Kirkcaldy’s magic wee panto shortlisted for first-ever national panto award

The Kings Theatre’s Ya Wee Dickie McWittington is one of four shows vying for the first ever ‘Outstanding Pantomime Award’ at the CATS - the 2025 Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland which will be presented next month.

The show, featuring a cast of just five, was a huge hit with audiences and critics alike and packed the Esplanade venue for every show.

The nomination ahs thrilled the cast and team behind the annual show which has established itself as a Lang Toun tradition in a few short years.

Jonathan Stone, director, said: “What a huge honour for our wee show! Everyone at the Kings, from the cast, crew, staff, the board and all the amazing stewards are thrilled that we have been recognised at these hugely prestigious national awards.

“We are particularly proud as our pantos are all about and written especially for the people of Kirkcaldy! Now we just have to top it again this year!"

The fourth annual panto stages at the Kings was the most ambitious yet with stunning sets and a story set firmly in the Lang Toun - one which chimed with audiences who snapped up almost single seat for run across December and into January.

Also shortlisted are Mother Goose (Gaiety Theatre, Ayr); Peter Pan (Glasgow’s King’s Theatre); and A Christmas Carol (Brunton, East Lothian).

It is the first time the awards have had a category for pantos.

Mark Brown, co-convenor of the CATS, said: “The new outstanding pantomime award was, not surprisingly, hotly contested with productions from across the length and breadth of the country being considered. The shortlist reflects the ambition of all the productions.”

Another show which wowed Fife audiences - the National Theatre of Scotland’s June Carter Cash: The Woman, Her Music and Me - is nominated in three categories. It was one of the big hits at the Outwith Festival in Dunfermline.

Joyce McMillan, renowned critic and CATS co-convenor, said: “This has been another fantastic year for theatre produced in Scotland with around 140 shows eligible for the awards. No fewer than 25 different productions have been shortlisted reflecting the calibre of the work being staged across Scotland, from new interpretations of the classics to vibrant musicals and ground-breaking new plays, and not forgetting pantomime.”