Beauty And The Beast -Easter Pantomime 2023 At Theatre Royal, St Helens Review

Reviewed by Dottie Rood

Beauty and the Beast as we know it, mainly from the 1991 Disney animated film, this is not! Was it as good? maybe not quite as the music in the Disney film was brilliant (and as Potty Polly (Richard Aucott) says to French Frank (Lewis Devine) and us, they could not afford the rights to the lyrics/music from Disney so stop singing!) however was it brilliant in its own unique ‘pantomime’ style? definitely!!!

The story of Beauty and the Beast was performed for audiences as far back as 1740 when a French Novelist, Gabrielle-Suzanne Baradot de Villeneuve wrote La Belle etla Bete (which was based on a real life story of Petrus Gonsalvus and his bride to be Catherine) and I’m sure that was changed for Disney’s film (plus many others!) so who are we to dismiss it being shown as a pantomime!

St Helens theatre was an easy to find venue with parking close by (that was free due to a broken machine) and had a ‘charming’ atmosphere. The staff were generally helpful, one lady in particular was very enthusiastic about the performance even donning the ‘light up snake hat’ which really set us up for a good time. The pantomime was written by Liam Mellor and directed and produced by Chantelle Nolan, plus Jane Joseph (producer) and Kay Nicholson (Assistant Director), on behalf of Regal Entertainments.

And onto the pantomime:

The opening began with ‘narrator’ Fairy Rose (Maria Lovelady) who set the scene for us all. French Frank arrived on stage and the fun really began! He had such enthusiasm from the very beginning (and continued it all the way through) encouraging lots of ‘vocal audience participation’, which everyone within the theatre (both adults and children) appeared to enjoy, and our ‘party’ in particular joined in with massive gusto on every ‘panto’ inspired occasion.

We then met Gaston (Auguste Voulton) his ‘evil’ mum Madam Botox (Abigail Middleton) and of course Belle (Lauren McCrory) who set the scene for the basic Beauty and the Beast story with lots of very amusing comments, songs and innuendos (which were touched upon continuously throughout the show much to the amusement of the adults and a little confusion and interesting questions from my 6 year old granddaughter!) and then we met the prince (Benjamin Keith) who was eventually turned into the ‘Beast’ !

All of this was interceded on a regular basis with brilliant, hilarious and entertaining performances from both French Frank and Potty Polly which was true to all panto’s as we know them. Special mention has to go to them both. Potty Polly’s costume changes were a joy to see and brought much anticipation of what ‘she’ would be wearing every time ‘she’ appeared and French Franks stamina and enthusiasm was a delight that kept the flow of the whole show.

Charlotte Nolan commented on the story of Beauty and the Beast as, “An intelligent and beautiful heroine, a flawed hero and an arrogant suitor, all wrapped up in a tale that values the power of love and kindness-who could ask for more this Easter?” Add that to the definition of ‘pantomime’ as ‘a form of entertainment’ and you have summed up what this excellent show was all about.

Rating: 5/5

Tickets: From £16.00
Beauty and the Beast Easter Pantomime is at St Helens Theatre St Helens
From: 8th April to 16th April 2023
For more information or to book tickets: www.sthelenstheatreroyal.com
Or call the box office: 01744756000
Address: St Helens Theatre Royal Corporation Street St Helens WA101LQ