Beauty and the Beastie review

Writers and directors Eric Potts and Liam Dolan provide a clever twist to this panto from Imagine, wrapping the magical forces of good and evil into one, with Valissa Scott’s properly rhyming Fairy Fiona both causing Scott Fletcher’s arrogant Prince to turn into Beast – to teach him a lesson – and helping Jennifer Neil’s Beauty to overcome her prejudices and fall in love with him.

In a cast packed with household names, Craig Glover’s Dame Dolly Drumchapel stands out. Glover uses all his drag queen craft to bring the character of Beast’s long-suffering cook to life and work the audience. Dolan is a credible silly billy as Hector Drumchapel, Dolly’s son, although he feels under directed. His script, with extra material from The Krankies and Ronnie Christie, and uses of a Scottish voice are excellent, sadly undermined by a generic video wall that could surely do more than toss a traffic cone on an equestrian statue of the Duke of Wellington.

Jack Jester is the perfect fit as the baddie Benedict Bridie, who knows that Beauty will marry him, with Grado and Stephen Purdon reprising their double act as Bridie’s hapless henchmen. Nikki Auld is equally strong as Beauty’s mum, Professor Porridge, sent off to Paisley on a fool’s mission and charged with bringing back a rose. A five-strong ensemble and seven-strong junior ensemble help fill out the big routines, including a particularly scary wolf pack, who make best use of Jester’s pro-wrestling skills in a well-staged fight sequence.