Beauty and the Beast at the Theatre Royal Plymouth Review
Beauty and the Beast
Birmingham Royal Ballet
Theatre Royal, Plymouth
30 October to 1 November 2014
Reviewed by Nicola Wilkinson
I was offered to review Beauty and the Beast Ballet performed by the Birmingham Royal Ballet and jumped at the chance. I grew up dancing and it was great to have a chance to watch one of my favourite childhood films as a ballet.
Theatre Royal Plymouth is in the city centre and there are two car parks close to the theatre so parking is very convenient. One car park is a pay on exit and the other is only £3.60 for three hours parking. There were plenty of parking spaces.
Theatre Royal Plymouth has undergone a major refurbishment and is better than ever. We arrived and found the box office easily and were greatest by very friendly staff who made sure we knew where our seats were.
The theatre was very busy but not at all crowded, it was very clean and everything was signposted clearly. You are able to pre order drinks for the interval to save time queuing and ice creams are also on sale.
We were sat in the upper circle and had centre seats which had the perfect view, you are able to purchase binoculars to borrow on the way into the auditorium and children can also borrow children booster seats to make them a little higher.
The Birmingham Royal Ballet story of Beauty and the Beast was easy to follow with fantastic and very strong company of dancers. Elisha Willis was very well suited to the part of Belle, as was Tyrone Singleton as the part of the beast. This is a family ballet and there were some young guest in the audience. I think the comedy factor from Belle’s sisters (played fantastically by Angela Paul and Samara) gave a fun side to the ballet. Other very strong performances were from Jonathan Payn as the Monsieur Cochon and Tzu-Chao Chou as the Raven but over all they are a fantastic company.
The sets, special effects and lighting of the show were incredibly detailed. The set moves invisibly between scenes, masked by lights and drifting mist to create a very magical experience. The costumes were in keeping with the era with wonderful make up, wigs, and fantastic animal costumes.
The story of Beauty and the Beast is very well known tale of a beautiful girl and a hideous beast. This version starts with the prince and his huntsmen in a forest when a woodsman came along and turned the vixen they were chasing into a girl and changed the prince into the beast and the huntsmen into animals as punishment for what they were going to do to the vixen. The story continues with Belle’s father (Michel O’Hare) a merchant getting lost while looking for his ship. A storm has set in and he decides to take cover in the castle, he is fed and when he awakes his trunk is full of nice things. As he leaves he sees a rose which he plans to take back to Belle but as he picks it the Beast catches him and orders him to send one of his daughters to live with him as an exchange for his life.
Belle goes to live with the beast and soon sees the beast for his good nature. Belle is allowed to return home to see her father. When she arrives everyone is preparing for her sister’s wedding. Belle has left the Beast heart broken and he thinks he will never get Belle to fall in love with him. The Vixen comes to warns Belle that the beast is dying and that she must return. When Belle finally returns, she cries that she has always loved him and agrees to marry him. The woodsman appears and as the curse is lifted the Beasts ugliness melts and the prince appears in his place. Belle and the beast live happily ever after.
I can thoroughly recommend this ballet it is full of magic and you can see it at Theatre Royal Plymouth until the 1st November 2014 before heading to the Sunderland Empire, 6-8 November 2014.
Rating: 5/5 
Tickets cost from £17.20 to £37.70
Beauty and the Beast performed by the Birmingham Royal Ballet is at the Theatre Royal in Plymouth until 1 November 2014. For more information or to book tickets click here or call the box office on 01752 267222.
Theatre Royal Plymouth, Royal Parade, Plymouth, PL1 2TR | 01752 267222
