BEAUTY AND THE BEAST

by Alan Menken (music), Howard Ashman & Tim Rice (lyrics) and Linda Woolverton (book)

Script Youth Musical Theatre Company, producer Louise Farmer

Crescent Theatre, Birmingham – Friday 12th September 2025

The origins of the story of “Beauty and the Beast” go all the way back to a fairy tale from France in the mid-18th century, albeit I suspect that the best known version to modern audiences would be the 1991 Disney animation, on which this stage musical is based. It has become a regular staple for amateur theatre companies, whether the musical or the panto version. This one very much the former.

We had an excellent set for this production, with an impressive castle interior, complete with a couple of stairways up to a raised area, which was used to great effect. All I would suggest is to take spacing into account as unfortunately, during the transformation scenes from Prince to Beast at the start and back again at the end, you could clearly see one actor running out and the other running in, somewhat spoiling the illusion.

Most of the other scenes were depicted by cloths, which were also effective at setting the scene with the required props. There was a working doorway into Belle and Maurice’s home which worked well for the most part, although Belle did seem to overshoot at one point.

The music throughout was pitched at exactly the right level, so as not to drown out the singers. I don’t know if this was live or recorded music though – there are no musicians credited in the programme, but I did see someone, presumably MD Tom Wells, conducting from one of the boxes suggesting there were some live performers somewhere.

Unfortunately, at times the production did seem to have a few technical problems. Some of the microphones at times didn’t seem to be working, most notably the lines spoken by the Bookseller in the opening scene were completely inaudible, as well as losing one or two lines in a couple of the songs.

We also a point in the first act where Maurice’s cart seemed to get caught under a lowering cloth. Other than this, the scene changes were largely very quick and efficient.

One thing that always irritates me with stage shows is people drinking from clearly empty receptacles and we had that here in the bar scene in Act I. Obviously, if the choreography requires them to be thrown around with abandon, then they need to be empty, but in that case don’t then pretend to drink from it. We had similar in the second act with Mrs Potts pouring nothing into a bowl and the meal scene with empty soup bowls.

There was a scene in act II, after the Beast recovers from the fight where Belle says “This may sting a bit” and then applies a damp cloth to the outside of a thick coat sleeve which isn’t going to sting anyway. This should have been patted against something exposed such as his hand or neck.

We had some excellent costumes in this production. The villagers were suitably colourful. I especially liked Cogsworth’s clock outfit and Madame La Bouche’s pink number with fully operational drawers. Lumiere’s outfit was also suitably sparkly.

The only costumes I didn’t think worked were those on the wolves which seemed to have parts missing, since their furry sleeves and trousers were matched with black t-shirts which just looked odd in my opinion. However, they were extremely well choreographed and had the right amount of menace in their scenes.

All of the song and dance numbers were very well done, so a shout out here to choreographer Kelly McCormack who presented these with a lot of energy and brought the best out of the performers, “Be My Guest” being a highlight in this respect.

Speaking of performers, what a superb showing we had from this talented young cast, several of whom were making their final performance with Script Youth.

It did seem strange that Belle and Gaston were played with American accents for some reason, bearing in mind this was meant to be set in France. Not suggesting we should go full “Allo Allo” but it seemed a strange directoral decision, especially as the characters in the castle seemed to have a mixture of English and French accents.

To be fair, the actors maintained them perfectly throughout the show so no issue there, but it seemed a strange choice which I can only put down to the influence of the Disney film.

Speaking of the cast, what a great ensemble we had, led off by a superb performance by Erin Phillips in the role of Belle. Something of a major undertaking since there are not many scenes that she was not in, but she clearly relished the role and delivered with some aplomb, even when hampered by a somewhat cumbersome frock in the dining scenes.

She played well against Samuel McCormack in the role of the Beast, even having to contend with a head-dress which for the most part just left his mouth visible, which he used to good effect with a clear delivery of the lines.

Finlay Laidlaw played the part of Gaston with the appropriate level of arrogance and self-interest and clearly established himself as the villain of the piece. He was complemented by a very (I mean very) energetic performance from Evie Rice in the role of his confidante Lefou, throwing herself around the stage with abandon.

We had some good interaction between the characters in the castle, Kian Haden as a suitably camp Lumiere, Chloe Mason as the grounded Mrs Potts, Aimee Whillis as the bewildered Cogsworth, Jess Lewis as the enthusiastic Madame de la Grande Bouche and Louise Heard in full 1920s flapper mode as Babette. But as ever in this production, it’s usually Chip that steals the show and Oliver Malkin was no exception here, certainly bring a strong reaction from the audience.

I was impressed by Leo Stubbington as the Young Prince in the opening scene who gave his all in what was little more than a cameo but managed to be memorable with the right amount of swagger and arrogance as befitted the pre-Beast version of the character.

The rest of the cast also performed their roles very well, making this a superb ensemble piece. I don’t recall hearing a prompt all night, which is always a good sign.

Overall, a well performed show which the audience clearly enjoyed, as did I. A few minor issues which I’ll put down to opening night glitches but very much a production of which everyone involved can be proud.

Reviewed by David G