One of East Hampshire’s most loved am-dram groups is reaching for the skies with its New Year panto.

The Winton Players will begin 2026 with their heads in the clouds as they’re bringing Jack and the Beanstalk to the Petersfield Festival Hall stage.

People who book tickets to “Petersfield’s Proper Panto” can expect a family-friendly mix of songs and silliness when the curtain rises next Friday, January 9.

There’s also a first according to director Sarah Whitaker, with many asking how the group will bring the magic beanstalk to life on stage.

She said: “We haven’t done JATB for quite a while and I chose it well over a year ago.

“We looked at quite a few scripts and after reading a couple of pages of this one, and laughing a couple of times, I could see how it would work.

“The question we’ve been asked the most is ‘how are we going to do the beanstalk’ to which I say – with magic.

“We’re also going to have a tap dancing cow, which is the first for the Winton Players, but there’s so much more.”

Jess and Chloe Bryant will make bovine theatrical history as Daisy while George Pinhorn and Karla Welch have landed the roles of Jack and Princess Demelza, respectively.

Joff Lacey will bring a woman’s touch as the Dame, Paula Currie is the eco-Fairy, Ben Wade is Simple Simon while Phill Humphries has gone bad as Slimeball, with him and Giant Blunderbore determined to cut Jack down to earth.

Watch out for John Whitaker and Nikolai Gibbons playing varying levels of royalty in the panto written Ben Crocker.

The two Friday shows will begin at 7.30pm with Saturday performances at 1pm and 6pm and a Sunday matinee at 2pm. Visit www.festivalhall.co.uk for timings and tickets.