Snow White glides effortlessly onto Festival stage - Karen Koren

The office has now broken up for our Christmas and New Year break – looking forward to a warm and cosy time with the family.

Allan Stewart and Grant Stott in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

To get into the Christmas mood I attended the pantomime last night, which has been moved to the Festival Theatre as the King’s is going through major renovations.

It was very strange attending the panto at the Festival Theatre, which is very much bigger than the King’s. The King’s always had a very intimate appeal especially with the regular cast every year.

I’ve been going to the panto at the King’s Theatre since I was a child – which is going back to the 50s. I can always remember the excitement of sitting in the audience and the smell of the grease paint, as they say. It was one of the reasons I became fascinated by comedy and the theatre.

I have great memories of comic actors like Jimmy Logan, Francie & Josie, who were Jack Milroy, Ricky Fulton of course, Stanley Baxter, Angus Lennie, Una MacLean, Gerrard Kelly and so many more, their legacies live on

For the last 20 years the regular tight team has been Allan Stewart, Grant Stott and the very much missed Andy Gray. Jordan Young joined the team a few years ago and with Clare Gray, Andy’s daughter carries his legacy on.

The production this year is Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and with a wonderful set from the past production at the London Palladium, it makes the Festival Theatre stage look lavish.

This is a spectacular production that suits the size of the theatre with more dancers and actors on stage. Alan Stewart plays Nurse May and as always has outrageous costumes.

Liz Ewing is the wicked Queen, Jordan Young plays Muddles who flies into the audience on a sleigh, Clare Gray plays Princess Lavinia and does her father proud. Grant Stott plays The Man in the Mirror, a baddie. Francesca Ross from Edinburgh plays Snow White and this is her first professional acting gig.

One of the highlights of the show is Grant as The Man in The Mirror, has written a parody on the troubled trams of Edinburgh to the Michael Jackson song – it is clever and very funny!

It's the perfect start to the Christmas festivities and you shouldn’t miss it! Merry Christmas to all and a Prosperous New Year. Here’s hoping!