Here are some of the festive shows to look out for in Yorkshire's theatres this Christmas

Sheffield has for some time now pulled off an impressive trick of raising its already very high standards for its Christmas shows. The likes of My Fair Lady, Oliver! and Show Boat have given audiences in Steel City a festive thrill over the past decade and it’s a tradition that looks set to continue with She Loves Me.

Sheffield Theatres’ artistic director Robert Hastie has been programming the three spaces he runs with a sense of constant surprise and he pulls another one out of the bag with a musical that, while lesser known than some titles that could have been plumped for, has enjoyed runs in the West End and on Broadway since its 1963 American premiere.

It also has impressive bones – the team behind Fiddler on the Roof and Cabaret were behind this script that inspired the Tom Hanks-Meg Ryan movie You’ve Got Mail.

It tells the story of Amalia and Georg, who work together in a parfumerie in a picturesque Hungarian town and constantly clash with each other, little knowing that they are each other’s secret lonely heart correspondents.

With a countdown to Christmas an integral part of the plot, it is a perfect show for this time of year. Hastie, in the director’s chair for the production, says: “Our Christmas musical this year promises to be a glorious, heart-warming swirl of festive joy. It’s a classic story of true love flourishing where you least expect it, set amid the bustle of December shoppers. We really can’t wait to present a Christmas treat on the Crucible stage this winter.”

In another smart piece of programming, Leeds Playhouse has come together with a Japanese theatre, Bunkamura in Tokyo, for a new production of Wendy and Peter Pan. The adaptation of the JM Barrie classic retells the story from the point of view of Wendy, the most sensible of the Darling children at the heart of the tale.

Directors Jonathan Munby and Rupert Hands are alongside highly regarded designer Colin Richmond and Japanese composer Shuhei Kamimura. The result is a show with flying, jokes and Japanese video artistry bringing a new take on a British classic.

Munby says: “This show comes hot foot from Tokyo where it played alongside the Olympics to capacity audiences and rave reviews. It’s a unique cultural hybrid of the very best creatives from both the UK and Japan. It’s a production that has so far been a truly inspiring, international collaboration. We can’t wait to share this fresh new reimagining of a classic with the audiences in Leeds this Christmas.”

The Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough has been incredibly resilient all the way through the pandemic, fighting to make sure it could stay open, safely, while Covid raged. It has taken steps with its Christmas show this year to continue that, with around two shows a week during the run of Jack and the Beanstalk being performed to socially distanced audiences.

I know what you’re thinking: yes, Jack and the Beanstalk is a popular pantomime story, but in the hands of Nick Lane in Scarborough it becomes a Pixar-ian smart joke of a show, aimed at children but with a tip of the hat towards the bigger kids in the audience.

There is a rumour sweeping Scarborough that a giant has built a giant castle above the coastal clouds of the town and he is the meanest giant there ever was.

With typical Nick Lane irreverence, it transpires that the story of the giant is just that – a story made up by a young boy called Jack. Composer Simon Slater has written songs for the show which receives its world premiere this month. A visit to the coast is worth it if only for the impressive beanstalk that runs from the entrance into the theatre.

Leeds Grand Theatre would usually host a performance of The Nutcracker at this time of year, but for this festive season the theatre has pushed the, well, bed out for a big Disney musical which runs at the venue for the whole of December.

Bedknobs and Broomsticks, featuring songs by the legendary Sherman Brothers, has been brought to the stage by Candice Edmunds and Jamie Harrison.

It tells the story of three orphaned children who are evacuated from wartime London and sent to live with Eglantine Price, who they have no idea is a witch in training with a very unusual bed.

A similar tale is being told out east at Hull Truck, where Mark Babych is bringing a new version of Mike Kenny’s adaptation of The Railway Children to life, news of which we brought to these pages last week. The play has been a runaway hit in previous years, this new production adding music to the mix might even raise that bar a little higher.

There are other performances to be found in various venues this festive season, but even with increased restrictions, everyone will surely be breathing a sigh of relief from within the industry that this most vital of periods is witnessing performances once again.

Festive shows around the region

She Loves Me: Sheffield Crucible, a musical love story, to January 15. 0114 2496000.

Wendy and Peter, the J M Barrie classic told from Wendy’s point of view, Leeds Playhouse, to January 22. 0113 2137700.

Jack and the Beanstalk, Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, a traditional pantomime story is given a contemporary twist, to December 31. 01723 370541.

Bedknobs and Broomsticks, Leeds Grand Theatre to January 2. 0113 243 0808

The Railway Children, Hull Truck Theatre, a perennial favourite, to January 2. 01482 323628.