Scottish Theatre Highlights: January 2026
Scottish theatre in January eases us out of festive excess and into a colder, more contemplative moment
There are still pantos clinging on, but on the whole, January in Scottish theatre is leaning toward classic adaptations, gothic chills and dance for people decidedly done with the holidays.
A few festive favourites linger into the New Year, though. Edinburgh’s Festival Theatre sees Jack and the Beanstalk run until 11 January, with Jack scaling a beanstalk of truly heroic proportions in a final burst of post-Christmas panto. Over in Glasgow, Scottish Ballet opens the month with The Snow Queen at the Theatre Royal (until 17 Jan), a winter spectacle set to Rimsky-Korsakov’s shimmery score. It’s a fitting bridge between December’s fairytales and January’s more sober pleasures.
Jack and the Beanstalk. Photo: Greg Macvean
Comedy arrives mid-month with Fawlty Towers: The Play, which tours to both The King’s Theatre, Glasgow (13-17 Jan), and The Edinburgh Playhouse (27-31 Jan). Adapted from one of Britain’s most beloved sitcoms, the production promises a dose of manic nostalgia, misunderstandings and Basil Fawlty at his most exasperated.
Drama takes a sharper turn at the Royal Lyceum Theatre with The Shawshank Redemption (20-24 Jan), a stage adaptation of the film (and Stephen King novella) that foregrounds hope, endurance and human connection in dire circumstances. It runs parallel to The Woman in Black at the Theatre Royal in Glasgow (20-24 Jan), the long-running gothic classic proving how little is needed to terrify an audience beyond atmosphere and a good story.
Dance lovers are particularly attended to as the month presses on. Matthew Bourne’s The Red Shoes lands at The King’s Theatre (27-31 Jan) with his psychologically rich reworking of the Powell and Pressburger film. Meanwhile, the Varna International Ballet and Orchestra brings classical spectacles to Glasgow’s SEC Armadillo, with Swan Lake (23 and 24 Jan) and The Nutcracker (24 Jan matinee), part of an extensive UK tour showcasing traditional ballet at its most opulent.
Swan Lake. Photo: Andy Ross
From fairytales to ghost stories and bouts of hope through the bleak, January’s theatre pickings might be slim, but promise to start the year wide awake.