Beauty and the Beast

I had never seen this show prior to my visit and, judging by this production by a cast of nearly 50, it is a very good show to perform for both adults and youngsters. The challenging part of the Beast was excellently played by Harvey Beck who shows great potential each time I see him.  His songs were not easy, nor are any in the show, and he did very a very good job.  Belle (the Beauty) was nicely played by Lauren Richardson; she looked good and had a nice, clear voice.

David Cameron stepped in at late notice to play Lumiere and extracted as much comedy as was possible from the role.  Seductress Babette is not an easy part for a youngster but Rebecca Branigan can be proud of her performance as can Shauna H.B. as Cogsworth.  There were, in all honesty, a good number of fine performances including those from Ryan Branigan (Gaston), Matthew Adams (Maurice) and Olivia Thompson (Mrs Potts) and Macsen Sherer stood out as Lefou.

The set was simple, making good use of cloths and the costumes were excellent as always at Hornsea but I was perhaps most impressed by the pace at which the show was taken – it was superb and a lesson for many.

Young casts are, of course, works in progress and this enthusiastic production showed that this HATS future is in very good hands.

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