REVIEW: Beauty & The Beast - St Helens Theatre Royal
Beauty And The Beast delighted audiences who gathered at St Helen's Theatre Royal for nine days. Sunday 28th October was the final call for the adaptation of the famous Disney classic.
Regal entertainments Ltd presented the show which was written by Liam Mellor and directed by Chantelle Nolan.
The opening scene saw Channel 5's Milkshake star Keira-Nicole Brennan accompanied by the most adorable and exuberant young dancers in colourful outfits. Whilst her vocals were a little quiet, she burst onto stage and opened the show confidently as she performs an ode to Gaston who is desperate for her affections. As we watched the story unfold in the village of Petit Pois, the talent of the entire cast delighted children and adult alike.
Gaston (The fabulous Philip McGuinness) fought tirelessly for Belle's affection and his humorous dialogue was engaging and entertaining. He is undoubtedly the star of the show for me. The traditional innuendo for the benefit of the adult members of the audience took the form of more physical theatre than provocative language. A poor audience member became star of the show as he tousled with French Frank. Rather him than me!
Si Foster, a regular as the role of panto dame played an excellent Potty Polly and displayed great stage presence as always.The audience were thrilled by his antics and the energy between him and Lewis Devine as French Frank.
Kudos to choreographer Sarah Walker for her choreography. The dance routine with the wolves with Rag'nBone man's "Human" as the soundtrack was fantastic and contributed towards an excellent scene.
Hannah Potts played Gaston's mother and she was excellent. Her vocals were powerful and she had gravitas. Her scenes with Gaston (Philip McGuinness) had the right mix of humour and evil. She did play the resident villain after all.
Andrew Geater played a convincing Prince Charming / Beast and his scenes with Keira-Nicole Brennan were a joy to watch.
Overall, it was an enjoyable show and there was much to captivate the audience. Having watched the Easter panto of Beauty & The Beast in 2017, I would say that the 2017 was my favourite. It had the slight edge over this current version. That said, the panto is always a great family affair and it is an enchanting experience to watch the story unfold. Great writing by Liam Mellor and excellent performances by the cast. Congrats to the cast on this run of the show.
Sat 20th - Sun 28th October
St Helens Theatre Royal
Regal entertainments Ltd presented the show which was written by Liam Mellor and directed by Chantelle Nolan.
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| Kiera-Nicole Brennan and dancers. Photo Credit : David Munn Photography |
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| Kiera- Nicole Brennan & Philip McGuiness. Photo Credit : David Munn Photography |
Gaston (The fabulous Philip McGuinness) fought tirelessly for Belle's affection and his humorous dialogue was engaging and entertaining. He is undoubtedly the star of the show for me. The traditional innuendo for the benefit of the adult members of the audience took the form of more physical theatre than provocative language. A poor audience member became star of the show as he tousled with French Frank. Rather him than me!
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| Lewis Devine & Si Foster. Photo Credit : David Munn Photography |
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| Maddie Hope Coelho & dancers. Photo Credit : David Munn Photography |
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| Hannah Potts as Madame Botox. Photo Credit : David Munn Photography |
Hannah Potts played Gaston's mother and she was excellent. Her vocals were powerful and she had gravitas. Her scenes with Gaston (Philip McGuinness) had the right mix of humour and evil. She did play the resident villain after all.
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| Keira-Nicole Brennan & Andrew Geater. Photo Credit : David Munn Photography |
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| Photo Credit : David Munn Photography |
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| Photo Credit : David Munn Photography |
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| Finale. Photo Credit : David Munn Photography |
Sat 20th - Sun 28th October
St Helens Theatre Royal
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