Stick Man returns with a season of live shows!

The cast of Stick Man. Photo by Mark Senior.

Freckle Productions presents Stick Man, from the book by Julia Donaldson with illustrations by Axel Scheffler. Full casting has been announced for a trio of festive productions and a UK wide tour this autumn – including The Albany Theatre, Coventry (21 – 26 October).

This Christmas, Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler’s beloved Stick Man returns with an exciting new season of live shows. Families across the country can enjoy three magical festive residencies in London, Leeds and Milton Keynes, plus a nationwide tour starting later this month.

'Stick Man lives in the family tree

With his Stick Lady Love

and their stick children three...’

What starts off as a morning jog becomes quite the misadventure for Stick Man: a dog wants to play fetch with him, a swan builds a nest with him, and he even ends up on a fire! How will Stick Man ever get back to the family tree in time for Christmas?

Coming to The Albany Theatre. Photo by Mark Senior.

Stick Man has become a much-loved festive tradition, enchanting audiences in London’s West End and across the UK for more than a decade. This acclaimed adaptation from Freckle Productions, the team behind Zog, The Baddies, and Zog and the Flying Doctors, features a trio of top actors and is packed full of puppetry, songs, live music and funky moves!

For this year’s annual festive residencies, Stick Man will return to its new London home at the Bloomsbury Theatre from Thursday 4 December 2025 – Sunday 4 January 2026. Simultaneously, the show will also run at the Leeds Playhouse from Saturday 6 December 2025 – Sunday 4 January 2026, and the touring production will spend an extended period at The Stables, Milton Keynes from Tuesday 16 December 2025 – Sunday 4 January 2026.

In rehearsals before going on tour. Photo by Mark Senior.

Before Christmas, Stick Man will be embarking on a UK Tour from September 2025. The show will visit at The Old Market Brighton (25-28 September), Gulbenkian Arts Centre Canterbury (30 September -2 October), Chelmsford Theatre (3-5 October), Wycombe Swan Theatre (10-11 October), Yvonne Arnaud Theatre Guildford (16-19 October), The Albany Theatre Coventry (21-26 October), Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch (31 October-2 November), Victoria Theatre Halifax (8-9 November), New Theatre Hull (11-12 November), His Majesty’s Theatre Aberdeen (14-16 November), Eden Court Inverness (17-18 November), Rothes Halls Fife (20-21 November), London artsdepot (28-30 November), MAST Southampton (2-6 December) and The Mill Arts Centre Banbury (9-14 December) before settling in Milton Keynes for Christmas (16 December – 4 January 2026).

A Christmas favourite, The Stick Man. Photo by Mark Senior.

The touring cast features Milan Sangar (Macbeth, Uncle Vanya, Betrayal, Chicken Soup and Barley) as ‘Stick Man’; Ella Tekere (Fame, European Tour, Redlands, Chichester Festival Theatre) as ‘Stick Lady Love’, with Will Hamilton (Mountview Academy of Theatre Art graduate) as actor/musician and Rosie Malone (Stick Man Singapore, UAE & UK Tour, A Soldier’s Woman, and As You Like It) as Swing.

The Leeds company features Sam Makepeace-Beach (Sleeping Beauty, the EMC; Snow White, Maltings Theatre) as ‘Stick Man’, Maya Bassi Curtis (Make It Happen, National Theatre of Scotland, Edinburgh International Festival, Dundee Rep Theatre) as ‘Stick Lady Love’, with Hannah Baker (Pride and Prejudice; The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes) as Swing and Jack Ward (Bridgerton, Netflix) as actor/musician.

The London cast features Shaun Mendum (CATS the Musical; Romeo & Juliet) as ‘Stick Man’, Eleni Papaioannou (Dear Santa, UK Tour; Stick Man, UAE and The Lowry) as ‘Stick Lady Love’, Elizabeth Ellen as Swing and Peter Shipway (Stick Man, The Lowry, Salford) as actor/musician.

Stick Man cast. Photo by Mark Senior.

The creative team includes original director Sally Cookson, director Mark Kane, composer Benji Bower, musical director Brian Hargreaves, assistant director Emily Pollet, designer Katie Sykes lighting designer Eleanor Higgins, production manager Suzie Normand, and costume supervisor Louise Smith.

Stick Man is adapted from the book by Julia Donaldson, the multi award-winning author of some of the world's best loved children's books including The Gruffalo and Zog. Julia is best known for her popular rhyming stories for children, especially those illustrated by Axel Scheffler, which have sold over 75 million copies and have been published in over 100 languages.

Stick Man is a perennial bestseller and has been translated into 23 languages. In 2015, Magic Light Pictures premiered the animated film of Stick Man with an all-star cast including Martin Freeman, Jennifer Saunders and Hugh Bonneville. The film was the 4th most-viewed 2015 Christmas Day TV programme in the UK, and the book went to number one in the children’s chart. Stick Man celebrates its 18th anniversary this year.

Executive producer Jennifer Sutherland said, “Every Christmas, families make Stick Man part of their festive tradition. We’re thrilled to bring his adventures to life again this year, with productions all over the UK. It’s magical to introduce new generations of children to Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler’s world.”

Tickets for all venues can be booked here: https://stickmanonstage.com/