Jack and the Beanstalk
(inc. £2.50 ticket levy)
Show Bio
This Christmas, the Mercury Theatre present the pantomime spectacular you’ve all BEAN waiting for – Jack and the Beanstalk! Colchester panto legends Antony Stuart-Hicks and Dale Superville are back and ready to cause more mischief and mayhem in this GIANT adventure!
Join Jack, Trevor (Superville) and their Mum, Tilly (Stuart-Hicks) at Trott’s farm. Money is running low, and when the ruthless landowner Augusta Bigbucks buys Trott’s farm for a steal, things get even more precarious! The family make the difficult decision to sell their beloved cow Pat at Culver Square market.
Then a giant beanstalk appears! And the town fears the ferocious giant will return to cause havoc. Will Jack be brave enough to climb up to Cloudland, defeat the giant and save Colchester before it’s too late?
Expect lots of laughter, marvellous music, spellbinding choreography and jaw-dropping sets in this unmissable festive extravaganza that promises fee-fi-fo-FUN for everyone!
Content to Consider and Accessibility
This show is likely to contain haze, loud noises, loud music and flashing lights. Our full content to consider is to be confirmed nearer the time.
If you’d prefer to attend a Relaxed Performance (where lighting and sound effects will be reduced), we will be holding these on Thu 3 Dec 2026, 12pm (also a Schools Performance) and Sun 10 Jan 2027, 12pm (also a BSL interpreted performance).
Our Audio Described performances (with pre-show touch tours available) will be on Sat 5 Dec 2026, 2pm and Sat 16 Jan 2027, 7pm. Our Captioned performances will be on Sat 5 Dec 2026, 7pm and Sat 16 Jan 2027, 2pm. Our BSL performances will be on Fri 4 Dec 2026, 7pm, Sat 9 Jan 2027, 7.30pm (also an 18+ adult performance); and Sun 10 Jan 2027, 2pm (also a relaxed performance).
Please note: touch tours can only be booked via the Box Office over the phone or by email.
If you are attending a relaxed performance, or would like to know more about specific elements of the show, our social story will be available nearer the show (please be aware that this will contain spoilers).
If you have any questions or concerns relating to the content of the show or access performances, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
Our accessible performances are made possible with the support of John Fowlers:
Booking for a school?
We can’t wait to welcome schools back to the marvellous Mercury pantomime this festive season!
Our 2026 schools performances are: Wed 25 Nov, 10.15am & 2pm; Thu 26 Nov, 10.15am; Fri 27 Nov, 12pm; Tue 1 Dec, 10.15am; Wed 2 Dec, 10.15am & 2pm; Thu 3 Dec, 10.15am (also a relaxed performance) & 2pm; Fri 4 Dec, 12pm; Tue 8 Dec, 10.15am; Wed 9 Dec, 10.15am & 2pm; Thu 10 Dec, 10.15am & 2pm; Fri 11 Dec, 10.15am; Tue 15 Dec, 10.15am; Wed 16 Dec, 10.15am & 2pm.
Tickets for schools have an early bird rate of £12.50 (incl. levy) if paid in full by Fri 10 Jul, and a standard rate of £14.50 (incl. levy) if paid in full after this date. For every 10 tickets you buy, the 11th is free for a teacher or member of support staff. Look out for the school symbol when booking.
You can book today (and even pre-order your ice cream!) by filling in the form below.
Please be aware that the form will ask you for your first and second choice of performance dates and times, so please do have a look through the performance schedule below before heading over to the form.
School Workshops
Make your school’s visit to the Mercury panto even more enriching with our informative and engaging pantomime workshops!
For younger learners, this practical storytelling workshop is the perfect Christmas treat for a class-sized group before or after they’ve seen the show. For older learners, we will delve into the traditions of pantomime and investigate stock characters, fairy tale origins and devising skills.
These workshops can take place either at school or at the theatre, and we can adjust the duration to fit with your lesson timetable. Check out our wide range of school workshops to extend your visit and expand your classroom learning. Discover all of our workshops here: mercurytheatre.co.uk/taking-part/education/school-workshops and email [email protected] for enquiries.
Booster Seats
Need a little lift to get the best view? Booster seats are available at the door to the theatre. Pick one up on your way in!
18+ Adult Performances
Our 18+ adult performances are known for being a little more risqué!
If you want to leave the kids at home and double the laughter, these performances will be in January 2027 on: Tue 5 Jan, 7.30pm; Wed 6 Jan, 7.30pm; Thu 7 Jan, 7.30pm; Fri 8 Jan, 7.30pm; Sat 9 Jan, 2pm & 7.30pm (also BSL interpreted); Tue 12 Jan, 7.30pm; Wed 13 Jan, 7.30pm; Thu 14 Jan, 7.30pm and Fri 15 Jan, 7.30pm. Look out for the 18+ symbol when booking.
Offers & Discounts
In addition to our schools rate offer, which is outlined above, we also offer a youth groups discount for Rainbows, Brownies, Guides, Beavers, Scouts, Sea Scouts, dance schools, gymnastics Schools, am dram youth groups, military youth groups and similar. This discount allows all tickets to be £15.50 (incl. levy), and 11 for 10 on tickets (1 teacher/carer/leader free per 10 tickets) on these performances only: Sat 21 Nov, 2pm & 7pm; Fri 27 Nov, 7pm; Sat 28 Nov, 2pm & 7pm and Sun 29 Nov, 12pm & 4.30pm.
There is a group discount of £2 off per ticket on any price band for groups 10+, for standard tickets only on all performances, including adult panto.
We offer a 20% discount to MOD & Blue Light card holders. This is valid on the top price band only for adult panto, and the top three price bands for all other performances.
Under 26s can get £2 off on every performance, except for adult panto. Over 65s can get £2 off on off-peak performances.
The Access for All discount applies on all performances. If access customers want to book in a group to receive £2 off each ticket, this is allowed but must done by our Ticket Sales team, so please contact our Box Office.
If you have any questions or enquiries, don’t hesitate to email our Box Office via email at [email protected] or by calling us.
Panto Shout-Out/Birthday Book
If you’d like our cast to say Happy Birthday or give a shout-out to a member of your party during the show, you can submit your requests via our Shout Out book. This will be opened nearer the time, so check back later in the year to submit your requests! We will also remind you in your pre-show email.
Please note: We wish we could use every message we receive, but sadly, that is never possible. We can’t offer any guarantee that your birthday or shout-out will be used in the show.
Panto Theatre Tours
To celebrate our pantomime, Jack and the Beanstalk, we are offering a chance to get a closer sneak peek behind the scenes and take a look at what makes a Mercury Production truly magical! Join us for a backstage tour on Wed 21 Oct, 11am and Sat 24 Oct, 11am. This is bookable over on our Theatre Tours page.
Add to your visit!
New for 2026, we’re excited to introduce our Festive Picky Bits!
Perfect for sharing, our Festive Picky Bits are a selection of delicious bites designed for two. Handpicked, flavourful, and festive, these are ideal to enjoy before a show. Choose from a Meat or Vegetarian option (Please note that this is a fixed menu, and no amends can be made). This will be available on all performances except our schools shows.
The Festive Picky Bits (Meat) will include Pigs in Blankets, Crispy Roast Potatoes, Honey Roast Vegetables, Brussels Sprouts with Bacon, Breaded Camembert with Cranberry Sauce. The Festive Picky Bits (Vegetarian) will include Vegetarian Sausage Rolls, Crispy Roast Potatoes, Honey Roast Vegetables, Brussels Sprouts with Cranberry & Balsamic Glaze, Breaded Camembert with Cranberry.
We are also thrilled to introduce our Naughty but Nice package for the 18+ adult performances only. This will include your choice of Festive Picky Bits (Meat or Vegetarian), along with a 750ml bottle of prosecco and a Jack and the Beanstalk programme.
Our fantastic food offerings will pop-up as an option when you are booking your tickets. Be sure to explore the options to reserve a table and add some tasty treats to your visit!
We will also be giving you the chance to pre order some of our merchandise and programmes.
Cast
Antony Stuart-Hicks
Tilly Trott
Antony Stuart-Hicks
Tilly Trott
Antony celebrates 31 years in pantomime and 11 years as the Mercury’s resident Dame. Antony is Senior Producer for the Mercury, Patron for Theatricool Performing Arts in Colchester and Trustee for Theatre in the Rough CIC.
Antony’s recent awards include Best Dame * at the UK Pantomime Awards 2025 and The Olwyn Wymark Theatre Encouragement Award from the Writer’s Guild of Great Britain.
Pantomime at Mercury Theatre: Gertie Goose in Mother Goose, Sherry Smee in The New Adventures of Peter Pan *, Maris Piper in Sleeping Beauty, Betty Bon Bon in Beauty and the Beast; Yootha Twankey in Aladdin; Kylie Hard-Up in Cinderella (Winner of 2020 Best Ugly Sisters – Great British Pantomime Awards); Dotty Trott in Jack and the Beanstalk; Nurse Nellie in Snow White (Nominated for Best Dame – Great British Pantomime Awards); Sarah the Cook in Dick Whittington and Widow Twankey in Aladdin.
Other Pantomime credits: Ugly Sister in Cinderella (Southport Arts Centre, Crosby Civic Hall, Rhyl Pavilion Theatre, Royal Court Liverpool, Victoria Theatre Halifax, Hazlitt Theatre Maidstone, The Cresset Peterborough, Camberley Arts Theatre, Central Theatre Chatham, Queen’s Theatre Barnstaple, Harlow Playhouse); Dolly Mixture in Snow White (Royal Court Liverpool, Central Theatre Chatham); Sarah the Cook in Dick Whittington (Royal Court Liverpool); Nurse in Sleeping Beauty (Queen’s Theatre Barnstaple) and Widow Twankey in Aladdin (Neptune Theatre Liverpool, Queen’s Theatre Barnstaple, The Palace Theatre, Newark).
Theatre credits include: Sherlock Holmes in The Hound of the Baskervilles; The Knight of Biscay in Don Quixote; George in His Fragile Mind; Terisius in Antigone; George in Stop Giving Me Grief; Malvolio in Twelfth Night; Demetrius/Quince in A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Cardinal Richelieu in The Three Musketeers; Stuart in Gosforth’s Fete; Giovanni in Can’t Pay? Won’t Pay! Graham in Fine Wine & Pringles at the Café Belgrade; Macbeth in Macbeth; Hugo in No Horizon; Scrooge in A Christmas Carol; Meg Long in Our Country’s Good; Ratty in The Wind in the Willows and Saturninus in Titus Andronicus.
Musical Theatre includes: Professor Callaghan in Legally Blonde (Jersey Opera House); Edna Turnblad in Hairspray (Dubai); Roscoe in Elegies for Angels, Punks and Raging Queens (Criterion, West End); Dr Frederick Chilton in Silence! The Musical (European Premiere); Friar Lawrence in Romeo & Juliet The Musical (UK tour); Polonius in Hamlet (UK & International tour); Gonzalo in The Tempest (UK & International tour); Quince/Egeus in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (UK & International tour); Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland; Caspius in The Wizard of Oz ~ Beyond the Rainbow (UK Tour); Kaa the Snake in The Jungle Book; King Midas in Myth & Legend; Reverend Barker in The Retribution and Fagin in Oliver!
Audio recordings include: Dr Who – ‘Cold Vengeance’ The Tenth Doctor Series (Big Finish).
Producer credits include: Mother Goose, An Evening from the West End, The New Adventures of Peter Pan (Nominated for Best Production, Best Scenery Design, Best Costume Design, Best Script and Best Dame at the UK Pantomime Awards 2025), Live & Outrageous, Viva Burlesque! (Mercury Theatre Colchester); Rice & Peas (in association with Blouse & Skirt!); Death Drop (World Premiere, The Garrick Theatre, West End); Tonight at the London Coliseum (Streamed Concerts); 40 Pantomimes (venues include: Chatham, Fareham, Liverpool, Southport, Halifax, Peterborough, Harlow, Barnstaple, Helston, Newark, York, Whitley Bay, Ipswich, Maidstone, Worthing and Salford); Peter Pan – A New Musical (International tour & Royal Hippodrome Theatre, Eastbourne); Grease – The Musical (European tour); Secret Santa: The Frost Files (World Premiere – Royal Hippodrome Theatre, Eastbourne); The Canterville Ghost (International tour); Rapunzel (UK tour); Romeo & Juliet (International tour); Robin Hood (International tour); The Hound of the Baskervilles (UK tour); Alice in Wonderland (UK & European tour); A Midsummer Night’s Dream (International tour); Hamlet (European tour); The Wizard of Oz (UK & European tour); The Lost Dragon (Harlow Playhouse); King Arthur’s Kitchen (USA tour); 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Harlow Playhouse/UK tour); Judy & Liza (UK tour); The Snow Queen (UK tour); Barry Manilow’s Copacabana (Harlow Playhouse/UK tour); Peter Pan – A Rock Musical (European tour); Boris & Ingrid (UK & International tour in association with Mercury Theatre Colchester); An Ideal Husband (European tour); Pride & Prejudice (European tour); The Shakespeare Review (Litchfield Garrick) and Your Nation Loves You (Delirium/Old Vic).
Directorial credits include: The New Adventures of Peter Pan (Mercury Theatre Colchester), Rapunzel (UK tour); Robin Hood (International tour); The Hound of the Baskervilles (UK tour); What Are They Like? (Warwick Arts Centre); Pride & Prejudice (European tour); Snoopy – The Musical, Avenue Q and Me & My Girl (Jersey Opera House); Cinderella (Harlow Playhouse); Peter Pan – A New Musical (International tour); The Lost Dragon (Harlow Playhouse); Cinderella (York Barbican); Ernie’s Incredible Illucinations (Jersey Arts Centre); Accidents Happen (Tristan Bates, London); Stage by Stage (UK tour); Grimm Tales (Jersey Arts Centre); Divas (UK tour); Macbeth (Regional tour) and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Unity Theatre, Liverpool). Writing credits include: Pantomime adaptations of Cinderella; Aladdin; Snow White; The Snow Queen; Treasure Island; Robin Hood; Rapunzel; Peter Pan; Dick Whittington; Sleeping Beauty; Alice in Wonderland; a dramatic adaptation of The Hound of the Baskervilles; world premiere production of Secret Santa: The Frost Files. Dramatic adaptations of A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Romeo & Juliet; The Canterville Ghost; Pride & Prejudice and An Ideal Husband (International touring – English speaking) and J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan (International tour).
Instagram: @antonystuarthicks
Dale Superville
Trevor Trott
Dale Superville
Trevor Trott
Dale thinks he trained!
Theatre credits include: Carter/Wyatt in Witness for the Prosecution (London County Hall); Fawlty Towers (West End); Smee in The New Adventures of Peter Pan, Spud in Sleeping Beauty, Almondé in Beauty and the Beast and Humphrey the Camel in Aladdin (Mercury Theatre); The Wolves of Willoughby Chase (The Minack Theatre, Cornwall); Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland (APL Theatre); Patsy in Spamalot, Idle Jack in Dick Whittington, Wishee Washee in Aladdin, Centipede in James and the Giant Peach, Toad in Wind in the Willows, Muddles in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Day-Z in Jack and the Beanstalk, Miley in Cinderella, Sir Percy Porter in Habeas Corpus, Buttons in Cinderella, Tony Lumpkin in She Stoops To Conquer, Oh What A Lovely War and Dick Whittington (Mercury Theatre Colchester); Scarecrow in OZ (APL Theatre); Forever Young and Grandpa in My Pocket (Nottingham Playhouse/UK tour); Absent Friends, Dick Whittington, Wishee Washee in Aladdin & Fruitella in Cinderella (Watford Palace Theatre); Bottom in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Peter in Romeo and Juliet and Pinocchio (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre); Ariel in the UK tour of Return to the Forbidden Planet (Basingstoke Haymarket); George in The Knight Of The Burning Pestle (Mercury Theatre Colchester/Barbican Theatre); Toad in The Wind In The Willows (Oldham Coliseum); Simply Heavenly (Ambassador Theatre Group and Young Vic); Rumplestilskin (Unicorn Theatre); Epsom Downs (Nuffield Theatre); Doc Faust (Forest Forge); Mother Goose and Cinderella (Salisbury Playhouse); Tom’s Midnight Garden (London and New York); Big Nose (Coventry Belgrade Theatre); Having A Ball, Fings Ain’t What They Used T’be and Of Mice and Men (Queens Theatre Hornchurch); Jungle Book (Redgrave Theatre, Farnham); Aladdin (Salisbury Theatre); Alice in Wonderland, Puss In Boots, The Last Noo – Noo, Stardog, Charlotte’s Web and The Patchwork Quilt (Polka Theatre); Babies (Palace Theatre, Westcliff); You’re Thinking About Doughnuts (Nottingham Playhouse); A Song from the Sea (Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich) and A Lesson To Forgive (The Man in the Moon).
Television credits: Way to Go (BBC3); Nuzzle and Scratch (CBBC); Tick Tock (Disney); The World at Their Feet (Disney Channel); Bill’s New Frock (CH4) and Rainbow Days (ITV).
Voice Over credits: Tony in Doctor Who – The Diary of River Song (BBC) and Sausage in Mimi’s World (CH5).
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