Tickets were gifted in return for an honest review
Huge festive entertainment returns to The Core at Corby Cube with the venue's annual pantomime. Little Wolf returns to the venue for a third year and this year stages a spellbinding production of Beauty and the Beast, which is jam-packed with jokes, musical numbers and oodles of fun.
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| Rhian Lynch as Belle. |
This year's offering sweeps us off to the French town of Corby-en-Crouté, just outside of Paris, where we're told in a prologue that the Beast is enchanted in a magical castle and will die if he does not find true love before the last petal of a magical rose falls. It being panto, I am sure you can guess where the story goes, but the production manages to pack plenty into the piece.
We first meet the wicked Enchantress, played superbly by Justine Marie Mead, as she casts the spell. It's quite a dark opening and may unsettle the younger children in attendance. Mead hams up the villainous role with real skill. The presence and delivery are well executed, as is Mead's powerful vocals. There is a standout rendition of 'I Will Prevail' from Wonderland.
The lighter tone does come in as soon as we meet the villagers of Corby-en-Crouté. Here we meet Belle, played by Rhian Lynch. Lynch is a gorgeous, light, bright presence throughout. She embodies the warmth of the role with believable skill. She has leading lady vocals and gets a number of times to showcase this, including a lovely solo of 'Journey To The Past' from Anastasia as Belle heads to the castle for the first time. The connection with her father Marcel played by Rob Leetham, is really sweet.
Alex Matangi is a great heartthrob as Gaston. His presence and booming vocals mean he instantly connects with the audience. He isn't the true villain, like you may expect from the Disney version. Although he does pursue Belle. Matangi is matched well with Michaela Murphy as La Fool. Murphy's dumbstruck delivery of the role is always fun to watch. The pair make a great duo and bounce off each other well.
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| Rob Leetham, Rhian Lynch, Elliot Coombe and Samuel Wright. |
Stealing the spotlight are the Idle Jacques, played by Elliot Coombe and Dame Betty Bon Bon, played by Samuel Wright.
Coombe has a real ease and confidence. He instantly feels like a friend to the audience and encourages participation - although some of his lines do fall flat, particularly the character's greeting, which is supposed to be shouted back by the audience, it was clearly forgotten by all after the first scene, but did pick up as the performance went on. It was either a script issue or a delivery one, but often jokes seemed to miss and fall flat. There are many jokes that do land and undoubtedly this is where Coombe excels most.
Wright is a formidable Dame. His array of colourful costumes is impressive and his wit and delivery light up the entire piece. Wright picks out his audience foil early on and this carries throughout the show. Together, Wright and Coombe make a strong duo when on stage together; their finest moments are when they go rogue and off script and make each other laugh. A fun, if a little too long, scene in The Bell Tower (although clearly shoe-horned in as it does nothing to advance the plot) is a hoot.
At The Castle is Gabriel Phelan's Prince Philippe, who is enchanted as The Beast. The costume is of high quality and really helps establish the role. The Beast has a lovely softness provided by Phelan.
The use of the young company to play a variety of roles, including The Wolves or Gargoyles and they work hard in their delivery and have been well incorporated into the panto.
The creative team at Little Wolf do not tend to miss and visually this production looks stunning. Morgan Brind (who also writes the production) brings dazzling set pieces, with curtains and larger props to bring the world to life. The colour scape of Jack Goodwin's lighting allows for the light and shade to play out with the rainbow of light.
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| Justine Marie Mead (centre) as The Enchantress |
The nice mix of music adds spectacle to the piece. Songs from hit West End shows, including The Book of Mormon or Into the Woods, pair with more contemporary songs like Lady Gaga's Abracadabra. Musical director David Culling brings an impressive score to life.
There are a few moments that just don't quite land or work, but in the large part, this is a wonderfully enjoyable spectacle of a show. It's a perfect window in the theatre for younger viewers and has enough for the older ones to not lose interest. Filled to the brim with humour, music and a dose of festive silliness, this is one not to miss.
As a first-time visit to The Core at Corby Cube, I was hugely impressed by the setup of the venue and the friendly welcome from the team there. The venue celebrates 15 years and here's to many more years of entertainment and fantastic pantomimes!
Beauty and the Beast plays at The Core at Corby Cube until Wednesday 31st December 2025. Tickets are available from https://thecorecorby.com/
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