Culture

Award-winning Welsh playwright brings new children’s Christmas show to Cardiff

07 Oct 2026 4 minute read

Director Elan Isaac and playwright Jennifer Lunn

Nation.Cymru staff

A new Christmas production for young children set to open in the Sherman Theatre this November.

Sherman Theatre’s new Christmas production for younger children, Pinocchio, will be a brand new version of Carlo Collodi’s classic tale, in which the iconic puppet yearns to be good, kind and true – a real boy.

It is written by award-winning playwright Jennifer Lunn with a Welsh translation by Hanna Jarman and will tour venues across south Wales November 2026-January 2027, including a six-week run at the Sherman in Cardiff.

Lunn’s debut play Es & Flo won the Nancy Dean Lesbian Playwriting Prize in 2022 and the Popcorn Group New Writing Award in 2020. Lunn’s play Core was shortlisted for the RSC 37 Plays project in 2023, the Papatango Prize in 2022 and the Women’s Prize for Playwriting in 2021.

Last year, she wrote The Pilot in collaboration with Sherman’s Introduction to Playwriting participants; it was performed by the Sherman Youth Theatre in Spring 2025. Pinocchio sees Lunn making her debut at the Studio.

Pinocchio will be directed by Elan Isaac (Relay, Leila Navabi, Sherman Theatre, Pleasance & TEAM Collective Cymru; Gwen yr Arth Wen, Glesni Price-Jones) – making her directorial debut for the Sherman.

The creative team also includes Designer Delyth Evans (My Normal F***ing Sex Life, Newport Riverfront), Composer and Music Director Jak Poore (Goldilocks / Elen Benfelen, Sherman Theatre), Lighting Designer Ceri James (The Frog Prince / Biwti a Brogs, Sherman Theatre & Theatr Cymru) and Sound Designer Tic Ashfield (Hot Chicks, Sherman Theatre & Grand Ambition). Gethin Roberts is the Welsh Language Trainee Director in association with Theatr Cymru.

Both the English and Welsh versions are performed by a cast of two actor-musicians; Niamh Moulton’s credits include Wales Millennium Centre, Frân Wen, Arad Goch, Theatr Cymru, S4C and Cwmni Mega, while Elis Owen‘s credits include the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and Boom Cymru. He was a Carlton Hobbs Finalist in 2026.

The show is aimed at audiences aged three to six. Pinocchio longs to be real so he can explore the big wide world. He wants to be ‘good, kind and true’, but after a tiny fib makes his nose grow, he runs away on a whirlwind adventure of snowballs, silly games, mischievous new friends, and chaotic fun. Will he learn the difference between right and wrong and make it home in time for Christmas?

Lunn said: “Writing this show has been such a delight and a privilege! And to be working with the brilliant Elan and this extraordinary team of creatives and performers is just a dream come true. I hope everyone falls as much in love with these characters as I have.”

Isaac added: “I’m so excited to direct Pinocchio! Jennifer Lunn’s words jump off the page and it’s a story full of emotion, magic and fun. I can’t wait to work with our wonderful cast – Elis Owen and Niamh Moulton – and the rest of the amazing team, to bring the story to life.”

Over more than 40 years, Sherman Theatre’s Christmas productions have introduced generations of children from across south Wales to the magic of theatre, with engaging new takes on classic stories. In recent years, the company’s Studio Christmas shows have traditionally offered a joyous, contemporary twist on a much-loved fairytale, alongside a larger-scale show in the Main House for older children.

This year, as well as the touring productions of Pinocchio, Sherman are producing The Merry Adventures of Maid Marian, a rip-roaring new take on the famous tales of Robin Hood for young audiences aged 7+ and their families, performed in the Main House, 27 Nov 2026-2 Jan 2027.

You can buy tickets here.

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