Craig Glover

Born and raised in Newmilns, Craig started performing as a junior member of the Palace Youth Theatre, Kilmarnock. As a teenager, he worked for Scottish Youth Theatre in Glasgow before training as an actor. After a few years in Glasgow and many summers at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Craig moved south and in 2006, graduated from The University of Hull with a BA (Hons) in Acting. He started his professional career at the Cresset Theatre, Peterborough as an Ugly Sister in Cinderella for Paul Hammond Productions. Ever since, Craig has made a living dressing as a wummin.

No stranger to Kilmarnock audiences, Aladdin will be Craig's fourth panto at the town's Palace Theatre. Previous Palace panto roles include: Dame Trot in 'Jack and the Beanstalk', Dame Bree Brightshine in 'Snow White' and Verruca (Ugly Sister) in 'Cinderella'. Before his time at the Palace, Craig spent many a Christmas with Musselburgh's Brunton Theatre Company. His roles at the Brunton included: Saucy Nancy in 'Sinbad and The Little Mermaid' and the title role in 'Mother Goose'. Since last year's panto, Craig has been keeping himself busy. He spent the first few months of the year presenting his cabaret show throughout the UK – ending in the Isle of Wight. In April, he returned to the Palace with his show 'Carry On Craig'. Straight after the success of his show, Craig went off to London to rehearse for Cinders the Musical in which he played The Wicked Stepmother. The show toured throughout the Summer – ending in Blackpool. In October, Craig was privileged to work with Glasgow based theatre company Conflux on the 'Bloody Boyds' outdoor production at Dean Castle Country Park for Kilmarnock's Deep Roots event, as part of Homecoming Scotland 2014.

Previous theatre credits include: 'Fifty Shades of Craig', Homer Zuckerman/Templeton the Rat in 'Charlotte's Web', Mr Perks in 'The Railway Children', The Cowardly Lion in 'The Wizard of Oz', Lord Destron in 'The Kosmic Krew' and Gepetto in 'Pinocchio', Dr Parker in 'Bat Boy the Musical', King Herod in 'Jesus Christ Superstar', Bottom in 'A Midsummer Nights Dream', The Professor in
'Parliamo Glasgow', John in 'Brothers of Thunder', Eric in 'Bouncers', Lady Bracknell in 'The Importance of Being Earnest' and Peter in 'Stags and Hens'.

Directing credits: The Witches of Eastwick, Calendar Girls, The Full Monty, We Will Rock You, Sleeping Beauty, The Railway Children, Charlotte's Web, Beauty and the Beast and Cinderella. In addition to his acting and directing work, Craig is in demand as a singer, having performed local concerts at Dundonald Castle, The Ayr Racecourse and the Brig O' Doon in Ayr.

Craig says: “Here we go again... another Christmas in Killie and another fabulous Palace Panto. I'm over the moon to be working with my pal, Liam on another panto. We always have a great laugh creating the show and an even bigger laugh every night when we're on stage. Panto season is such a happy time - rarely a minute goes by without a laugh. If we're not trying to make each other laugh in the wings, we're enjoying a good blether and a carry on in our dressing rooms. Being in the Palace panto really is the best of times. Have a very Merry Christmas and a' the best when it comes!”

Look our for Craig's brand new show – DAME FOR A LAUGH. Live, at the Palace Theatre, Kilmarnock on Saturday 25th April 2015 at 7:30PM. Get your tickets now. It's sure to be a great night out, with plenty of laughs, not to be missed.