Beauty & The Beast

November 26-January 21

Beauty & The Beast

Everyman Liverpool
https://www.everymanplayhouse.com/

4*

The Everyman Rock ‘N’ Roll Panto has long mastered the tricky art of balancing ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ and coming up with something new, which always takes colossal liberties. The great thing about this is that both cast and audience relish the old favourites along with the latest innovations, the in jokes, the running gags and ad libs, including the ones which when you do take the time to think about it, make no sense at all… They all come thick and fast, exceedingly witty plus the full quota of groaning puns.

The stage is lavishly decorated as a palace (cum island), with the obligatory staircase and trapdoor. Costumes, on the one hand (and the rest of the body of course), are as sparkly and glamorous as you could wave a magic wand at, and on the other, garishly outlandish. All enhanced to the usual high standard by the music which the virtuoso cast produce with huge enthusiasm and talent.

As for the cast, some cracking cameos from Danny Burns as the Chat Show Host with the most extraordinary line of patter, all clichés and catchphrases. Mirror Antoinette, a name which in itself sums up the level of humour, is a dead ringer for Ruth Jones, and Emmy Stonelake also shines as Cobweb and Taboo.

Our heroine, the delightful, dear little Rose White, is played by Stephanie Hockley with trademark helpings of the ditsy and the feisty, although perhaps she should not be grinning quite so gleefully in the fight sequence. But again, all topped off by that powerful singing voice,She is up against the Everyman speciality, the captivating enchantress, although as villainess Narcissus McSissus, Lucy Thatcher went in rather more for massive tantrums than sinister deeds. Nonetheless, she, along with everybody else, simply kept everybody spellbound.

Newcomer Raj Paul as King Tyrell, the tall, dark and handsome…Beast (well, beneath the Phantom of the Opera mask – there’s a lot of cheating going on here as it were but all part of the fun) is a find, acting, singing and dancing flawlessly. By contrast, a welcome return for Tom Connor, an almost terrifying lookalike Paul McCartney, as quirky Sir Cyril of the Wirral, while Lauren Silver is in glittering form as Poppy, Queen of the Fairies. Speaking of which, though I don’t suppose we should in this day and age – ah well: a double helping, you lucky people: the toothsome twosome of camp, Adam Keast and Francis Tucker playing twins, no less. As always, they had the audience enthralled, up to their old tricks whilst making the most of new inventions, and fortuitous ad libs.

Such is the wonderful atmosphere, the simplest comment is greeted with great hilarity: ‘Awkward’, is Prince Cyril’s response to every kind of situation, trivial or disastrous. And if you want an excellent evening out, the simplest thing is to come along and join in the fun. Christmas starts here – oh yes it does.

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