Hercules plays Boxmoor Playhouse 4 to 13 December; Tring's Sleeping Beauty runs 29 Dec to 3 Jan from £12. Every panto and Christmas show in Dacorum.

Hemel Hempstead’s pantomime this year is Hercules the Panto at the Boxmoor Playhouse, on 4, 5, 6, 11, 12 and 13 December 2026, staged by Hemel Hempstead Theatre Company (HH Theatre Co). Tring’s annual panto, Sleeping Beauty, runs at the DEMBE Theatre from 29 December to 3 January, with tickets from £12 (DEMBE Theatre).

The quick answer

  • Hemel Hempstead: Hercules the Panto, Boxmoor Playhouse, 4 to 13 December.
  • Tring: Sleeping Beauty, DEMBE Theatre, 29 December to 3 January, from £12.
  • Berkhamsted: no pantomime on sale at the Centenary Theatre yet; its Christmas family shows are listed below.

Every panto and Christmas family show in Dacorum

Show Where Dates From
Hercules the Panto Boxmoor Playhouse, St John’s Road, Hemel 4 to 13 Dec Not published
Elf the Musical DEMBE Theatre, Tring 2 to 5 Dec £13
The Pixie and the Christmas Pudding Old Town Hall, Hemel 12 to 24 Dec £9
Rod Campbell’s Dear Santa Live! Centenary Theatre, Berkhamsted 13 Dec, 1.30pm Box office
The Snowman with live brass band Centenary Theatre, Berkhamsted 19 Dec, 11am and 1.30pm Box office
Sleeping Beauty DEMBE Theatre, Tring 29 Dec to 3 Jan £12
There’s a Monster in Your Christmas Show Centenary Theatre, Berkhamsted 30 Dec to 3 Jan Box office

Hercules the Panto, Boxmoor Playhouse

“A tale of heroism, hilarity and hummus!” Hades wants to take over the world, and Boxmoor, and Hercules needs the audience’s help to stop him. The company calls it “our big, fat Greek panto” (HH Theatre Co).

  • Dates: Friday 4 to Sunday 6, and Friday 11 to Sunday 13 December 2026.
  • Times: Friday evenings, doors 6.45pm, curtain 7.30pm. Matinees, doors 11.45am, curtain 12.30pm. Weekend evenings, doors 5.45pm, curtain 6.30pm.
  • Accessible shows: the Saturday 5 December matinee is BSL interpreted. The company lists the relaxed performance as “Saturday 11th” matinee, but 11 December 2026 is a Friday, so check the date on the relaxed-performance booking link before you buy.
  • Tickets: through the company’s TicketSource box office. Prices are not shown on its own page.

Sleeping Beauty, DEMBE Theatre, Tring

Tring Arts Trust’s panto features “familiar faces and some new ones too, with not a celebrity in sight”, and the audience is invited on stage at the end. It runs about 2 hours including the interval and is suitable for all ages (DEMBE Theatre).

Date Times
Tue 29 Dec to Thu 31 Dec 1pm and 5pm
Fri 1 Jan 1pm (relaxed performance) and 5pm
Sat 2 and Sun 3 Jan 1pm and 5pm

Tickets start at £12. When we checked on 25 September, every performance still had between 110 and 182 seats available. The theatre is at Penny Royal Court, Station Road, Tring HP23 5QY.

Earlier in December, Tring Theatre Company stages Elf the Musical at the same theatre, 2 to 5 December, from £13, about 2 hours 20 minutes. The Saturday 5 December matinee had the fewest seats left, 48 (DEMBE Theatre).

The Pixie and the Christmas Pudding, Old Town Hall

Not a panto but the Old Town Hall’s Christmas show: Little Angel Theatre’s puppet musical from Scandinavian folklore, 45 minutes, for ages 5 and up. It runs from Saturday 12 to Thursday 24 December with up to three shows a day (11am, 2pm and 4.30pm; 11am and 1.30pm on Christmas Eve). Prices start at £9, and a £40 family ticket for four covers the 12 and 13 December shows only. Relaxed performances are at 2pm on Sunday 13 December and 4.30pm on Friday 18 December (The Old Town Hall). Box office: 01442 228091.

Berkhamsted: no panto this year so far

The Centenary Theatre at Berkhamsted School lists no pantomime for December 2026 on its box office, and its panto website, berkopanto.co.uk, would not load when we checked. Its Christmas family programme is Rod Campbell’s Dear Santa Live! on Sunday 13 December at 1.30pm, The Snowman screened with Amersham Band playing Howard Blake’s score on Saturday 19 December at 11am and 1.30pm, and Tom Fletcher’s There’s a Monster in Your Christmas Show, a 55-minute musical, with eight performances from 30 December to 3 January (Events at Berkhamsted box office).

Still to be confirmed

  • Ticket prices for Hercules, and the true date of its relaxed performance.
  • Whether the Centenary Theatre adds a 2026 pantomime.

This page will be updated when either is published.

Elsewhere on Hemel Hempstead Live

Sources