Lifetime of music and stage for Kim Shepherd as she prepares for panto in Kirkcaldy

We first met at wedding fayres when I was DJ, and she was with Cut The Cake. I always thought it a great name for a wedding band and she tells me they are still as busy as ever and keeping current and relevant for any crowd.

They have been performing almost 20 years now and, along with Kim, just Lawrie McMillan on bass remains from the original line up.

Kim has always been performing, and from the age of two was singing. Born in Dunfermline and raised in Crossford, she still lives in Fife and lists her concert tours in Europe as a highlight. For three months each January, for the last three years a cast of 70 tour concert halls with a 35-piece orchestra, a choir of 20 plus soloists performing music from The Lion King and at times Game Of Thrones, Star Wars and Les Misérables. Intense travelling but great shows and a big production.

Kim played Edinburgh Fringe too in a New York musical production called A Mirrored Monet at Greenside Nicolson Square in 2023. The well received premiere went on to a full West End run this year at Charing Cross Theatre.

Pantomime is also a big part of her year,and it all started with OnFife in 2015 at Carnegie Hall before moving to the Adam Smith Theatre the following year. It gets hectic too pre-Christmas with exclusive school shows meaning two shows a day.

With the casting complete and script all prepared, an initial read through is planned in the next few days with fully blown rehearsals starting in November. Kim plays Bonnie in Beauty And The Beast, written by Andy MacGregor, and joins Colin Little in his eighth Fife panto as Dame Betty Bouquet with his comedy partner Scott Watson as Arty Farty.

Derek McGhie plays Gary Gaviscon, Gill McGowan is the magical Enchantress while Bonnie’s father Boris is played by Garry Ellis and Marc McMillan has the title role of the Beast -and Prince Sebastian.

Meanwhile the costumes are here, photoshoots done and tickets now on sale at OnFife.com.