The Lights now has Christmas panto: Andover College's Jack and the Beanstalk 8 and 9 Dec from £15, then Dick Whittington on 12 Dec, plus an adults-only night.

Andover does have a Christmas pantomime this year, after all. When we first wrote this page in September, The Lights on West Street had no panto in its winter programme. Its box office now lists two, both short runs in the second week of December:

  • Jack and the Beanstalk, staged by Andover College, on Tuesday 8 and Wednesday 9 December at 7pm, from £15.
  • Dick Whittington, a family panto on Saturday 12 December at 1pm and 6pm, from £15.50, with an adults-only version, Panto… But Not For Kids!, on Friday 11 December at 7.30pm.

The Lights’ spring panto, The Wizard of Oz, is still on for 6 and 7 April 2027. For a long professional Christmas run you still need to travel, to Basingstoke or Salisbury, and Romsey’s community panto is in January.

The quick answer

Updated 27 October: The Lights has added two December pantomimes, Andover College’s Jack and the Beanstalk (8 and 9 December) and Dick Whittington (11 and 12 December). This page said there was none.

  • Jack and the Beanstalk, Andover College: Tue 8 and Wed 9 December, 7pm. £15, concessions £12, Pullman £16, family £45.
  • Dick Whittington, family panto: Sat 12 December, 1pm and 6pm. Seats £17.50 or £15.50, family ticket £62. Only 39 seats were left at 1pm on 27 October.
  • Dick Whittington, adults only: Fri 11 December, 7.30pm, £20. One seat was left on 27 October.
  • Nearest long runs: The Anvil, Basingstoke (10 December to 3 January) and Salisbury Playhouse (28 November to 10 January).

The Lights dates and prices were checked against its box office on 27 October 2026; the other venues were checked on their own box offices on 5 September 2026.

Panto near Andover, 2026 to 2027: who has one and when Checked against each venue's own box office; The Lights re-checked 27 October 2026 THE LIGHTS, ANDOVER: TWO SHORT DECEMBER PANTOS Jack and the Beanstalk, 8 and 9 Dec, 7pm. Dick Whittington, 12 Dec, 1pm and 6pm From £15 and £15.50. Adults-only Dick Whittington 11 Dec. Wizard of Oz 6 and 7 April PLAZA THEATRE, ROMSEY: MOTHER GOOSE Fri 8 to Sun 24 January 2027, across three weekends £18, £15 under-16s. RAODS, written by Ben Crocker. About 17 miles from Andover THE ANVIL, BASINGSTOKE: BEAUTY AND THE BEAST Thu 10 December 2026 to Sun 3 January 2027 £19.50 to £40. Relaxed performance Mon 21 Dec 2pm at £16 SALISBURY PLAYHOUSE: BEAUTY AND THE BEAST Sat 28 November 2026 to Sun 10 January 2027. £18.50 to £54 Sources: thelights.org.uk, plazatheatre.com, anvilarts.org.uk, wiltshirecreative.co.uk. Andover News
Where the nearest pantomimes are, and what they cost

Jack and the Beanstalk, Andover College, 8 and 9 December

Andover College’s pantomime is Jack and the Beanstalk, on Tuesday 8 and Wednesday 9 December 2026, both at 7pm, in The Lights’ main auditorium. The box office describes “a fee-fi-fo-fun adventure” from Jack’s humble beginnings to the giant’s castle, with music and audience participation, for all ages.

  • Standard: £15
  • Concessions: £12
  • Pullman: £16
  • Family: £45

On 27 October about 188 of 241 seats were still available for each night. The box office adds a £1.20 transaction fee.

Dick Whittington, 11 and 12 December

The second December panto is Dick Whittington, from a touring team whose listing says it staged Teignmouth’s first professional pantomime, Beauty and the Beast, at the Pavilions there. The family performances are on Saturday 12 December at 1pm and 6pm. Standard seats are priced at £17.50 and £15.50, and a family ticket is £62. The 1pm show is filling fastest: only 39 seats were left on 27 October, against 146 for the 6pm.

The same company runs Dick Whittington: Panto… But Not For Kids! on Friday 11 December at 7.30pm, at £20. The Lights lists it as adults only, with strong language and innuendo; on 27 October the box office showed a single seat left.

The Lights: The Wizard of Oz, April 2027

The theatre’s pantomime is The Wizard of Oz, produced by Hot Rock Productions, and it is on:

  • Tuesday 6 April 2027, 2pm
  • Wednesday 7 April 2027, 2pm

Both performances are in the main auditorium. Tickets are £22 standard, £24 Pullman and £20 concessions. The Pullman seats are rows F, G and H, seats 5 to 15. Row A is accessible for wheelchair users, and the box office asks anyone who struggles with stairs to enquire about rows A, B or C.

The description is a straight family panto, with audience participation, a Wicked Witch to boo and songs to sing along to. There are only two performances and both are matinees, so half term and school holiday planning matters more here than it would for a three week Christmas run.

Box office is 01264 368368, open Monday to Friday 10am to 5pm and Saturdays 10am to 2pm. The Lights is at West Street, Andover SP10 1AH, and is owned and managed by Test Valley Borough Council.

The rest of The Lights’ Christmas programme

Around the two pantos, the December programme includes:

  • Wednesday 23 and Thursday 24 December, 10.30am and 1pm. Santa’s Best Ever Christmas, a children’s show from Honalee Media in which every child gets a present from Santa. £12, family ticket £46.

  • Thursday 17 December, 2pm. Neil Sands presents Christmas Memories, a new 2026 production from Neil Sands Productions. £16.

  • Friday 18 December, 7pm. Christmas Country Party Night with The Hundy’s, a standing arena event. Early bird tickets £15.
  • Sunday 20 December, 3pm. Big Band at Christmas. £22, or £23 for a Pullman seat.

The festive programme actually opens earlier than that. Christmas with The Doctor is on Sunday 1 November at 10am, a Doctor Who celebration with stage performances by cast members, at £59, with under-16s at £29 and under-10s free. That 10am session is now sold out; an afternoon session at 2.30pm costs £20, £15 for under-16s, with under-10s free.

The Test Valley panto is in Romsey, and it is in January

The borough does have a pantomime. The Plaza Theatre on Winchester Road, Romsey, run by the Romsey Amateur Operatic and Dramatic Society, is staging Mother Goose, written by Ben Crocker, with the troll Smorg as the villain and the Bog of Beauty as the setting.

It runs Friday 8 January to Sunday 24 January 2027 across three weekends:

  • Fri 8 Jan 7.30pm
  • Sat 9 Jan 2pm and 6pm
  • Sun 10 Jan 2pm, a relaxed performance with adjusted sound, lighting and movement, chill-out zones and freedom to move around
  • Fri 15 Jan 7.30pm
  • Sat 16 and Sun 17 Jan 2pm and 6pm
  • Fri 22 Jan 7.30pm
  • Sat 23 and Sun 24 Jan 2pm, and Sat 23 Jan 6pm

Tickets are £18, or £15 for under-16s. The theatre notes that a voluntary collection is taken after the show for two local youth charities, Romsey Opportunity Group and Youth Options. Its box office is open in person on Saturdays 10am to midday with no booking fees.

Romsey is about 17 miles south of Andover down the A3057, so it is a Test Valley option rather than a local one if you live in the north of the borough.

The two nearest big Christmas pantomimes

Both are roughly 18 miles from Andover and both are, coincidentally, Beauty and the Beast.

The Anvil, Basingstoke runs from Thursday 10 December 2026 to Sunday 3 January 2027. Tickets are £19.50 to £40, with premium seats at £36, £42 and £44 and family tickets from £148, or £164 premium, for four. There is a relaxed performance on Monday 21 December at 2pm priced at £16 and a signed performance on Tuesday 15 December at 6pm. Schools pay £15.50 a pupil. Box office 01256 844244.

Salisbury Playhouse, run by Wiltshire Creative, runs from Saturday 28 November 2026 to Sunday 10 January 2027, with tickets from £18.50 to £54. It is the longest run of the four and the earliest to open.

Which to book

If you want a pantomime in the Christmas holidays with a professional cast and a long run to choose performances from, it is Basingstoke or Salisbury, and Salisbury opens first. If you want the cheaper, local, amateur panto with a relaxed performance option, it is Romsey in January. If you specifically want Andover, it is Andover College’s Jack and the Beanstalk on 8 or 9 December, or Dick Whittington on 12 December, and both are short runs, so book early.

Getting there matters for the two out-of-town options, both of which finish after dark on winter evenings. Our Andover roadworks and travel page covers the closures on the A303 and the routes out of town, and the train times page has the rail options, including the Andover to Salisbury leg. Town centre car park hours are on the Andover parking page.

What could still change

Venues add Christmas shows late, as The Lights did this year. If more performances are added, or the Plaza changes its run, we will update this page. The Lights entries were verified against its box office on 27 October 2026, and the other venues against their own box offices on 5 September 2026.

Sources