Beauty and The Beast at Grove Theatre Dunstable Review
DISCLOSURE – TICKETS TO SEE THE SHOW WERE GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER AND GUEST FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW
Reviewed by Dot
It might have been extremely wet and windy outside last night, but inside the Grove Theatre, Dunstable, it was warm and welcoming. We had deliberately arrived early so we had a better chance of parking and made our way to the theatre which had opened in April 2007. The foyer was already full of excited children wielding various light-up wands, roses & spinning toys as we arrived to watch this year’s Pantomime, Beauty and the Beast.
Joe Swash as Phillipe Fillop is the star of the panto this year, you might recognise him as Mickey Miller from East Enders, he became King of the jungle in 2008 and in 2020 won dancing on ice. Quite an achievement!
Anthonia Edwards, winner of The Voice UK as Belle, Phillipe’s sister, astounded us with her vocals, what a voice!!
Will Kenning, a Dunstable Panto regular was Madame Fillop, Phillipe and Belle’s mother. There was of course a great deal of comedy banter between Phillipe and his mother and I lost count of the amazing outfits!
Fairy Cupid, Alison Jiear, another fabulous voice who had trained classically in Australia, opened the show by telling us how Prince Henri had been turned into the Beast by an evil Fairy when he refused to buy a rose. The rose which was left at the castle had six petals and if the Beast, played by Popular Jaymi Hensley-Marmon, didn’t find love before the final petal fell he would die!
Jaymi, of Union J fame has become a Dunstable Panto regular over the last few years, another amazing voice! His clever transformation took place on stage in front of us in a cloud of smoke.
Between Cupid, Belle and The Beast there were some amazing vocals this year!
Philip and his sister Belle lived with their mother in a small village in France close to the Beast’s Castle which was protected by Wolves. The villagers were their friends, including Danton, Christopher Erasmus who played his part really well and made us laugh with his quirky little ‘dance’ every time he came on stage. There were of course the usual team of dancers and young local dancers which added to the show.
Belle dreamed of a life outside the village but had been warned of the dangers of leaving it’s safety by her mother. One day Belle took her chance, but soon became lost in the woods where she came across the Beast’s castle which of course was protected by wolves and was taken prisoner. Her mother, Phillipe & Danton set out to rescue Belle but were imprisoned themselves, but like in all good pantos they escaped with the help of Cupid and returned to the village.
Kind hearted Belle decided the Beast needed her help and returned to his castle as his friend rather than his prisoner.
In the castle lived Prince Henri’s former servants who had been turned into household items when the Prince was changed into a Beast. Slowly Belle changed the Beast for the better, and just before the final petal fell from the rose she realised she loved the Beast and told him.
We probably all already know this well known story and have seen Disney’s film Beauty and the Beast which dates back to 1991 and the more recent film, which was released in 2017, but I wonder if you had realised that the Story of Beauty and the Beast dates back to 1740 when a French writer called Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve included it in a story collection?
This year’s Panto, Beauty and the Beast once again was written by Paul Hendy and produced by Evolution Productions with Will Kenning as the director, so it was guaranteed to be a fabulous show!
Thes Pantomime couldn’t have happened of course without the three piece Band which never drowned out the vocals, the costumes, the scenery, the lighting and special effects, and of course the Choreographer who did a fabulous job.
Special shout out to Dan Hand, dancer, for his exceptional performance as a XXX I don’t want to spoil it for anyone but my granddaughter reckons this should be added to his CV!!
Evolution Productions are well known and produce family friendly shows with funny scripts and I read they have twice won Pantomime of the year at the Great British Pantomime Awards.
Rating: 5/5
For more information or to book tickets, visit everyonetheatres.com
Friday 6 December 2024 – Sunday 5 January 2025
Tickets from £15.00 but selling out quickly!!