Review: BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, Wycombe Swan
Pantomime is a unique theatrical form and a delightful combination of so many elements that it often works successfully with an audience when only some of those elements are present, but when they are all present, it is magnificent entertainment for the whole family that sets you up for the festive season. Those elements are a spectacular setting, a man dressed as a woman with a sprinkling of adult innuendo, a battle between good and evil, a selection of musical choices that span the decades to appeal to all age groups and some traditional pantomime business. The Wycombe Swan’s production of Beauty and the Beast, following on from last year’s success of Cinderella, has it all and with a two-hour 10-minute run time, gets the balance between the elements just right.
The digital set looks amazing as soon as you enter the auditorium transporting you to a fantasy world of picturesque villages, wild woods and a Hogwarts style castle with the rose motif being embedded in every setting. It enables smooth slick transitions between scenes with images sweeping across the countryside, a spinning ballroom as love blossoms, powerful imagery of rose petals dropping and useful inserts for songsheet and comic images. Some may miss the tradition of flats and cloths but on the Wycombe stage, the new technology proves a perfect setting for the storytelling and comic interactions.
La Voix is a class act by any standards and dominates the stage as Dame Peggy Pullem, a glamourous version of Barbara Windsor’s Peggy Mitchell landlady at the Nobody Inn. She engages the front row with a wicked wit delivered in the best possible taste and a knowing grin. The running gag of the frustration in trying to sing ‘River Deep , Mountain High’ on every entrance is handled wonderfully right through to the finale when her performance is pre-empted by the other principals. While the asides about “I never had this problem at Aylesbury” and I only did this “because I thought Vernon Kay was in it” are delightful inside jokes for his fans and regulars at the Swan and the nearby Aylesbury Waterside competitor.
The battle between Good and Evil is embodied in the roles of Susanne Shaw as Asteria, the enchantress who turns the Prince into a Beast to teach him a lesson on behaviour rather than an act of revenge, which makes her a much more appealing persona and is charmingly and confidently played. Joe McFadden plays the love rival and villain of the piece and you do wonder why the enchantress did not turn him into a beast too to teach him a lesson! James Bisp returns to the venue as the Beast and makes him an interesting character struggling with incarceration and feelings for Verity Thompson’s delightful Belle.
The music arranged by Steve Power and directed by Daniel Walters features a lovely selection of songs with changed lyrics to fit them into the narrative, with Shaw excelling in ‘Tonight Belongs To You’, McFadden in ‘Uptown Funk’, La Voix in ‘Oompah-pah’, Bisp and Thompson in ‘Starlight’, and everybody celebrating in the pantomime song of the year ‘I Can Dance’ and, of course, ‘River Deep’.
Finally, the traditional pantomime comedy business is delivered with great timing by Jon Clegg as Percy, usually in partnership with La Voix, including a very original pun run around fish types which although fresh, most of the jokes were appropriately smelly, a traditional ghost bench scene and a charming songsheet with four kids on the stage for “one smart fella”, which he handles perfectly. In between times, he adds his usual instantly recognisable impressions of TV personalities, which raises plenty of laughs and smiles of recognition.
This is a very strong pantomime showing that with the right combination of star names and investment in the production values, whilst retaining a clear narrative thread with only the occasional nod to the Disney classic of the title, producers can create first class family entertainment with a lovely glamorous look and an ensemble feel of the cast as they all contribute to the tale. Next year they have announced Aladdin, and we are already looking forward to seeing what they can do with this classic pantomime title.
***** Five stars
Reviewed by: Nick Wayne
Beauty and the Beast plays at Wycombe Swan until 31 December, with further information here.