Beauty And The Beast

Set in a village of Le Marymuir, a small French hamlet lying between Le Marykirk and Le Kirriemuir, we were introduced to the lives of Beauty and her father Dr Panache (played with dignity by Douglas Johnston) as they became embroiled in the destiny of The Beast. Lively choreography and chorus singing set the pace. But the fun really began with a parade of comedy characters. Ali Niven as Fat Franc, useless servant to the local Countess had the audience on “his” side from the start. And when Dame Dora (Brian Mathieson) made “her” appearance she was soon an audience favourite. Successful Improvisation is definitely one of Brian’s talents. Add to that the Loopy Louis (‘identical’ twins sharing a brain) played engagingly by Alix Morland and a very cute Harrison Cairney and the nonsense really took hold. Getting to know Belle (a very talented Catie Mathieson) was a delight, as she gave us an amazingly mature rendering of Someone To Watch Over Me. That someone was not slimy Danton however played to hilarious effect by Ross Robertson. His Countess mother (Teresa Warden) had just the right amount of irritation with her cowardly son. Millar Young gave a strong performance as both The Prince and The Beast while Kirsty Dunoon handled herself well in the smaller role of Sylvie.  A highlight of the show was the musical number If I Did Not Work For The Prince which involved all the characters and took the fun up a notch. Audience participation was rife throughout and all the characters were greeted warmly by the Brechin audience. A hilarious time was had by all.

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