Beauty and the Beast

Beauty and the Beast is a tale as old as time made famous by the Disney Musical, but Alex Jackson’s script embraces the idea of pantomime with a different take on the story introducing a Dame and her comic son and a battle between a good fairy and a demonic one.

The cursed transformation from benevolent Prince to the hirsute Beast is less dramatic as he becomes a hairier grumpy version of himself as the story unfolds concerned over someone taking a book from his library without permission. It is a less dramatic plot and curiously means that Belle knows all along that he is a cursed man rather than a Beast that needs to be tamed. 

The essential  requirement for amateur pantomime is enough parts for the society members to get stuck into and a host of additional characters are in the show including a Princess , and her maid, a fairy apprentice , chambermaids as well as the usual French servants. This means that the Beast is hardly an isolated abandoned man but rather constantly surrounded by caring team of supporters.

The result elevates the tole of the Dame and her son to deliver the jokes over the romance between Beauty and the Beast. It is a fun and entertaining romp which draws a standing ovation, but it is a long way from the drama and emotional heart of the Disney version but then it is Pantomime.

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