Tickets were gifted in return for an honest review.
The sparkling festive treat of the Castle Theatre pantomime returns to Wellingborough. This year, the theatre stages an in-house production of Beauty and the Beast.
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| The full company. |
Produced and directed by Martin Cleverley, the panto gives a wonderful re-telling of the classic fairy tale, which is best known for its two Disney film adaptations. Don't expect enchanted objects here, but you get a host of colourful characters who serve up a brilliant piece of entertainment.
There's a fun nod to the French setting of the story as we are located in the town of La Wellingborough, and the audience is encouraged to shout 'bonjour' to new characters as well as 'oui oui' back to the Djon. The setting becomes a fun playground for the story, and sets by UK Productions and lighting by Ollie Titterington enable the story to come to life in a fitting way with a traditional pantomime, whilst also adding a dynamic, fresh energy.
As the story begins, we meet the superb Nancy Doubledee as The Enchantress, who explains that Prince Pierre has been turned into a beast by a curse and that only true love can break this spell. Of course, this must be done before the last petal falls from a magical rose, or the Prince shall be cast to the shadows forever.
In La Wellingborough, Beauty and her dad Doc are moving in and are greeted by the villagers, including Djon, FC and Danon. Doc is searching for money for his latest invention, and the evil Danon sends him to the castle, where he stumbles upon the Beast, who locks him up. Beauty heads to save her father and sacrifices herself in his place. Thus begins the classic relationship between Beauty and the Beast.
Aura Hope Mitchell makes for a lovely Beauty. She has a natural warmth to her performance that shines through. Kaysee Craine relishes the dual role of Prince Pierre and Beast, he gets to show both imposing physicality and a depth to the roles. Together they match well and make a likeable couple that gels the entire plot together.
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| Kaysee Craine as Beast and Aura Hope Mitchell as Beauty. |
Gary L Johnson returns as the Dame. This year playing Mademoiselle Marmalade, Gary once again excels in the role. He is clearly so comfortable on the stage and does have the occasion to make his fellow cast members break into laughter. Gary enjoys his audience stooge and getting to bounce off that relationship.
Edward Conroy as Djon and Samuel Morgan-Grahame as FC both delight in the comedic roles. There are some wickedly funny moments from both and some great sequences. Morgan-Grahame's delivery in particular is hilarious to watch, especially in moments as he explains that the curtain is flat and the door is not, in fact, a door. Pushing this as far as he can before the other cast corpse. When either is on stage, there is a feel of a boost to proceedings.
Andy Rose has a good time as the villainous Danon. His cocky bravado as he assumes Beauty will marry him and the way he lies to the other characters, Rose delivers the role well and is rightly booed throughout by the audience. Daniel Taylor is the eccentric Doc and he plays this well, delivering some larger-than-life emotions and is constantly watchable.
Nancy Doubledee as The Enchantress instantly feels like a friend to the audience, and her bright delivery of the always good fun. She helps drive forward the tale and superbly plays the role.
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| Nancy Doubledee as The Enchantress. |
All the company have fine voices, and this enhances the musical sequence with a variety of numbers for APT to Dancing Through Life and more used in this production. Although there is a sound balance issue a few times, with the booming music drowning out the performers. The music numbers are made more visually exciting with the dancers and the young company. Lottie Snowden in particular stands out as a really talented mover.
There are some standout scenes, including 'If I Were Not In Pantomime...', the classic song sheet and a marvellously messy slosh scene. Lots of thought and care have gone into the staging, although the first half does feel a little laboured and there is much more plot development in the second act.
Impressive is the mixed array of references, one minute you have a character delivering the famous Allo' Allo' catchphrase 'listen very carefully', the next you have '6 7' mentioned, which instantly has the younger audience members shouting out and the adults seemingly confused by this. The script does well to have moments that a variety of ages will get. As always, the jokes are either hilarious or groan-worthy, but it's the delivery that has you hooked and laughing.
All in all, this is a fantastic piece of family entertainment. The Castle Theatre clearly put their creative heart and souls into the yearly production. The Northamptonshire venue is a wonderful place to visit and once again, they deliver a production that is full of comedy, music and a sense of feeling. It is a real treat to spend a couple of hours with this festive season.
Beauty and the Beast plays at The Castle Theatre in Wellingborough until Wednesday 31st December 2025. Tickets are available from https://www.parkwoodtheatres.co.uk/castle-theatre
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| Daniel Taylor as Doc and Gary L Johnson as Mademoiselle Marmalade. |
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