THE CURTAIN has been drawn on Cowdenbeath Community Theatre's 2021 panto at Lochgelly Centre that "exceeded all expectations".

Aladdin and his Wonderful Lamp had a sell-out matinee performance and the other four shows were touching capacity, all with plenty of audience participation.

The two years since the group's last pantomime, 'Robin Hood and the Babes in the Wood', has been a very challenging time for everyone, and the company was very humbled to see so many people come out to support them again this year.

Chairperson Alex Keatings expressed his thanks not only to the public for supporting the show, but also to the production team and cast and the band and stage crew for managing to bring the show to the stage in just 13 weeks.

Lo’gelly Lunches raised £923 via their exit bucket collection after each performance which included a £250 donation from the company. The monies will help the charity provide food and basic essentials for those most in need within the local community.

Cowdenbeath Community Theatre was started back in 2001 by Alex Wallace, Harry Wood, Alan Boniface, Alex Keatings and Evelyn Irvine. The first panto they performed was Cinderella, a script written by Alex Wallace, which will be reprised in 2023 for the company’s 20th show.

Since 2004, following Wallace’s death, the company has presented the Alex Wallace Memorial Trophy to the most improved child performer from the previous year. Several current adult cast members are previous winners of the trophy.

This year, the production team was unable to pick just one winner, so decided to award the trophy jointly to two of the dancers who took part in the 2021 production: Casey King and Erin Buckley.

The company have announced that their production for 2022 will be 'Rapunzel', performed at the Lochgelly Centre Theatre from December 7-10.