Beauty and the Beast
Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury
Written and directed by Paul Hendy
Evolution Pantomimes
Star rating: 4
Over its 20 years of partnership with Evolution Pantomimes the Marlowe Theatre has developed a panto brand all of its own. I have seen almost all of them and it just goes on getting better – in terms of casting, production values, energy and an indefinable element which makes every single audience member feel part of the action – like an annual family party.
Since taking over as Dame from the late great Dave Lee (who always gets an honourable mention and has a statue outside the theatre) sixteen years years ago, Ben Roddy has built a very personal persona. And he’s in fine form in this Beauty and the Beast – simpering, pouting, grinning looking hurt and gleeful and timing the jokes with effortless near-military precision. His outfits (designed by Michael J Batchelor) are joyfully entertaining too.
Phil Gallagher is another Marlowe regular and he and Roddy work well together enjoying the joke about the former being three years older than the latter but regularly being cast as her son. Their trolley-of-themed-puns routine which has become a Marlowe Pantomime fixture is, as ever, slickly funny
Maisie Smith, as Belle, is a lot more than an ex-soap opera/Strictly Come Dancing celebrity glad of a job over Christmas. The Marlowe Pantomime does not do that. Rather, she is a talented stage performer with real personality, kindly and assertively determined to tame the beast aka Prince Henri (Joseph Hewlett – lots of gravitas) because, as she keeps saying in a very 21st century way, looks don’t matter. It’s personality which counts. Smith sings well and, of course, she’s good in the dance routines.
Among the strong cast of support actors (including a fine ensemble of eight) Richard David-Caine impresses as Danton with his lithe, aggressively sexy body, risque looks at the audience, skilled voice work (that cod French accent!), stage presence and energy.
The music. which jokily references many genres, is splendid too with veteran MD, Chris Wong in charge. Wong has been at the musical helm of the Marlowe Pantomime for thirty years having originally worked with the company with preceded Evolution. He and one other band member work from a box above stage right with two more above stage left. And the sound pounds seamlessly on, whether it’s Ghostbusters for the ghost scene for which they brought Wong on stage and pointed out that he must have played the chorus sixteen thousand times, or a lyrical duet between Smith and Hewlett.
Having said all that Beauty and the Beast is not an ideal story for pantomime treatment because its themes are, at heart, serious. This means that in this production you get a faintly uneasy mix of comic scenes with wonderful costumes, lighting and special effects interspersed with interludes which become pure musical theatre. It, therefore, feels at times slightly bitty but that’s a minor gripe about a show which really does tick the boxes for the people of Kent and beyond.
Incidentally I haven’t seen the backstage crew brought onstage and acknowledged at the curtain call since His Dark Materials at National Theatre. The cast thanked the front of house staff at the end too. All very civilised and such a good example to the many children in the audience.
