A warm festive welcome to Out of the Darkness Theatre Company, and to our Christmas Pantomime 2025 – Aladdin! A truly magical show awaits you tonight, brought to you by every single member of ODTC, onstage and off! It has been a joy working on this show and witnessing everyone collaborate with absolute merriment and zealous gusto! We hope you enjoy our Panto as much as we have making it! Our cast, as ever, have been nothing short of sensational, working determinedly to get this show on the road! They’ve brought these fabulous characters to life, filling them with Panto mischief and delight, and utterly rocking their lines from day one! Every day is an abundance of laughter, imaginative ideas and collaboration. Their epic enthusiasm is spellbinding, leaving me inspired and grateful beyond measure. Our cast will try anything, from belly dancing to carpet flying. They’re bold, beautiful and ready to bust a move. Get ready to be immersed in their sparkle! Our stunning set and props have been designed and crafted by our Creative Arts Groups with our marvellous Martin and his team at the helm. As I write this in the office, I can hear them dancing wildly whilst painting, gluing and conjuring up spectacular scenery. Martin’s inventive mind is a powerhouse of how to create and facilitate a working set, motivating our members in their artistic achievements and beyond. The detail and devotion our members have in their artwork is beautiful, as you will see tonight! Our Media Team are bringing the show to life tonight with lights, sound, film and animation! They patiently sit through rehearsals, conjuring up technical masterfulness, adding their super cool effervescent wizardry! Lately they’ve been flying a carpet around Buckie and beyond. They make the magic happen, and we bow down to their awesomeness! Thank you to our truly incredible team of staff and members, for bringing their own unique creative genius to our work. We could not do what we do without the passion and driving force of every individual here. Out of the Darkness is one big beautiful family where we are all celebrated for everything we bring to each and every day. I feel incredibly lucky to be part of such an inspirational company! And thank you to you too – our valued wonderful supporters! Thank you for coming along tonight to cheer and boo, to sing and be merry! There would be no show without our fabulous audiences, so thank you for making THIS happen!

Welcome to Out of the Darkness Theatre Company, and to our summer show – Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory! A feast of scrum-diddly-umptious surprises await you tonight in our deliciously adapted version of the well-loved story by Roald Dahl. We hope that you enjoy the show as much as we have making it! Our cast, as always, have worked tirelessly with epic enthusiasm and joy, rehearsing and developing their characters, learning their lines and contributing fantastical ideas to make our show whizz-pop in the most fizz-whizzing way! Their energy is contagious, mischievous and an utter delight to be immersed in. Every day is full of magic, laughter and wildly dramatic reactions to someone farting on stage. The fabulous set and all our props tonight have been designed and crafted by our Creative Arts Groups, with Martin and his team at the helm. They sing and dance unreservedly whilst painting and drawing with gusto every Monday, Thursday and Friday. Take a moment to cast your eye on the detail in Act 2 as our stage is transformed into the Chocolate Factory, created by our members armed with felt tips, imaginative flair and passionate artistic triumph. Our Media Team have sat patiently through rehearsals, designing and working our lighting, sound, film and media. They bring the magic and support their peers on stage with a cool techy vibe that only tech wizards can do. This show could not happen without the teamwork of every member and staff member, who have all contributed immeasurably in their own unique and ingenious way. Every day is an inspiration working within this company, and I cannot thank everybody enough for their fellowship on this project and in everything we do! As Roald Dahl said, ‘Let us not forget that WE are the music makers and the dreamers of dreams. Anything is possible if we can only just dream it!’ So please, grab a drink from the bar, sit back and relax and enjoy the show!

Hello and a very warm welcome to our ODTC Panto 2024, Sleeping Beauty! Another year has flown by, and we can’t believe it’s nearly Christmas already! But wow, have we got a magical treat for you this festive season as we visit the enchanted land of Foggywatt and embark on a rip-roaring panto escapade together! Grab yourselves a drink from the bar and get ready to boo at the baddies, roar at the Royal ruckus, and flutter with our flock of fabulous fairies! As always, the lead up to show week has been a wonderful adventure throughout every department of Out of the Darkness. Our Performance Group have been leading the laughter and working hard in rehearsals, singing and dancing their Christmas stockings off to bring you this show today! Our Media Group are teching each show, operating the lights and sound to bring you such splendid sparkle to the stage! And our Creative Groups have been busier than Santa’s elves designing and creating the spellbinding props and scenery that tell our tale. We’ve all been eating, breathing and dreaming panto since the warm summer nights of September, and are so excited to bring you great tidings of Christmas joy, all wrapped up in this show tonight! I’d like to thank our extraordinary team for the incredible work they do. This really is a special place to be a part of, to witness such happiness every single day, all year round! So, may we wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year when 2025 arrives. In the meantime, sit back, drink up, warm up those panto cheers and enjoy the SHOW!

So proud to present our ODTC Summer Murder Mystery for 2024 -Death on the Spey! The third rambunctious who-dunnit in our trilogy of murder mysteries after Murder on the Dufftown Express and Death in Dallas! Yes, your uproarious Poirot is back, this time with the buoyant Inspector Japp and his nephew Mini Poirot in tow, to solve the scandalous crimes aboard the Breaking Wind. Based on the charismatic characters by Agatha Christie with a hefty load of ODTC magic and artistic interpretation thrown in, we know you’re in for a moustache tickling treat as we set sail up the Spey!

Hello and a very warm welcome to our 2023 ODTC Christmas show, A Christmas Carol! And what a magical journey it has been getting here! Our incredible ODTC cast and crew have worked their socks off - rehearsing, learning lines, designing and building props and sets, filming and editing, planning lighting designs and delving deep into the art of storytelling. As a newbie coming into the team, it’s beyond exciting to see how the ODTC well-oiled machine works. It’s a family of mischief and fun, of creativity and imagination, of highly skilled members across every aspect of production that come together to make the show, all whilst honing their craft and deepening their friendships. Besides myself, we also had Fraser, Ben and Shannon joining the team in August – welcomed by your old favourites Garry, Martin, Mark and Ian. Who needs the gym when you can come to work with this wildly enthusiastic and innovative team? Every morning is a creative workout, a full-on explosion of ideas and planning, interpretive dance and endless laughter. Yet again, like our members, the dedication and focus of the staff team is an inspiration to be immersed in – such detail and care are included in every decision, to bring out the best in everyone. This production has been a team effort, crafted by the whole gang and Garry’s secret snack drawer. So it is my pleasure to ask you to sit back, relax and enjoy the show! It has been created with an abundance of passion, teamwork and quite a few love puffs that have sent the cast running off the stage. Cheer loudly, catch a flump as they come hurtling past your head in Act 2, fill up your wine glass and have a fabulous evening! Thank you for your support and may we wish you a very Merry Christmas to come!

ODTC's 30th Anniversary Panto - The Good, The Bad and The Disnae featuring our Members and UHI Moray Performing Arts Students

Created by our ODTC Media and Arts Group members

Filmed by our ODTC Performance Group

A music video by our ODTC Performance Group members