Beauty and The Beast

A show that attracted full houses for every performance. It is so good to see performers obviously enjoying themselves as much as the audience.

The opening scene drew us in immediately with colourful costumes and clever, well-rehearsed, choreographed routine. A lovely mixture of experienced performers with, a now popular, children’s dance group. The youngsters were given lots of opportunities throughout to be part of the show. Laura Smith, choreographer, did a superb job and was obviously well supported by Manon Izri, the dance captain.

Belle (Hannah Priestley) had a lovely voice and gave a relaxed, happy performance. Prince Florizel/Beast (Alex Neil) achieved his transformation to/from the Beast seamlessly. He and Belle complimented one another well.

Dame Cherie Trifle (Richard Cheshire, Director) surprised the audience by arriving on an invalid scooter full of cleaning tools. The partnership of Dame Cherie and Willie (Marcus Dobson) was as fresh as ever. Where does Marcus gets his energy from, it quite wears you out.

There was clear speech throughout, especially noticeable from Fairy Rosebud (Donna Richards) and Frostbite (Kedma Macias). Gassbag (Angus Marshall) revelled in his part. He had lots of opportunities to develop his character, which he did confidently.

The staff of the Beast’s castle were very much in character and obviously loyal to their master. Carl Ryan as ever brought humour to Monsieur Chandelle; Thomas Mutton (Tick Tock) kept things moving along; Theresa Jones (Madame Grand Robe) was, of course, in charge and Julie McNicholls Vale as Pot de Te busied herself with a cleverly managed cheeky Chip

The final comedy song was ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas’; it was exhausting just to watch it, with principals dashing across the stage and milking the song in proper panto style.

A very enjoyable take on a well-loved story. Congratulations to everyone in the show.

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.