Anna Burnside reviews ‘a festive delight.’
The combination of high and low just works. Haute couture with DMs, the New Yorker dissecting the career of Katie Price … done well, the combination of the most refined with choice popular elements brings out the best in both.
Example: the Citz’ welcome return to making Christmas shows in their own, refurbished building. The Glasgow institution has a long history of seasonal shows that bring the festive without involving dames, tongue twisters and derogatory remarks about different areas of the city.
Some years veer closer to panto territory than others, but it is never going to be the job Elaine C Smith wishes was hers.
Using the high-low formula, this year’s production is a stone-cold triumph. Bringing the high are Dominic Hill and Joanna Bowman, two of the finest directors working in Scotland today. The whole production has a strong Hill aesthetic, from Nikola Kodjabashia’s clangy soundscape, to Rachael Canning’s discombobulating design.
Against this resolutely theatrical backdrop, Lewis Hetherington’s script works hard to scoop up the younger members of the audience. The story is narrated by two animals, Beauty’s smartypants cat Mr Mittens (Michael Guest) and Beast’s daft dug Captain Biscuits (Martin Donaghy). They bring the whimsy and humour a family Christmas show needs.
Hetherington’s next masterstroke is to give Beauty a sister, Bright, flawlessly played by Holly Howden Gilchrist. She is a no-nonsense inventor who is both antidote to the sicklier elements of the base story and an important driver of the plot.
There is not a weak link in the cast. Tyler Collins, a string bean in a frock coat, is tremendous as Beauty’s self-deluded father. Exasperated at Bright’s increasingly baroque musical devices, he is desperate for Beauty to be a pretty girl and snag a rich husband. Israela Efomi, in her professional debut, is not as smart as her sassy sister but gives the show a real heart.
Elicia Daly as the Beast’s malignant housekeeper Mrs Flobberlyboo, adds an extra layer of bonkers with her baroque polka dot costumes, vicious tea trolley and habit of bursting into high pitched, atonal song at unexpected moments.
The beast - half Gruffalo, half Sulley from Monsters Inc - is mostly a visual joke, but Nicholas Marshall holds up well against the blue acrylic.
Hetherington’s tight script hints gently at important state-of-the-world issues, and the directors leave them floating for those who choose to catch them. Even the fart gags come with a plot point attached. The twist in the ending can be interpreted in various ways, all of them leaving a warming message of Christmas cheer.
With so many highs, and no lows, this is a festive delight.
Beauty and the Beast performs at the Citizens Theatre in Glasgow until December 31, 2025. For further information, go to the theatre’s website.
Photo by Tommy Ga-Ken Wan.
RSS