Monday, 16 December 2019

Andy Bennett Show - BBC Somerset 9th December 2019

Saturday, 14 December 2019

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST

at Bath Theatre Royal

Far away in the village of Camembert, the ‘Cross Channel’ Fairy Bon Bon offers her assistance to the lovely Belle, a young woman yet to meet her fate in the great castle looming in the distance. The scene was set for a rollicking two hours of fun in the experienced hands of the irrepressible Jon Monie as Louis la Plonk and Nick Wilton as his mum, Polly, The Beast’s housekeeper.

Production values are sky high for this popular Christmas classic, with enough glitter to decorate a forest of Christmas trees and scene changes aplenty, seamlessly threaded together. The support cast of six dancers and excellent performances by the children from the Dorothy Coleborn School of Dance swelled the ranks with yet more colour and movement. Fine musical backing from a three-piece band pumped energy into the musical numbers and if there was one thing I took away on the night it was how well everyone could sing! The Beast’s (Shaun Dalton) ‘No Prayer for Me’, Belle’s ‘Far From Shadows Now’ and Bon Bon’s ‘I had a Dream’ were all high points.

Clare Maynard brought some assertiveness to her Belle – it wasn’t just the Beast making the moves here – as well as some heart-felt scenes with her impoverished artist dad, Clement (Marcus Knibbs). Shaun Dalton certainly cut the mustard as the hirsute one. At six-foot five and armed with a naturally big voice, his was an impressive Beast. His transformation to manhood later was literally revolutionary. Ben Harlow seemed to enjoy milking the boos for his portrayal of the pantomime baddy, the impossibly vain Hugo Pompidou, while Wendi Peters as Bon Bon was a twinkly, kindly presence throughout, given to popping on stage left with plenty of pink smoke in attendance.

No panto would be complete without a chaotic kitchen scene, and Monie and Wilton served up some classic nonsense with some occasionally risqué baguettes getting the better of them. A de-rigour ghost scene didn’t disappoint, with the kids’ in the audience screaming at fever pitch when ghouls flitted ‘behind them’. A castle bedroom scene, in which the ridiculously overdressed dressed Polly and her son experience more spooky goings on is a treat, with beds disappearing into the wall and occupants re-appearing elsewhere. Monie and Wilton’s timing was spot-on and the two never failed to engage the audience with witty asides.

Monie’s prize-winning script made the most of current affairs, with some amusing digs at Brexit and Trump woven into a fast-moving script. Belle’s “I feel like Melania” after some rough treatment from the Beast got good reaction from the audience.

All the classic panto moments are here – sweets thrown into the audience, the audience singalong, the parish notices and four children getting goody bags onstage, before the inevitable marriage finale, for which the costume designers had thrown away all caution. All as good as a flaming Christmas pud. ★★★★☆ Simon Bishop 14th December 2019

Photo by Freia Turland

Review 1: Globalmouse Travels

Bath Pantomime – Beauty and the Beast brings festive fun to the Theatre Royal Bath

The stage is set for an enchanting Christmas at the Theatre Royal Bath with the magical tale of Beauty and the Beast brought to life before your eyes and this year’s production will put a smile of the faces of everyone in your family. It’s a brilliant production which will be loved by young and old and is absolutely packed with music and laughter.

Beauty and the Beast all photos credit to Freia Turland

This is a wonderful Bath Pantomime once again, with the fantastic Wendi Peters starring as Fairy Bon-Bon, with local panto legends Jon Monie and Nick Wilton delivering the laughs. Wendi is well known to TV viewers as Cilla Battersby-Brown in Coronation Street, and she is a real revelation for those who have never seen her on stage before, delivering some amazing songs and proving to be a glittering highlight of the production.

Beauty and The Beast - Wendi Peters as Fairy Bon-Bon - Photo credit Freia Turland

Beauty and the Beast sees our heroine Belle imprisoned in an enchanted castle by a prince who has been transformed into a hideous beast, but can she melt his heart and live happily ever after? There’s also the vain and boo-able baddie Hugo Pompidou to deal with too before she can marry.

Jon Monie as Louis La Plonk and Nick Wilton as his long suffering mum, deliver laugh after laugh and have the whole audience in hysterics with their jokes and routines which are well-worn but are exactly what a panto audience is looking for.

Bath Pantomime - Beauty and the Beast brings festive fun to the Theatre Royal Bath

Clare Maynard as Belle and Shaun Dalton as the Beast are central to our story and keep the drama moving along delivering strong performances throughout.

The production benefits from some incredible music and at times in the first half it almost feels like you’re watching a musical, with songs coming thick and fast. A show stopping final number before the break is a real hit, as is this year’s stand out star Ben Harlow as the loathsome Hugo, who is a real joy to watch.

There are sumptuous costumes, brilliant scenery and a great transformation scene towards the end. It’s no surprise that this family pantomime won five star reviews last year when it premiered and Bath panto goers are going to adore this production which delivers everything you could want from a great Christmas night out.