Disney’s Beauty and the Beast Jnr.

In telling this “tale as old as time with song as old as rhyme”, I had to remind myself of the age profile of all those on stage performing this timeless Disney classic.  Robyn Burns (10) and Zach Aitchison (10) were very well matched in portraying ‘Beauty’ and ‘The Beast’ with both displaying great singing voices and a flair for drama.  Jack Stewart (14) gave a strong performance as ‘Maurice’ as did Joe McAdam (13) who played ‘Gaston’.  Logan Byrne maximised every comedic opportunity in portraying the character ‘Lefou’, with Ewan Nelson playing ‘Cogsworth’; Joshua Cullen, ‘Lumiere’; Cerys Moore, ‘Babette’; Reece Nelson, ‘Monsieur D’Arque’; Morgan O’Hare, ‘Mrs Potts’ with Keir Macauley, as her cute son ‘Chip’.  Katie McCrum displayed an impressive soprano voice as ‘Madame de la Grande Bouche’ and Emily Allen, Alyssa Brennan, Aimee Moore and Olivia Semple completed the principal line-up as the silly girls.  Regardless if a principal or a member of the chorus, this junior section excelled in all aspects of performance bringing the story alive.  Stage direction and choreography had been well drilled with the singing being of a very high standard.  It is about teamwork in this group and members of the adult company designed and assembled the impressive stage set which featured the Castle terrace blending perfectly with other backdrops used.  Without vision, inspiring leadership, commitment and dedication none of this is possible and I must praise the production team and those who coached and mentored the young people in their achievement.  Well done to one and all!

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