Gandeys Halloween Spooktacular runs 10 October to 1 November in the Trafford Centre's P7 car park. Show times, tickets from £9.99 and the acts on the bill.
Gandeys Circus is putting its Big Top back up at the Trafford Centre for a new Halloween show. The Gandeys Halloween Spooktacular runs from Saturday 10 October to Sunday 1 November 2026 in the P7 car park, M17 8AA, and it plays every day of the Trafford half term, which runs 26 to 30 October.
The producer, Gandey World Class Productions, sent us the announcement and its media pack. It says the 2026 production is brand new, with “an extraordinary cast of international circus artistes” and acts that were not in last year’s show.
What is in the show
The company lists five headline acts:
- Hair hanging: an aerial artiste performs suspended entirely by her hair.
- The high wire.
- Motorbike riders inside the Big Top.
- The Russian Swing, where performers are launched into the air from a giant swinging platform.
- Duo Polischuk on aerial straps, high above the ring.
All of it sits inside what Gandeys calls its Halloween world: circus mixed with comedy, music and “plenty of seasonal surprises”. The pitch to families is a mix of frights and laughs rather than a horror show.
A spokesperson for Gandey World Class Productions told us:
“Spooktacular is one of those shows where we can really have fun. It has all the excitement and spectacle people expect from Gandeys, but Halloween allows us to give everything a slightly mischievous twist.
“This year we have an exceptional international cast and some genuinely breathtaking acts. From performers flying from the Russian Swing and walking the high wire to motorbikes, hair hanging and the incredible Duo Polischuk, there are moments when audiences simply won’t know where to look.
“It’s Halloween, but very much Gandeys-style. Spectacular, exciting, funny and designed for the whole family to enjoy together.”
Fancy dress is welcome, the company says, but “certainly not compulsory”.
Show times
Gandeys’ Trafford Spooktacular page gives this timetable (checked 28 September 2026):
| Date | Shows |
|---|---|
| Saturday 10 October | 12 noon, 2.30pm and 5.30pm |
| Sunday 11 October | 2.30pm and 5.30pm |
| Monday 12 to Thursday 15 October | No shows |
| Friday 16 October | 5.30pm only |
| Saturdays and Sundays | 2.30pm and 5.30pm |
| Monday 19 to Thursday 22 October | No shows |
| Friday 23 October | 5.30pm only |
| Monday 26 to Friday 30 October (half term) | 2.30pm and 5.30pm daily |
| Sunday 1 November | 12 noon and 2.30pm |
The on-site box office is open daily from 10am to 7pm, on 07878 228403. Online booking closes three hours before each show; after that, tickets may still be available at the box office.
Ticket prices
The same page lists prices “from”, and warns that demand-based pricing is in operation, so they can change. Every ticket carries a £1.95 booking fee.
| Seat | From |
|---|---|
| Side | £9.99 |
| Circle | £14.99 |
| Grandstand | £17.99 |
| Ringside | £25 |
| Premium Ringside | £35 |
Family tickets cover two adults and two under-16s, or one adult and three under-16s. The page gives two sets of family prices: £60 Grandstand, £80 Ringside and £112 Premium Ringside in its offers box, and £64, £85 and £120 in its price table. Check the figure at the point of booking.
The page also advertises an opening-night offer of £9.99 for all seats (with a £4 supplement on Ringside), dated “Friday 10th October”. The first night, 10 October, is a Saturday this year, so confirm with the box office which performance the offer covers before you book around it.
Getting there
The Big Top is in the P7 car park at the Trafford Centre, postcode M17 8AA. The company describes the Spooktacular as “an October tradition for families across Greater Manchester and beyond” and says Gandeys has become “a familiar sight” at the centre.
Families heading over during half term from Altrincham should note that the Altrincham tram line is shut that week: our half-term roundup has the replacement options.
Watch the trailer
Gandeys sent this trailer, which is from the 2025 Spooktacular.
What it means for you
- Dates: 10 October to 1 November 2026, with no shows from Monday to Thursday in the two weeks before half term.
- Half term: two shows a day, 26 to 30 October.
- Tickets: from £9.99 plus a £1.95 booking fee, via gandeyscircus.com or the box office on 07878 228403.
- Later in the year: Gandeys’ tour dates list a separate show, Snowstorm, at The Clearing Event Space at the Trafford Centre from 4 December to 3 January.
More for the holiday week: things to do in Altrincham.
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