Curtain Up! A round-up of Cornwall’s Christmas shows

Enjoy seasonal entertainment from pantomime to choral music and classical ballet

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1. Treasure Island, at the Hall For Cornwall until December 31, stars Edward Rowe (aka Kernow King) as Long John Silver and is packed to the gunnels with songs you’ll know and enough silly jokes to make the sternest pirate giggle. Ooo-arr! www.hallforcornwall.co.uk

2. In Miracle Theatre’s Sleeping Beauty, the well-known fairy tale is given the Miracle treatment! At the Cornwall Riviera Holiday Camp in 1959, the Yellowjackets are bursting to entertain the campers with their mangled version of this classic story, following the adventures of a resourceful princess with insomnia when a resentful fairy’s wicked spell goes horribly wrong. Age 7+. December 8 to 11, Guildhall, St Ives; December 15 to 31, Princess Pavilion, Falmouth. www.miracletheatre.co.uk

3. Sit back and enjoy The Royal Ballet on the big screen, as Peter Wright’s spectacular production of The Nutcracker comes to Cornish cinemas. Created in 1984, it remains true to the spirit of the original Russian classic, set to Tchaikovsky’s irresistible score and featuring sweeping snowscapes, magical stagecraft and a showstopping series of dances performed in the dream-like Land of Sweets. It will be broadcast live from Covent Garden on December 8, and will be shown at selected Cornish cinemas including Newquay Lighthouse and Redruth Regal.

4. ‘Owdyado Theatre’s Twisted Christmas is a darkly comic evening of seven macabre mini plays all with a festive flavour: how to buy the perfect gift for your unloved ones, the dark side of Christmas cracker jokes, and one woman’s maniacal plot to murder Santa Claus. Suitable for 14+. Saturday December 10: Blisland Village Hall; December 11: Cornish Bank, Falmouth; December 14: St Austell Arts Centre; December 16: Launceston Town Hall; December 17: Perranporth Memorial Hall; December 28: St Mawes Memorial Hall. www.owdyado.co.uk

5. The Christmassy Christmas Show of Christmassy Christmasness is a delightfully silly one-man show from Squashbox Theatre. Saturday, December 10, The Old Library, Bodmin; December 11, Princess Pavilion & Gyllyngdune Gardens, Falmouth; December 17, Minack Theatre (indoors); December 22, The Acorn, Penzance.

6. The Mediaeval Baebes perform Christmas carol classics, traditional folksongs and arrangements from their new MydWynter album at Truro Cathedral on December 15. A spirited show of beguiling choral music backed by exotic and period instruments. www.mediaevalbaebes.com

7. Near-ta Theatre’s cult comedy Christmas.Time. returns to The Poly in Church Street. Charlie and Toby are in the clink on Christmas Day. What’s stopping them from creating Christmas around them? Absolutely nothing! Join them in their festival of carols, Claus, Christ and custody... December 15 to 18, 20 to 23. www.thepoly.org The Alverton, Truro, December 27.

8. David Mynne performs Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol as a mesmerising oneman show. Suitable for age 8+. St Ives Guildhall, December 17; Acorn Penzance, December 23. www.mynne.com l