Ayrshire children are being invited along to try out for a part in the upcoming Jack and the Beanstalk performance.

The Palace Theatre and Imagine Theatre will hold open auditions to find their talented Junior Ensemble for this year’s magical family pantomime.

Taking place on Saturday, August 26 at the Palace Theatre in Kilmarnock, the auditions are being held to find young female presenting dancers aged between 9-16 and in school years P5-S4 to perform this Christmas season.

If you think you’ve got what it takes to bring that little bit extra to this year’s pantomime you can find out more about the auditions, including further information on age and attendance requirements at eastayrshireleisure.com or imaginetheatre.co.uk.

Jack and the Beanstalk runs from Friday, November 24 until Friday, December 29 and is on sale now.

Visit eastayrshireleisure.com to book your tickets and for more info.

Steve Boden, managing director of Imagine Theatre, the pantomime producer, said: “We are one of the only UK wide pantomime companies to continue to host open auditions for our Junior Ensemble each year for pantomime.

"This is very important to us as we believe in offering youngsters from every background and with all levels of experience the chance to be part of pantomime and the opportunity to work in a professional company, maybe for the first time.

"A number of pantomime stars we work with tell us that performing in the Junior Ensemble in their local pantomime was what sparked their love of theatre and say that this is where they believe their acting careers began. We want to continue to nurture this talent year on year. 

"Open auditions allow absolutely any child of the right age to come along and try out for the show. Theatre and the arts are an integral part of local communities and we are delighted to be able to offer this opportunity out widely to local youngsters”.

He added: “On the day the children will be taught a routine that they perform as a group back to the audition panel. As well as their dancing we do look for that little something that makes them stand out and sparkle on stage.”