A 'Purrfect' Cast for the Palace Theatre Kilmarnock Panto

/

The Palace Theatre are delighted to announce their full cast for their spectacular family pantomime Dick Whittington.

This year’s panto sees some favourite faces returning to the stage with Fraser Boyle as Dame, Gary Morrison as Idle Jack and River City’s Sally Howitt as Fairy Bowbells. The Palace Theatre are also delighted to welcome back James McAnerney who will be playing Alderman Fitzwarren having been the baddie for the last two years as Dean Castle in Beauty and the Beast and the Demon King in Mother Goose.

James is delighted to be back at his ‘second home’ for the festive season. “I enjoy being at the Palace for panto because the audience are so close to the stage you can see all their reactions really clearly. It always feels like a family working with Imagine at The Palace as the team they put together always get on so well.”

“This year will be a big change for me not playing the baddie as I'm so used to getting booed from the Killie crowd. It will be nice to be able to be part of the story where happiness is happening rather than me trying to stop it all the time. It's also great not being the baddie this year as I'm trying to cut out the booooze in my life – ha ha – I’ll have to try get that one in the script!”

David Haydn, who played Aladdin’s nemesis Abanazar in 2014 is back to play the dastardly King Rat. Amy Scott last appeared in the Palace panto back in 2008 in Mother Goose and is delighted to reprise the role of Alice Fitzwarren that she played at Eden Court in Inverness last year alongside Charlotte Forbes who is reprising her role of Dick Whittington from the same production. Also joining the team as the feisty feline Tommy the Cat is Anna MacDonald.  

As well as performing Charlotte Forbes has had a busy year working on her personal training business as well as running dance and drama workshops. Following on from panto she will be taking to the high seas once more as a performer on Royal Caribbean.

“This will be my first time appearing at the Palace Theatre Kilmarnock and I am very excited to be taking to this iconic stage and working with some brilliant Scottish actors. Dick Whittington is such a great pantomime and he is such a fun character to play. Last year I loved being able to run around the stage fighting King Rat with my trusty side kick Tommy. Playing a principal boy is a huge challenge and it requires a lot of energy to portray their larger than life personalities but it is so rewarding when the audience gets behind you willing you to save the day.”

Don’t miss out on the hilarious swashbuckling panto. Dick Whittington runs from Saturday 25 November to Saturday 31 Dec 2017.

River City Star Sally Howitt Returns To The Kilmarnock Palace Panto

/

After a terrifying but terrific performance as Deadly Nightshade in last year’s Beauty and the Beast The Palace Theatre are delighted to welcome back River City star Sally Howitt for their hilarious family pantomime Dick Whittington this festive season.

This year Sally will be on the side of good as the feisty and quirky Fairy Bowbells.

“I'm very happy to be asked back to The Palace Theatre again for another panto! Beauty and the Beast was a very enjoyable experience with a lovely company so I can’t wait to return. I loved playing one of the baddies last year and I know that the script will be just as good this year. The character of Fairy Bowbells will be great fun to play and I will once again have another fantastic dress to show off.” 

“I enjoy the live performance of panto. There is nothing like hearing the whoops of excitement from the audience as the lights go down and knowing you are about to take them away fromreal life for a few hours into to a magical story with colourful characters in which they will laugh, shout out loud, and perhaps even be a little scared!”

Sally is currently filming another series of River City in which she plays Scarlett Adams, a role she has played since 2003.

“I find theatre and television very different in that in theatre you get an immediate reaction the minute you walk on stage but in TV in a studio it's very controlled and quiet and it's hard to tell what an audience at home might think or feel about what you're doing until it's broadcast into their living rooms at a much later date.” 

Steve Boden from Imagine Theatre who produce the pantomime says “We are delighted to be working with Sally once again. She is a great character actress so will be ideal for the role of Fairy Bowbells! Poor King Rat doesn’t stand a chance!”

Dick Whittington runs from Saturday 25 November to Saturday 31 Dec 2017.

The Hilarious Fraser Boyle and Gary Morrison Return for the Kilmarnock Panto

/

After a hugely successful festive season with Beauty and the Beast, the Palace Theatre in Kilmarnock are already looking forward to their 2017 pantomime Dick Whittington and they are especially delighted at the return of two of their 2016 panto stars, Fraser Boyle and Gary Morrison.

Fraser Boyle will once again don a dress as Sarah the Cook while Gary will play Idle Jack.

The duo proved hugely popular with audiences and critics and were called an “expert slapstick team” by Ayrshire Magazine when they teamed up for the first time last year.

Fraser, who was described as “cheerfully cheeky” by the Kilmarnock standard says “Working with Imagine Theatre and the Palace Theatre was such a fantastic experience. Everyone was so professional and good humoured. We had some laughs backstage! Plus the audiences at Kilmarnock are a riot - you never know what you're going to get! That makes pantomime for me, the fabulous audience. The Kilmarnock lot are my kind of people! I'm so pleased and excited to be back and I'm looking forward to Christmas 2017 already."  

After a well earned break in January, Fraser is going to be touring The Dolls Abroad across Scotland this Spring – including a visit to the Palace Theatre.

Gary will be spending much of 2017 working with a Rep company in the North West of England but he also cannot wait to be back in panto.

“I think the thing that stands out for me each time I have played The Palace is the level of support from the wonderful audiences we had for every performance. They are always full of energy with lots of laughs and I cannot wait to return for Dick Whittington.”

Steve Boden, Managing Director of Imagine Theatre who produce the pantomime, says “we are delighted to have Fraser and Gary back this year as the audiences absolutely loved them and they are both an absolute pleasure to work with. This year’s Dick Whittington will be an absolutely brilliant show, especially with Fraser and Gary’s sense of fun, and I know the Palace audience are going to love it.

Dick Whittington runs from Saturday 25 November to Saturday 30 Dec 2017.