It's panto time at the Edinburgh King's and tickets are already selling out... Oh, yes they are!

IT’S that time of year again. With the approach of Christmas, that can only mean one thing, theatres up and down the land are preparing for the biggest event of their annual calendar, the show that has ability to be their biggest earner of the year, as long as they get the recipe right.

Goldilocks

Yes, the panto season is here and The King’s the tried and tested team of Allan Stewart, Andy Gray and Grant Stott are back, only this year the trio and principal girl Gillian Parkhouse, now in her third year, are joined by newcomer, River City and Scotsquad star Jordan Young.

The King’s panto, produced by Qdos Pantomimes in conjunction with Capital Theatres, has become a staple of thousands of Edinburgh ‘children’ of all ages, and this year the team have chosen to tell the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears once again.

So Roll up! Roll Up! for the ‘GreatestPanto on Earth’ - yes, it’s circus-based.

Goldilocks, which opens on Saturday and runs until Sunday 19 January, will see the Old Lady of Leven Street transformed into a sensational circus world where anything is possible.

Stewart, Gray and Stott reunite after Andy’s year out last year because of illness for more thrills, spills, dazzling stunts and jaw-dropping special effects.

With magic, music, mayhem, and plenty of porridge Goldilocks has played a significant part of The King’s history. Golidlocks and the Three Bears first came into being as a pantomime in a version written by WS Gilbert of Gilbert & Sullivan fame and was performed at the Lyceum Theatre London in 1867.

The story was first set in a circus in 1925 in Howard & Wyndham’s Goldilocks and the Three Bears at the King’s Theatre in Edinburgh, starring Eve Lynn and Tom D Newell. The production focused on the rivalry between two circus owners - one evil and one good - and as they say in show business, ‘if it ain’t broke’….

Last seen as the Kings’ panto in 2007 starring Allan Stewart, Grant Stott, James Mackenzie and Tweedy, the classic Goldilocks has proved a popular choice. Tickets are already selling fast with just best availability left in January and for some December performances.

You’d better book now to avoid disappointment or before you know it, another panto season will be behind you.

Goldilocks and the Three Bears, King’s Theatre, Leven Street, Saturday 30 November until Sunday 19 January, various times and prices, 0131-529 6000