Beauty and the Beast review – energetic cast make five a festive stageful

Stephen Joseph theatre, Scarborough
Nick Lane’s witty and rounded adaptation stars a no-nonsense Rosabelle, and manages to convey fear and fun with pop hits

If ever you find yourself in a scary place, the one you want by your side is actor Kiara Nicole Pillai. No-nonsense and bold, her Rosabelle – the Beauty to Oliver Mawdsley’s Beast – is almost comically fearless. Faced by a roaring horned creature with a feathery hide, she ignores his belligerence and tells him to get over himself. She teaches him what “proper mardy” means and he learns his lesson.

It is a quality Lady Maloria has not bargained for. Played by Annie Kirkman, supercilious, patronising and generally wicked, she is counting on the little girl’s fear to feed an off-stage sea monster and maintain her hold on the town of Scarbolopolis. In Nick Lane’s witty and rounded adaptation of the Madame LePrince de Beaumont story, a seaside town once known for candy floss and chips now specialises in hunting supplies. Beast tracking is big business.

At Stephen Joseph theatre, Scarborough, until 30 December

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from The Guardian https://ift.tt/7jdEhBu

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