Looking for the best Christmas show in Tayside in Fife this year? Oh, yes you are!
Luckily, we’ve spoken to the heroes and dames who are putting on this year’s winter plays and pantos from deepest Perthshire to furthest Fife.
Will you be an Oor Wullie family, up to all sorts in Dundee? Or perhaps see a tale as old as time at the Byre?
Find which festive show will best suit your family below:
Dundee: Oor Wullie
“Oor Wullie was a massive hit for us last time, on home turf in Dundee and on an extensive tour across Scotland,” says Andrew Panton, director of Dundee Rep’s stage version of the DC Thomson comic classic.
“We knew we wanted to bring it back, but we didn’t know quite when.”
The four-year wait has given writers Scott Gilmour and Claire McKenzie a chance to make changes.
“Now the central conceit of the story is a Pakistani Scottish family, the parents have split up, the daughter Nilo (RoMaya Jay) lives with her mum in London and her dad lives in Dundee, and she’s disconnected from her Scottish heritage,” says Panton.
“The show is about her reconnecting with that.
“A lot of the set pieces and songs are the same, but the narrative’s different. We wanted to look at what Scottish culture has meant across the life of Oor Wullie.
“He’s 85 now, and a lot of the songs in the piece span all those decades. It’s about relationships, it’s about how we can help each other and it’s an absolutely great night out with cracking songs.
“It’s very funny, too.”
Oor Wullie is at Dundee Rep Theatre from Saturday November 23 to Monday December 30 2024. dundeerep.co.uk
Perth: Mother Goose
“Audiences will love the geese costumes,” says Helen Logan, the returning villain in Perth Theatre’s panto.
“There’s also a lot of egg jokes. There’s a lot of egg research going on, actually. I’m sitting in the stage management office and there are eggs everywhere.”
It isn’t Easter – just a new version of Mother Goose, which Perth’s regular writer and panto dame Barrie Hunter will inevitably dose up with frantic, madcap energy. Back for her seventh year, Logan plays Greta Garbage.
“Barrie has a winning formula with this audience, definitely,” she says. “There’s nothing too crude or too rude about it, it’s just a really good all-round family panto. And I’m not too scary, I think I’m quite a funny baddy.
“The costume department here are great, I’ve got huge shoulder pads and I’m very purple this year. I look like a big purple Quality Street.”
Mother Goose is at Perth Theatre, Friday November 29 to Tuesday December 31. perththeatreandconcerthall.com
St Andrews: Beauty and the Beast
“Beauty and the Beast is one of my favourite fairy tales, which is partly why we’re doing it,” says Gordon Barr, director of the Byre Theatre’s panto once again this year.
“I love it because it’s full of romance and drama. This year it’s a race for the goodies to save the whole idea of love in our panto world of Fantasia.”
This year marks the tenth anniversary of Bard in the Botanics producing the Byre’s panto, and Barr says it’s a special experience.
“It’s a beautiful theatre to do panto in,” he says.
“The cast say when they’re onstage they feel like they can reach every audience member, that they’re really connected.
“It’s a small theatre and we don’t have huge effects, so what we need is to tell the audience a really good story and get them invested. I think that’s what’s special about the Byre panto – and of course, St Andrews is a beautiful place to spend Christmas.”
Beauty and the Beast is at the Byre Theatre, St Andrews, from Thursday November 28 to Tuesday December 31. byretheatre.com
Dunfermline: Jack and the Beanstalk
“The stand-out for me when I first arrived here four years ago was the theatre itself,” says Ian ‘Sheepie’ Smith, who returns to Dunfermline’s Alhambra this year as Silly Billy.
“It’s magnificent and heaped in character,” he says.
“As a comic I try and include everyone, so there’s jokes for kids, jokes for adults, jokes that will go over the kids’ heads. We try and cater for all ages.”
This Jack and the Beanstalk, he adds, has “a Wild West twist, which is the first time I’ve done something like that. It’s going to be full of comedy, full of songs, full of massive special effects and with a really good cast as well.
“Honestly, it’s going to be a fantastic treat for everyone.”
Jack and the Beanstalk is at the Alhambra Theatre, Dunfermline, from December 6-28. alhambradunfermline.com
Kirkcaldy: Sleeping Beauty
Colin Little’s role in Sleeping Beauty, this year’s panto at Adam Smith Theatre, is the wonderfully-named nursing Dame Philippa Bedpan.
“Now I have to endeavour to make the character as good as the name,” he laughs. Little first played the Adam Smith panto in 2012.
“I’ve been cast in pantos all over the country, and very fortunate to play every single role,” he says.
“I’ve been the leading man, the baddie, an ugly sister, the comedy sidekick and now I’m stepping up to the big role.
“This year you can expect the usual mixture of comedy, big dance numbers, traditional slapstick routines and a lot of spectacle.
“Forty-two shows in 26 days it can be a tiring experience, no matter how much you enjoy your job, but the Kirkcaldy audience’s fabulous energy really helps drive us home. It genuinely is an absolute pleasure.”
Sleeping Beauty is at the Adam Smith Theatre, Kirkcaldy, from December 4-30. onfife.com
Pitlochry: The Sound of Music
“This show is the most beautiful thing I’ve been involved in for a long time,” says Sally Cheng, who plays Liesl, the eldest Von Trapp child, in Pitlochry Festival Theatre’s new production of The Sound of Music.
“All the performers are actor-musicians, we’ve got a full orchestral score going on, the production is beautiful and has lots of heart. We’re really excited to share it with people.”
It’s also artistic director Elizabeth Newman’s final show at Pitlochry, before Alan Cumming takes over.
“I think everybody should come and see her brilliance,” says Cheng.
“She retains the joy and the heart of what is an absolutely Christmas classic, but she really allows you as an actor to get into the characters.
“I remembered the film as a musical with some nice songs in it, but it’s got massive stakes and she lets you make that real.”
The Sound of Music is at Pitlochry Festival Theatre now, until Friday December 22. pitlochryfestivaltheatre.com
Conversation