Seasonal snapshot number one: Dominic Hill (artistic director, The Traverse) and Dougie Irvine (director, Visible Fictions) have their heads together and are in cahoots, swapping fave raves from the realms of mythological heroes, caped crusaders and maybe even courageous animals.

A version of Lassie isn’t, however, on the cards for their joint production – they’ve chosen Zorro as this year’s Traverse family show.

Seasonal snapshot number two: in a corner of Oran Mor in Glasgow’s West End, a motley gang of wags – mostly with connections to the Wildcat company of yore – are chewing over storylines that can be slyly subverted for the venue’s forthcoming A Panto, a Pie and a Pint lunchtime extravaganza.

Two productions that, in terms of content and execution, to say nothing of target audiences, might strike you as poles apart. But something connects them: it’s the Anderson factor. This is father and son – Dave the dad, Davey the lad – who are both scripting shows that, in their respective styles, embrace the seasonal need for a rattling good tale, with a dash of mischief and mayhem stirred in for good measure.

At Oran Mor, the source of inspiration has been Dickens. Mind you, Dave and his compadre David MacLennan have put a role reversal spin on A Christmas Carol that knocks the stuffing out of any version by The Muppets and steals the very humbug out of Jim Carrey’s mouth. Their re-working has the money-grubbing Scrooge wishing it could be Christmas every day while Cratchit, holed up in Scrooge’s debt-collecting call centre, is the crusty old grouch who reckons it’s all a waste of the money that folk don’t actually have.

Those who cherish memories of the Wildcat heyday of the 1980s – including rip-roaring Christmas shows out at the company’s own barn-like venue in Clydebank – will not be surprised to discover that the Ghost of Christmas Past is kin to the Wicked Witch of the South (with a striking resemblance to Margaret Thatcher, whose tactics helped Scrooge to get wealthy.)

The tenor of these Oran Mor shows is the time-honoured one of thumbing the nose at couthy conventions and high heid yins. The latter include not just politicos but any weel kent face that can be a butt for genial barbs.

“We can,” explains Dave, “do our kind of show because of the audience we get. It’s not aimed at children, it’s for adults. And I’d say that typically – because we’re talking G12 here – they read newspapers, are clued up about current affairs, know who we’re referring to and enjoy getting those references. It’s a different audience from the one that Davey has written his show for at the Traverse.”

Davey, by the way, was not encouraged to follow in his father’s footsteps. “Oh no, no no...” says Dave, but thinking back he remembers backstage days at Wildcat when Davey “would always be in there, trying on the hats and the costumes. But we put that down to any kid loving to dress up.”

Is he proud of how Davey, whose talents – like Dave’s own – embrace music-making as well as writing, has turned out. “Oh, come on,” says Dave. “I’m his dad ... proud’s not the word.”

Davey, meanwhile, has been turning his thoughts to the Zorro stories written by Johnston McCulley, a purveyor of popular pulp fiction from the 1920s to the 1940s.

“He turns up out of nowhere, this dark, mysterious figure in a mask,” begins Davey. “And you have to ask yourself, is he fighting for justice and a greater good? Or is he a vigilante? Why does he wear that mask? Why does he need that second identity?

“From the start, Zorro was an interesting character to work on, and it needed serious research ... watching Zorro films and reading Zorro books. Compared to Spiderman or Superman, Zorro is really just an ordinary guy. He doesn’t have supernatural powers. He’s just an incredible athlete and he’s taught himself to be really good at sword play and horse riding. I keep thinking of him, in my head, as a cowboy ninja.”

Now even if The Traverse had a space that could accommodate a spectacular epic, the budget certainly wasn’t elastic-sided. Davey found himself writing for a cast of three.

“Zorro Productions had to agree to the script – they okayed it, but they did wonder how we were going to do it. But actually, part of the joy of the piece – for adults as well as children – should be in watching how three people can stage an epic adventure with just themselves and a few simple props.”

Does Davey remember those Wildcat pantos of yesteryear? Was that where he got his taste for Christmas shows? He says one in particular has stuck in his memory: The Magic Snowball.

“They were giving out snowballs during the show; from Tunnock’s, I think. And I found a box of them backstage. By the time they found me, I’d eaten who knows how many and my face was covered with the white, sticky filling.”

See Dave and Davey Anderson? See wind-up merchants? See committed writing talent and a love of theatre? You will see all that and more if you pick up a ticket to this year’s shows at Oran Mor and The Traverse. Enjoy.

A Christmas Carol is on at Oran Mor, Glasgow, from Monday to December 19, 12.30pm. Zorro is on at The Traverse, Edinburgh, from December 5-24, times vary.