TIS' the season of pantomime - and some of the region's leading laughter makers are poised once again, props at the ready, to create inexhaustible amounts of mayhem and merriment.

In a land just outside Kendal, Burneside Amateur Theatrical Society has cleverly concocted its own fantastically fun and farce laden version of Dick Whittington.

Running at The Bryce, Burneside, on January 9/10 and January 14-17, in the director's seat for BATS this time around is Mark Crook.

Mark - who also plays dame Sarah and has written the panto script - explained that the glittering cast would feature 13 children from Burneside, Windermere and Kendal, including year eight Lakes School student Hannah Griffiths who plays the part of the cat, Brian.

Carly Pearson takes centre stage as Dick.

Added Mark: “We've got some big numbers and some songs from the TV show Glee, as well as songs specially written for the show. It’s going to be great.”

And so the Yuletide yarn follows Dick as he leaves Burneside to make his fortune in London. Apparently, his father has told him the streets there are paved with gold.

He meets a cat along the way and adopts him, and a good fairy promises to look after them on their journey south.

Adventures await, and it's also worth mentioning that once in London young Dick falls in love with the beautiful Alice.

And the rest is history, so to speak.

However, the origins of the Dick Whittington story will not be found in the land of make believe. In fact, the tinsel-tinted tale is based on a true subject - a real Richard Whittington, who once upon a time did become Lord Mayor of London in the late 14th and early 15th centuries.

He was not though the penniless boy depicted in pantomime, but was actually the son of an Alderman who arrived in London around 1379, and became an extremely wealthy merchant.

According to legend his ‘cat’ was a type of merchant ship, not a pet kitty. But it did help him make his fortune, just like Tom does in the panto version.

Oh, and he really did marry a girl called Alice.

BATS box office 07792-777213