Mother Goose at Lyceum Theatre: Sir Ian McKellen, John Bishop and Mel Giedroyc in starry Sheffield panto cast

Sir Ian McKellen will tread the boards at Sheffield’s Lyceum Theatre in Mother Goose next February, well outside the traditional pantomime season.

The acting legend will be joined by comedian John Bishop and presenter Mel Giedroyc.

When is Mother Goose at Sheffield’s Lyceum Theatre and how can you buy tickets to see Sir Ian McKellen and co?

Mother Goose will be on at the Lyceum Theatre in Sheffield from Tuesday, February 14 to Saturday, February 18, 2023.

Sir Ian will play Mother Goose, with John Bishop appearing as her husband Vic, in what its makers are calling the ‘ultimate theatrical feast’.

Running an animal sanctuary for waifs and strays, they live a wholesome life inside an abandoned Debenhams. But when a magical goose, played by Mel Giedroyc, comes a-knocking, will fame and fortune get the better of them?!

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Audiences are told to prepare themselves for fairies with hefty vocal chords, puppets with tap dance qualifications and ‘impeckably’ constructed mayhem that will make the whole family ‘honk out loud’.

Mother Goose is penned by Coronation Street and Gimme, Gimme Gimme writer Jonathan Harvey, and directed by Cal McCrystal, whom the Guardian has dubbed Britain’s funniest director.

Tickets, priced from £15 for the first night, are available to book now, with performances at 7.30pm on Tuesday, February 14; 2pm and 7.30pm on Wednesday, February 15 and Thursday, February 16; 5pm on Friday, February 17; and 1.30pm and 6.30pm on Saturday, February 18.

The Lyceum’s Christmas panto, Jack and the Beanstalk, features Coronation Street’s Wendi Peters and Britain’s Got Talent star Maxwell Thorpe among its cast.