Beauty and the Beast

Lavishly costumed and performed on a well-constructed and thoughtfully designed set, Beauty and the Beast, directed by Katherine Friend, was a quality production to open Koorliny's in-house performance season.

Stacey Hollings made a lovely Belle and her charm and genuine warmth was key to the success of this production. She has a beautiful singing voice and delivers a very genuine performance.

Scott Blachford faced the more challenging of the title roles and worked hard to connect with the audience despite heavy masking for much of the show. He conveyed the various shades of The Beast well.

Jesse Watts revelled in the role of Gaston, playing it up with bravado and quirky machismo. He was well supported by Mark Thompson who nicely captured the comedy of off-sider Le Fou.

The Beast's staff were a lovely group. I particularly enjoyed the developing relationship between Lumiere (Brandon Williams-West) and Babette (Erin Craddock), the boyish charm of Chip (Olivia Small) and Thèrése Cruise's lovely Wardrobe. Good leadership came from Cogsworth (Peter Shaw) and Mrs Potts (Chantel Bell) who delivered the title song with panache.

The cast of over thirty performers was disciplined and hard working and the nine-piece orchestra under the guidance of Justin Friend, sounded tight and professional. Lisa Watts and Jacqui McGarrity have co-ordinated some simply stunning costumes while Stephen Carr's set design worked well and was nicely constructed. Alex Coutts Smith delivered an evocative lighting design.

With solid production values, this show delivered bang for your buck and was nicely performed.

Kimberley Shaw