News: Further Casting Confirmed for Jack and the Beanstalk at Newcastle Theatre Royal

 Further Casting Confirmed for Jack and the Beanstalk at Newcastle Theatre Royal

Newcastle Theatre Royal has confirmed further casting for its 2026 Christmas pantomime, Jack and the Beanstalk, and the announcement brings a neat twist for regular panto-goers: several familiar faces are swapping the roles they are best known for.

Mick Potts, Wayne Smith, Rachel Stanley and Oonagh Cox will join the previously confirmed Danny Adams and Clive Webb, who take on Jack and Farmer Trot, alongside Chris Hayward as Dame Trott and Joe McElderry, who returns as the Spirit of the Beans. The show is written and directed once again by Michael Harrison, and runs at the Grey Street venue from Tuesday 24 November 2026 to Sunday 17 January 2027.

A cast that's swapping sides

What makes this year's announcement worth a second look is not just who is coming back, but where they are being placed. Last year's Aladdin leaned heavily into variety and self-aware silliness, built around Danny Adams and Clive Webb's father-son double act and largely stepping away from a straight narrative. Our review of that production noted a show that prioritised laughs, warmth and spectacle over traditional storytelling, and one that clearly worked for its audience.

Wayne Smith

Jack and the Beanstalk looks set to lean back towards a more traditional shape, and the new casting reflects that. Wayne Smith, previously seen playing benign figures such as Old King Cole in Aladdin and King Triton in The Little Mermaid, switches sides completely this year to play Fleshcreep, the story's villain. Rachel Stanley moves in the opposite direction. Having played the Wicked Witch of Wallsend in last year's show, she takes on The Queen for 2026, a considerably softer role than the one Newcastle audiences last saw her in.

Mick Potts

Mick Potts, a fixture of the Theatre Royal panto for well over a decade, steps into the panto cow role of Pat the Cow. It is a part built around physical comedy rather than dialogue, which suits a performer audiences will remember for his non-speaking turn as the Genie in Aladdin. This will be his fifteenth pantomime at the venue, a run that says a good deal about how well he has bedded in with Newcastle audiences over the years.

Oonagh Cox

Completing the newly announced cast is Oonagh Cox as Princess Jill. Cox previously played the title role in the Theatre Royal's 2022 Cinderella, and has since built a West End and touring CV that includes Matilda the Musical, Bonnie & Clyde and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Her return puts a proven musical theatre performer in the show's romantic lead alongside Danny Adams' Jack.

What stays the same

The engine room of the production is unchanged. Danny Adams and Clive Webb continue as the pantomime's central double act, Chris Hayward returns as Dame, and Joe McElderry is back as the show's on-stage narrator figure, the Spirit of the Beans. These four have been central to the reasons the Theatre Royal panto has built such a loyal following, and their return gives the show a consistent core while the surrounding cast rotates through new roles.

Michael Harrison remains as writer and director, continuing the run of new productions he has built for the venue in recent years. Where Aladdin was constructed as a loose, reference-heavy celebration built around a big anniversary, Jack and the Beanstalk gives the same production team and cast a story with a clearer shape: Jack must sell the family cow, climbs the beanstalk to Cloudland, and takes on the giant to win back his family's fortune.

Performance details & Tickets

Jack and the Beanstalk runs at Newcastle Theatre Royal from Tuesday 24 November 2026 to Sunday 17 January 2027. Access performances have already been scheduled, including relaxed performances on Sunday 6 December at 12pm and Wednesday 6 January at 12pm, an audio described performance with touch tour on Tuesday 8 December at 7pm, BSL interpreted and captioned performances on Thursday 10 December at 2pm and 7pm, and a further BSL interpreted performance on Sunday 13 December at 1pm.

Rachel Stanley

Tickets are available from www.theatreroyal.co.uk or by calling the Theatre Royal Box Office on 0191 232 7010. Given how quickly the Theatre Royal panto tends to sell, particularly in the run-up to the Christmas holidays, early booking is worth considering for anyone planning a visit.