Kilmarnock’s famous panto will be back in a brand new venue this Christmat and it promises to be bigger, better and more exciting than ever.

This year’s panto, ‘Goldilocks and the Three Bears’, will be performed in a Big Top, purpose built at the Ayrshire Athletics Arena on Queens Drive, from November 22 to December 29.

East Ayrshire Leisure had to come up with an alternative venue because of refurbishment work at the Palace Theatre and Grand Hall which is expected to last for 18 months.

The 500-seater Big Top will transport the audience on a magical panto adventure as the Three Bears desperately find a way of showing off their fantastic dance moves to the world.

The much-loved Palace Theatre's 2023 panto, Jack And The Beanstalk, was nominated for two UK Pantomime Association Awards for Best Midscale Pantomime and Best Ensemble.

This year's show will bring together the same creative team to bring Goldilocks and the Three Bears to the stage, including producer Imagine Theatre, who are celebrating their 21st year as the creators of the Killie panto, and a script written by award-winning Eric Potts, an Ayrshire-born Palace regular.

Steve Boden, from Imagine Theatre, said: “We are delighted to be working with the fabulous team at East Ayrshire Leisure on this year’s pantomime.

"Whilst the Palace Theatre and Grand Hall undergoes an exciting refurbishment, East Ayrshire Leisure had the brilliant vision to ensure that the region’s most popular pantomime continues in a new location.

"The heated Big Top is the perfect place for us to stage ‘Goldilocks’ and we can’t wait to bring all the hallmarks of a Killie panto to this special venue, alongside some amazing surprises to entertain and delight audiences of all ages.”

For the first time outside a major city in the UK, Imagine Theatre will use ground-breaking digital technology to present the show on hi-tech screens augmenting traditional panto content and staging.

The audience will be whisked digitally from scene to scene using the latest animation techniques, which have left other Imagine audiences amazed and enchanted.

Tickets for the unique family friendly festive treat will be on sale from May 2024.