BEAUTY AND THE BEAST
Gatehouse Theatre, Stafford, Tuesday 12th December 2023
Beauty and the Beast has increased in popularity as a pantomime since the 1991 release of Disney’s animated feature film and, inevitably, audience perceptions and expectations will be coloured by the pervasiveness of that version. Of course, for copyright reasons at least, there have to be differences in any non-Disney version, for example the Gaston figure is here called Benedict Bourbon… More importantly, the film is not a pantomime, so the story must be shaped to fit this most theatrical of genres.
It begins, like all good pantos, with the good fairy character – here, Wendy the Enchantress (Wendy Abrahams), warming us up with some exposition via rhyming couplets, and Theo the Mouse, to whom she plays straight man. There’s a bit of low-key comic business with some balloons before things get going for real, and an exuberant chorus of villagers dance the opening number. On lead vocals is Celyn Cartwright as Belle, bringing beauty to be sure, but also breathing life into a somewhat one-dimensional role. She is never short of appealing whenever she appears.
The star billing is TV’s Mark Rhodes (of Sam and Mark fame – he must have had Sam surgically removed) as French Frank, who is about as gallic as faggots and peas. Rhodes is an accomplished comic performer, instantly befriending the audience and never missing an opportunity to overact and exaggerate his expressions. He is teamed with David Phipps-Davis as his mother, Dame Madeline Marzipan, and they work hard to wring laughs out of every moment. Phipps-Davis is a consummate dame, with a touch of Alan Carr to his delivery, and a range of eye-popping costumes all based around cakes and confectionery. The sweetness is countered by his acidic delivery. He and Rhodes are the jewels in this panto’s crown.
Neil Moors hams it up beautifully as the vain and boastful Benedict Bourbon, ostensibly the villain of the piece. But then we have Prince Pierre (Jonathan Alden) who has been beastified by Wendy the Enchantress. He too wants Belle for his own selfish reasons, and so we end up with a show with two villainous types, only one of which we are expected to boo. Both Moors and Alden have fine, deep singing voices, but it’s odd to applaud a baddie in case it encourages them. Also, having the good fairy and friend of the audience mete out punishment and turn the selfish prince into the Beast doesn’t quite sit right. She doesn’t treat anyone else with such severity.
Perhaps I’m overthinking it. We have to accept the tonal gear changes between the drama of the plot and the daftness of the genre. I’m tempted to say it’s the nature of the beast. The second half opens up with a cheerful production number, ELO’s Mr Blue Sky, which seems odd given that our heroine has just been imprisoned in the Beast’s chateau for the rest of her days! I would have gone to the two eponymous characters and their burgeoning relationship, but what do I know?
Written by king of pantomime, Eric Potts, the show has something for everyone. There are plenty of traditional panto routines for purists like myself, including a slapstick scene involving a couple of mops and a bath tub of ‘slosh’ that is hilarious in its simplicity, and a rendition of The Twelve Days of Christmas is uproarious fun. The script is a goldmine of groanworthy jokes. There is daftness for the kids and juvenile double entendres for the grown-ups. Every member of the cast rises to the comedic overplaying necessary to pull off this kind of material. Wink Taylor’s Professor Potage (Belle’s crackpot inventor father) is great at physical comedy, and more could be made of this – although of course, he never appears on stage with Theo the Mouse, for some reason…
The emphasis is on fun, and in that regard, this glittering gala of a show certainly delivers. Fairy tale magic with traditional flair guaranteed to brighten up these dark winter evenings. That’s the beauty of panto!
☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
Wendy Abrahams, Mark Rhodes, Celyn Cartwright, Jonathan Alden, and Neil Moors
(Photo courtesy of me)
Bum on a Seat 
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