Disney’s Beauty & The Beast

Fans of the evergreen Disney musical should not be put off by the fact that this is a youth theatre production. Most of the young cast deliver performances of astonishing depth and range, that are comparable to the work of professionals twice their age. Though the production values aren’t on the level of a Broadway show, they are still impressively polished for an amateur production.

Tayla Coad as Belle, successfully manages the difficult tightrope act of playing a character who is at once naïve and inexperienced, yet fiercely intelligent and morally courageous. She is well matched with Charlie Smith, who is also given a role of challenging contradictions, both menacing and vulnerable as the tormented Beast. Together, the two create a potent, compelling chemistry – both as adversaries in argument and as romantic partners.

Georgia Broomhall (radiating maternal warmth as Mrs Potts), Aaron Beattie (neurotically fussy as Cogsworth), Douglas Wiseman (suavely sophisticated as Lumiere) also give surprisingly layered performances, capturing not only the comedic quirks of The Beast’s enchanted household staff, but also the dramatic poignancy of their predicament.

Connor Olsson-Jones (as Belle’s flamboyantly arrogant suitor Gaston), Jack Raftopoulous (as Gaston’s slavishly devoted lackey Le Fou) and Luke Wolianskyj (as Belle’s eccentric inventor father Maurice) deliver more broadly stereotypical performances, that are nonetheless impressive in their razor sharp comic timing.

The quality of the singing from all concerned is of a high standard right across the board, although the dancing during some of the crowd scenes is sometimes inconsistently co-oridinated, this is a minor quibble with regards to what is a pretty stellar cast. The roles will be played by different performers on alternate nights, one hopes that they are all equally accomplished.

Sets are minimal, with the production relying mostly upon projections to set the scene. Still, the artwork is quite detailed and the well timed lighting effects work wonders in establishing the right atmosphere. The costumes are strikingly colourful and appropriately evocative of the time period. The generally high quality production is buoyed by lively arrangements of the musical’s signature songs – which are as earwormy as ever.

Overall, this is a very entertaining production that the whole family can enjoy.

Benjamin Orchard

Photographer: Tim Allan