Little Theatre
16th Dec 2023
Presented by Dress Circle Entertainment
Produced and directed by Lee Brannigan
Beauty and the Beast - that tale as old as time - conceited prince pees off a fairy, gets himself cursed, turned into a hideous monster then has to find a true love to save himself. Tricky to find true love when you're a real old grouch and look and act so scary that everyone runs away from you. Even trickier when there is another odious character trying to muscle in on the beautiful person who is meant to save you. What's a beast meant to do?
Fortunately for our Beast (Chris McCreery) in Cannyville (where else?) the Enchantress of the North (Melissa Cavanagh) who cursed him in the first place feels a bit guilty about it and decides to help him out. Well, it was her fault after all - she was just trying to teach him a lesson in humility and if she hadn't been so cross in the first place the her spell might have worked properly, she wouldn't have lost her wand and he wouldn't find himself in quite such a predicament!
Then there's the other odious dude, Gastrix (Harry Hudson) - son of the Mayor of Cannyville - who, along with his two horrible scheming sisters, is taking advantage of the townsfolk's fear of the Beast to line his own pockets, well, stomach actually. Once he realises the Beast might be saved and he will have to start actually working for a living, he concocts a plan to find the Enchantress's lost wand, slay the Beast and take over his castle and all of the kingdom. Muahahaha!
In the meantime, the beautiful Belle (Kayt Berrich) is gradually breaking down the walls the Beast has built up around himself and the two are falling in love - if only the Beast would admit it! They don't have much time - only one petal left on the enchanted rose, if that falls before he declares his love to Belle and she to him, then all will be lost and he will be cursed forever.
Are you keeping up? That's the serious bit - love and a generosity of spirit have to overcome conceit and greed and meanness, so that good overcomes evil and everyone can live happily ever after.
That's also the easy bit, that everything else is hung on to.
The everything else being Panto mayhem! Bad jokes (seriously, bad jokes!), some really silly jokes, some booing and hissing of bad guys, some shouting and screaming "oh yes it is!" and "it's behind you!" Actually there was quite a lot of that shouting and screaming going on - I think some of the kids may have had no voices left by the end of the show! Or maybe it was the mams and grans that were doing all the shouting? Hard to say - but they were all certainly enjoying themselves! One thing that this panto has lots of, is audience participation - everyone is 100% involved and engaged in this from the minute the curtain goes up.
But, I digress - I was talking about panto mayhem, and the epitome of this is the 12 days of Christmas - if you've never experienced this before then be warned - you may die laughing. You may also be concussed by five toilet rolls (sing it) if you aren't paying attention. And if you're in the front rows, you may want to take a brolly - that's all I am saying!
Of course it is not all mayhem, there are also glorious musical numbers, from foot stamping, hand clapping everyone join in bangers to beautiful, tender solos and duets. All beautifully directed and choreographed by John Hudson and Chantal McCartney.
This was my third time experiencing this company's panto and, despite the old jokes, it never gets old - the production is first class. So much so that even when things seem to not quite go to plan, I'm never sure that it isn't actually scripted - though the level of corpsing on Saturday afternoon might suggest not? And isn't that part of the panto experience - that things may not go perfectly to plan, but it all works out in the end, and everyone has a whole load of laughs along the way?
The entire cast put everything they have into making this show a success. Their energy and enthusiasm is amazing to watch, whether dancing, singing, being slapped and falling down, (getting up to be slapped down again) they give 100%. And it is infectious - the more they give, the more the audience gives back. I hesitate to single out individuals because all of the performances were brilliant, but (you know there was a but coming) I do love Brodie Daniel for the sheer energy and versatility he brings, his rapport with the audience is second to none. I also loved the ludicrously over the top twins, Burtie and Gurtie from Megan Laing and Laura Fulgenzi. Their facial expressions were class! It goes without saying, but I 'll say it anyway - Bella Bluebell as Madame Bon-Bon is the most glamorous panto dame, bar none.
Beauty and the Beast is two hours of high energy, fast paced, fun. No matter what age you are you will leave the theatre well entertained, and full of the joy that only a really good Panto can bring.
It's plays until Christmas Eve, and if you're lucky you might still be able to snag a ticket - but if not I highly recommend you book now for next year!
Denise Sparrowhawk
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