A Spectacular Beauty And The Beast At Blackpool

Liz Coggins reports on an exuberant, rip-roaring, high energy Beauty and the Beast at The Globe in Blackpool Pleasure Beach - the ultimate spectacular pantomime experience.

Stageworks World Wide Productions has created what must be one of the most spectacular pantomimes in the country that will take your breath away and certainly leave both you and the kids filled with wonder and awe.

Beauty and The Beast has an aerialist, water curtain, fire, ice, a magnificent golden staircase reaching the top of the Globe. There’s special effects and hundreds of lavish rhinestone, feather embellished and sequin encrusted costumes – the most productions can only dream about. But despite all this it sticks firmly to the true spirit of traditional panto.

Beauty and the Beast is not an easy story to give the full pantomime treatment to but Adam Slevin’s script is a brilliant interpretation encompassing the elements of the fairy story into a magical family pantomime that dispenses true magic.

Co-Directors Slevin and Alexa Robinson’s production is fast, furious and has amazing high octane energy whilst Lynsey Brown’s choreography is some of the most challenging and technically perfect I have seen for a long time performed by an amazingly talented ensemble.

Presented on an open stage it moves quickly from place to place using beautifully decorated box sets on both sides of the stage at different levels – an ingenious move to keep the audience focussed.

Although traditionally set in France there are local connections but they never overtake or spoil the original tale.

As Prince Anton and the Beast, Ashley Luke Lloyd gets just the right balance. He has a fine voice, perfect mannerisms in both roles and the ability to create an air of pathos, whilst Sarah Ward is a wistful Beauty who blends beautifully with the Beast in the musical numbers. She is so believable the little ones just love her.

There’s a stand out performance from Kelsey Beth Crossly as L’Amour a glamorous fairy who never lets her French Accent slip and who the kids just adore.

Charlotte Dawson’s characterization of Fortulicious is perfection - its wicked and foreboding but not overly frightening.

Weather presenter Emma Jepson, making her pantomime debut, as Mrs Potts teams well with Del Wilden’s Mr Potts – both indulge in some character changing episodes but no spoilers here.

David Cross makes a convincing Gaston in both looks and persona. Cross has some great comedy timing yet slips from comedy to the serious side of Gaston very easily.

But its drag queen Betty Legs Diamond who gives the crème de la crème performance as Chan-de-Lier. His cutting edge humour, stage presence and family friendly material bring the house down especially his Can Can dance routine ending in the splits. His costumes are, as you would expect are so over the top and aglow with glitz and glamour. Making his first panto appearance at the Globe one hopes he will become a permanent ‘dame’ fixture there.

Beauty and the Beast has an excellent supporting cast and an amazing ultra energetic ensemble plus a superb eclectic mix of music ranging from pop to stirring classics.

This is a pantomime that’s well worth making the trip to Blackpool to see and there’s an opportunity to visit Santa’s Grotto afterwards.