds whose meeting transforms what should have been an ordinary summer. The stage production recreates that emotional collision through dance, music and the familiar story of rebellion, first love and self-discovery.
For fans of the original film, much of the appeal lies in the soundtrack: Hungry Eyes, Hey! Baby, Do You Love Me? and, inevitably, The Time of My Life all feature. But the production also leans heavily into its live theatrical energy, with a large cast of dancers bringing the choreography and physicality of the story into the theatre.
With a running time of just over two hours including an interval, this is the most straightforwardly nostalgic choice of the five — a production designed to send audiences out humming the soundtrack.
Best for: Fans of the original film, musical theatre audiences, dance lovers and anyone after a feel-good evening of romance and nostalgia.
Tips: The production contains the songs and dance moments audiences will be expecting, but its appeal is rooted in the emotional story as much as the spectacle. At New Theatre Oxford from 06 to 10 October, it is the obvious choice for a big-screen classic brought into a live setting.
Ballet Shoes
New Theatre Oxford.
05 to 08 Jan 2028. Tickets on sale from 24 Sep
Noel Streatfeild’s Ballet Shoes returns in a new stage adaptation that puts ambition, sisterhood and female independence at the centre of its story. Adapted by Kendall Feaver and directed by Katy Rudd, this reimagining brings a beloved children’s classic into the theatre while retaining the spirit of the original.
Set in a crumbling house filled with dinosaur bones and fossils, the story follows three adopted sisters — Pauline, Petrova and Posy — as they grow up and begin to discover distinct ambitions of their own. Under the guidance of their guardians and an assortment of unlikely lodgers, each must find a way to pursue what she loves while helping to keep the family together.
What gives the story enduring appeal is the contrast between the sisters. Their ambitions are not identical, and neither are their routes into adulthood. Against a world that places limits on women’s choices, Ballet Shoes becomes a story about finding an identity, supporting the people around you and refusing to let circumstances dictate the size of your dreams.
The production has been described by The Guardian as “spectacular”, with Rudd — whose credits include The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry and Nanny McPhee — directing the adaptation. Casting is still to be announced, with a note that Anton Du Beke will not appear in any performances.
Best for: Families, fans of classic British children’s literature, and audiences drawn to stories of ambition, sisterhood and finding your own path.
Tips: The Oxford run is scheduled for January 2028, with general sale opening on Thursday 24 September. Casting is still to be announced, so the eventual line-up will be worth watching as the production develops.
The post Stage Watch: Pinocchio, Peppa Pig, Affluenza, Dirty Dancing, & Ballet Shoes appeared first on The Oxford Magazine.
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