Experience the magic of theatre with the Early Bird offer for 'Puss in Boots', following Rapunzel's success at the Torch Theatre.

Featuring lots of local talent, the hair-larious 2025 pantomime delighted audiences of all ages from across Pembrokeshire and beyond, and it was agreed that once again artistic director Chelsey Gillard had excelled herself. In the words of Torch Theatre community reviewers, Val Ruloff and Liam Dearden, “the script was buzzing with the humming sound of a swarm of jokes flying in thick and fast, bubbling to overflow (much like Periwinkle the Sea Sprite).”

They also praised the musical score by James Williams.

“The music, in combination with the scenes and sets, gave rise to some great set pieces and double acts- including the fabulous Bay Wash pop/ rock group in the making- featuring the vocal talents, phantom guitar and drum playing skills of Prince Nathaniel of Neyland and Dame Belinda Beehive.”

Chelsey said: “It was uplifting seeing so many coming to see Rapunzel – from schools to families. We had more entries than ever into our design competition - over 400! And we loved coming along on the Milford Lantern Parade. The whole company enjoyed having your help on their undersea adventure; booing, hissing, singing and dancing along.”

Over 3,000 school children from across Pembrokeshire saw the pantomime and six schools were successful in their bid in getting financial help towards attending the pantomime from the Arts Council of Wales Go and See Fund.

Tim Howe, who overseas educational outreach at the Torch, said: “We were thrilled to see our auditorium filled with so many young people this Christmas. We know that pantomime is often the first spark of theatrical magic for a young person.”

“We are grateful to the Arts Council for recognising the important role we play in introducing young people to the arts and helping to make these visits possible,” he added. “Our commitment to these students continues beyond the curtain call, as every school receives a dedicated resource pack to bring the themes of the panto to life in the classroom. We can’t wait to do it all again next year!”

And now that the curtains have closed once again on the festivities, plans for the 2026 pantomime are well under way. Brush up on your line dancing moves for Puss in Boots (with a whisker of Western adventure) this December. Can Puss help our heroes find fame and fur-tune? In Wild West Wales anything is possible! Pull on your cowboy boots and head to this meow-sical extravaganza to find out.

A special Early Bird offer is currently available for this brand-new pantomime with original songs and more local references than you can shake your tail at. So be sure to get the best seats at the best prices right now; it’s going to be the cat’s pyjamas.

Relaxed Environment Performance is on Saturday, December 19 at 2pm; BSL Interpreted Performance on Tuesday, December 22 at 6pm.

Visit www.torchtheatre.co.uk or call 01646 695267.