Three Chelmsford children aged 6 to 11 wrote the welcome lines Cinderella audiences will hear this Christmas. The theatre says over 75% of panto seats are already sold.

Three local children have won Chelmsford Theatre’s Voice of Panto competition for 2026. Their recorded one-liners will greet audiences in the bars and foyer before every performance of Cinderella this Christmas.

The winners are Lucy, aged 11, Thea, aged 10, and Charlotte, aged 6. The theatre said their jokes about glass slippers, pumpkin carriages and ticking clocks stood out from a record number of entries (Chelmsford City Council).

How the competition works

Voice of Panto is in its third year. It asks children aged 5 to 11 to rewrite the theatre’s pre-show announcements for that year’s pantomime. The three winners then recorded their lines in a sound booth built on the theatre’s main stage.

Megan Crisp, the theatre’s creative engagement officer, said: “Choosing just three winners was really difficult, but Lucy, Thea and Charlotte’s lines stood out for their bold humour and clever nods to the Cinderella story.”

Rhys Thomas, the theatre’s director, said panto “is often the first taste of live theatre for many young children”.

What it means for you

  • Cinderella runs from Friday 27 November 2026 to Sunday 3 January 2027 at Chelmsford Theatre on Fairfield Road.
  • Seats are going. The council said on 6 November that more than 75% of seats were already sold, three weeks before opening.
  • Tickets are on the Chelmsford Theatre website.

Our Chelmsford pantomime page has the cast, every show time, prices from £19.50, family tickets and the relaxed, captioned and BSL-interpreted performances.

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