Jack and the Beanstalk

Edinburgh Acting School bring their 2026 pantomime, Jack and the Beanstalk, to Summerhall on Friday 11 December, with the run continuing until Sunday 20 December. It's their annual panto, and this year they've moved the story into a Scots-dialect setting. The village is running on rations during a drouth, ruled by the greedy Baroness Bella Von Grabbit, so the familiar tale gets a bit of a local twist.

Lottie Henshall takes the title role as Jack, a naive young man who spends his time longing for a bonnie bird who'll love him. He's flanked by his feisty mother, Maggie McTrout, and a loyal coo, and much of the story follows him balancing his family duties with his hopes for a better life. The whole thing is staged as a family show, and the Scots dialogue puts it firmly in its own particular corner of the country.

There are some familiar faces returning to the cast, too. Stephen Graham-Martin, Brett Herriot, Lucy Philip and Rebekah Clark all come back from the 2025 production, so if you caught last year's panto, you'll recognise a good chunk of the ensemble. The show is staged in the Dissection Room at Summerhall, 1 Summerhall, Edinburgh South EH9 1PL.

The opening night is Friday 11 December, 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm, and it runs through to Sunday 20 December. It's a family show with reserved seating, and there's a warning that it contains flashing lights.