Avast, me hearties! There's much fun to be plundered

If you think costumes are just for Halloween, you might want to think again and prepare yourself a Jack Sparrow eye-patch for the Hong Kong Players' Christmas pantomime.

The Players are celebrating their 50th Christmas pantomime this year and will stage their original Pirates of the Panto show at the Shouson Theatre from December 3.

The band of merry men and women promise an all-singing and dancing theatrical extravaganza with plenty of rowdy humour. From past experience, the audience often yells louder than the performers. 'We'd like them to just go wild ... boos at the bad guys, such as Evil Pirate Captain (pictured), and cheers for the heroines, said publicity manager Teri Fitsell. 'It's a fun, uplifting Christmas tradition. Kids love fairy tale fantasies.'

The group is also trying to put together a retrospective of Hong Kong pantomime over the past 50 years.