The Mill's Christmas show is Dear Santa, 14 to 24 December, £18 with a Santa's grotto. The nearest panto is The Snow Queen at Chipping Norton Theatre.
Banbury’s own theatre, The Mill Arts Centre, is not staging a traditional pantomime this Christmas. Its big family show is Dear Santa, from 14 to 24 December, with a visit to Santa’s grotto after every performance. For a full panto with a dame, the nearest is The Snow Queen at Chipping Norton Theatre, from 18 November to 17 January.
The quick answer
- Dear Santa at The Mill: Monday 14 to Thursday 24 December, £18, 50 minutes, ages 1+, Santa’s grotto and a gift for every child afterwards.
- The Nutcracker: Banbury 4 to 6 December, Bicester 27 and 28 December, £16.50.
- Panto: The Snow Queen, Chipping Norton Theatre, 18 November 2026 to 17 January 2027, tickets £18 to £46.
Christmas at The Mill, Banbury
All from The Mill’s listings. The Mill is on Spiceball Park Road, and its box office is open 9.30am to 4.30pm, Monday to Saturday. Every family show below has £1.50 off per ticket when you book four or more, and babes in arms go free.
| Show | Dates | Where | Price | Age, length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Nutcracker | Fri 4 to Sun 6 December | The Mill, Banbury | £16.50 | All ages, 52 min |
| Dear Santa | Mon 14 to Thu 24 December | The Mill, Banbury | £18 | 1+, 50 min |
| The Littlest Yak | Mon 21 to Thu 24 December | Bicester Leisure Centre | £16.50 | 3 to 7, 45 min |
| The Nutcracker | Sun 27 and Mon 28 December | Bicester Leisure Centre | £16.50 | All ages, 52 min |
Dear Santa
The stage version of Rod Campbell’s picture book, from the author of Dear Zoo. The Mill calls it “an ideal introduction to theatre for those aged two and over”. After the show children meet Santa in his grotto and every child gets a gift, so this doubles as a Santa visit.
Performances run at 10am or 10.30am, around 1pm or 1.30pm, and some 4pm and 6pm slots, with no shows on Friday 18 or Monday 21 December. Several weekday performances already showed fewer than 100 seats left when we checked on 25 September. There are two performances on Christmas Eve, at 10.30am and 1.30pm.
The Nutcracker
Let’s All Dance Ballet Company’s family ballet, with Clara, the Sugar Plum Fairy and the Nutcracker Prince, and a photo on stage with the dancers after every performance. In Banbury it runs three times a day on Friday 4 December (11.30am, 1.30pm, 4pm) and over that weekend. In Bicester it plays at 1pm and 3pm on Sunday 27 December and at 11am, 1pm and 3pm on Monday 28 December.
The Littlest Yak, in Bicester
LAStheatre’s adaptation of the Littlest Yak book, aimed at ages 3 to 7, at The Mill’s pop-up theatre in Bicester Leisure Centre, Queens Avenue, OX26 2NR. Two or more shows a day from Monday 21 to Thursday 24 December.
Grown-up Christmas nights at The Mill
Also on the listings: The Rat Pack: Christmas in Vegas (1 December), St Agnes Fountain (3 December), Midwinter Revels (7 December), The 12 Days of Christmas, a festive farce (9 December), Bye Bye Baby Christmas Show (12 December) and The West End at Christmas (13 December). All start at 7.30pm.
The nearest pantomime: The Snow Queen, Chipping Norton
Chipping Norton Theatre is the pantomime most Banbury families already know. This year’s is The Snow Queen, written by Toby Hulse: the Snow Queen cancels Christmas and kidnaps Kai, and Gerda sets off to rescue him with her mum, Dame Candy Cane.
- Run: previews Wednesday 18 and Thursday 19 November, then until Sunday 17 January 2027.
- Prices: peak £34 to £46, standard £26 to £38, off-peak £18 to £30, all including booking fees. Concessions for under-16s and others apply on standard and off-peak shows.
- Relaxed performances: Friday 27 November at 11am and Thursday 10 December at 4pm.
- Captioned: Saturday 5 December at 2pm. Audio described: Saturday 28 November at 2pm, with a touch tour at 1pm.
- Box office: 01608 642350.
Off-peak dates are mostly in late November, before the schools break up on 18 December. The cheapest way to see it is to go early.
Still to be confirmed
- Community and amateur pantos in Banbury, Bicester and the villages. None had published 2026 dates on their own sites when we checked. If yours is on, tell us and we will add it.
- The Mill’s January programme, which starts with music nights from 8 January.
More for the season: the Christmas lights switch-on on Sunday 29 November, and Christmas at Upton House. If you are driving in, see parking in Banbury.
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