NODA Review of Beauty and The Beast, 2024

A wet and windy evening, just right for meeting a beast in a palace hidden away in Wuthering Woods. This was not the well-known Disney version of Beauty and the Beast but an interesting adaptation written and directed by Leah Sanders. We had all the elements, a fearsome beast, a beautiful girl, the baddie, talking furniture and villagers and we also had a fairy narrator, a pantomime dame and a Dog called Cat, or was it Cat called Dog with her own side-kick – Boots. To be fair, having had the image of a traditional portrayal of a Beauty and the Beast Pantomime in my head I really grew to like and enjoy this version.

We had lively and energetic performances from Leah Sanders as Cat and Anastasia Egan-Welch as Boots, these two really worked well together and kept the show moving along at a good pace, both were and enjoyed there many songs integral to the pantomime element of the show. Ashley Bell was good as Ruby, a good singing voice and confidence on stage as the beauty opposite the beast and baddie Jacques well played by Mia McDonald who gave us powerful vocals with her rendition of ‘Ruby’ and had powerful stage presence. Caitlyn Watkins was a suitable Beast accompanied by the household furniture Callum Wing as the Candelabra, Riannah Thompson as the Teapot, Layla Hutt as the Wardrobe and two French Maids Miley Mathers and Lexi-Mai Povey.

Shoestring Theatre is based in Brandon, Suffolk.

We are a group of creatives that enjoy entertaining the people of Suffolk with our annual Pantomimes and Summer Shows as well as performing at local events!

Interested? Check out our Get Involved section to find out how you can make a difference with Shoestring Theatre.

 

 

 

 

Beauty and The Beast, 2024

Snow White, 2023

Peter Pan, 2022

 

 

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