From left, John Bishop, Mel Giedroyc, and Sir Ian McKellen outside the Londoner Hotel, in Leicester Square, for the announcement of a UK tour of the pantomime Mother Goose
(Picture: Yui Mok/PA Wire)Sir Ian McKellen is set to star in his first-ever pantomime this winter, alongside comedians John Bishop and Mel Giedroyc.
The 83-year-old Olivier Award-winning actor will play Mother Goose, while Bishop will play her husband, Vic.
In the panto, they run an animal sanctuary for waifs and strays. But their lives are turned upside down when they meet a magical goose, played by Giedroyc.
The pantomime will open in Brighton before heading to London over the Christmas period, then moving to Liverpool and Oxford in the new year. Find out how to buy tickets to Mother Goose below.
Mother Goose dates and cities
- Theatre Royal Brighton, December 3-11, 2022
- London’s Duke of York’s Theatre, December 15, 2022-January 29, 2023
- Liverpool Empire, February 28-March 4, 2023
- New Theatre Oxford, March 7-11, 2023
Mother Goose tickets and prices
Tickets for Mother Goose range from £13 to £170 and are being sold via ATG Tickets online.
Groups of 10 or more can submit a request online or call 020 7206 1174.
The panto is in London over the Christmas period, though there are no shows on December 24, 25, or 26, nor January 1 or 2.
What has Sir Ian McKellen said about the panto?
Speaking to the PA news agency at a launch event, Sir Ian said: “It is a serious story told comically. It is about good and bad, and of course, good always triumphs in a pantomime.
“It uses every device theatre can offer. There is singing, there is dancing, there is rhyme, there are jokes, there is sentiment, there is audience participation, there is a man dressed as a woman, a woman dressed as a goose.”
He added: “Everything has gone haywire and it is all for the audience to have a good time. That is the only reason you do it.
“But what intrigues me is that it has come out of this country. And America has never seen a panto, as far as I know.”
