Arts Award students review Beauty and the Beast
We were delighted to welcome a group of Arts Award students who have reviewed our pantomime, Beauty and the Beast!
Ashton, Kiri and Zara are working towards their Arts Award, and part of the criteria of the qualification is to review a production. The group attended Beauty and the Beast and you can read what they thought below!
The Reviews
Ashton said:
“The story line is that there is a village where cost-of-living prices are going up, because of the king (Leandro, who got turned in to a monster). So Bella decides to change things, but soon realises that there is a lot deeper plot…
The set design was really creative, so you could know where every character was in the world of Beauty and the Beast, and the costumes (especially the dame “Di Gestive’s”) were very colourful. So overall, great plot, amazing acting, wonderful humour and of course catchy parodies of popular songs. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys live performances.”
Kiri said:
“I loved the costumes that the characters were given. They were very colourful and expressive, which made the performance much more fun to watch. For example, Leandro’s costumes made his personality change so much from when he was a beast to when he was a handsome prince. The Dame wore very funny outfits that included; big and puffy dresses, silly hats, over the top makeup etc, which completely added to the performance.
I thought that the acting was incredible. Every cast member made what they were saying sound so believable. When a character was sad I felt sympathy for them, and when a character was excited, so was I. The choreography was done brilliantly. Every dancer was synchronized and no one did a wrong step. And of course singing was so amazing. I was very impressed by the songs that the characters did, especially the remixes of more modern songs to fit the play’s theme.
The performance really differed from my expectations. I thought that I was going to have a few moments where I was a bit bored, but I wasn’t bored for even just a second. My eyes didn’t leave the stage once. Usually I’m so excited for intervals but when it was actually the time to have a break from the play, all that I wanted to do was keep on watching it.
Being an audience member made me feel very compelled and intrigued. I also felt like I could be the witness for the whole story, like I knew more about what was happening than any of the characters on the stage.
I would recommend this pantomime to everyone, no matter the age or gender as I think it really was created for everyone to enjoy. Even my grandma, who isn’t the biggest fan of musicals, loved the performance.”
Zara said:
“It was a wonderful production with a few signature pantomime twists, such as the brilliant use of popular songs with changed lyrics, which were sung plentifully throughout. The actors were incredibly good and really brought life to the set. It’s really hard for me to pick a favourite character, but I really liked the dame, who brought comedy into the production. I also think that the actor who played the Beast did an especially good job, because he managed to portray his emotions without the ability to show facial expressions over his beast mask. The set was impressive, but not super-glamorous. Yet the cast managed to make the most of it, and there wasn’t a single moment of confusion as to where the characters were at any one time!
I was expecting this year’s pantomime to be brilliant, fun, and slightly silly in places, and the production definitely contained all of that and more!
For instance, I was not expecting the music to be so good! Some of the actors had amazing singing voices. I was also not expecting the beast to look quite like he did. I seem to remember that back when the Courtyard did Beauty and the Beast a few years ago the Beast had a beak, but he did not in this year’s pantomime. I think that this year’s beast costume is more fitting, because the lack of beak made him seem even more human, and therefore more relatable.
It was great that the production was so very light hearted and funny, while at the same time it made you feel the emotion of the set. Such as when I felt sorry for the characters during tough times, angry at the villain for being so horrible to the Beast and full of joy when the show ended well!
It was a very captivating pantomime, and not one person in our group got even the slightest bit bored at any point, during the show! I would highly recommend this pantomime to anyone, and I think that even the harshest of critics would find it hard to find something that they did not like about it! Because this year’s show was so brilliant, I’m now really looking forward to next year’s pantomime!”
Book tickets for Beauty and the Beast
Arts Award at The Courtyard