Beauty and the Beast

This was the story of a prince cursed by a wicked witch because he doesn’t love her, peppered with a mix of panto characters including talking furniture and a very cheeky French poodle!

The principal girl role of Beauty/ Rose was well played by Catherine Hillam who portrayed great compassion when confronted with the harshness of the Beast who was also well played by Nick Bevan. The couple worked well together and sang well. Beauty’s brother, Jacques, and his love interest, Capucine, were played by Angela Mavin and Amy Manning who both gave a good portrayal of their characters, and handled the comedy well. In the role of Felix, a French poodle, David Brown was completely at ease with his audience interaction, encouraging their participation. His canine antics were endearing and the audience certainly took him to their hearts. Peter Johnson as Ma, Beauty’s confused parent, gave a super performance; he revelled in the comedy antics and had a good rapport with the audience. Julie J. Laws as, Malabelle, the wicked witch, gave a strong performance and made the perfect transition at the end of the story into a partner for Felix. There was good support from Catherine Rouse as the talking clock, Eve Brownlee and Lily McArdle as Aimee and Remmy and all the other cameo roles. The chorus were well dressed and sang and moved well giving good support to the principal cast.

Dance routines were good, and the “Let It Go” number, complete with illuminated costumes, was particularly entertaining, and “Spread the Love Around” with the whole company made a very enjoyable finale.

Well done and best wishes for your 40th anniversary year.

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.