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 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.

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.