Whether you’re a Scrooge or a put-your-tree-up-in-November kind of person, I think we can all agree that one big plus for the festive season is its capacity to get bums on seats in theatres and give the arts scene, in general, a bit of a boost.
I have two kids, ages 5 and nearly 9, and taking them to the theatre on a freezing winter’s afternoon is only made appealing by the promise for such a thing to feel ‘Christmassy’ (and to sit somewhere warm…), and so off we went to the North Wall in our mittens and hats in search of something sparkly and cheering.
We were not disappointed.
The Tale of the Beauty and the Tail of the Beast is a little gem of a show in that it manages to deliver a sprinkling of Christmas magic without being garish or clichéd.
…yup, I am taking a bit of a snobby dig at regular pantomimes here. I do like them (oh no I don’t!), but it was so lovely to have the opportunity to gather in a theatre in December and be treated to something a little more understated and, I felt, with a whole lot of heart – and just the right balance of ‘naughty’ humour too, allowing the whole family to have a good old yuletide guffaw.
The show follows Monsieur Affable’s Performing Players as they attempt to rehearse the original French version of Beauty and the Beast. However, one of the players has gone missing, another is ‘ill’ (drunk), and the script has been dropped on the floor and put back together in completely the wrong order.
So, we have a plot within a plot and lots of mishaps, confusion, and silliness, as well as enough of the original fairy tale for the little ones to recognise and follow. The Beast is a little bit scary, Belle transforms from regular girl to princess just as we want her to, and the castle appears as large and ominous as it ought, but there’s also a whole lot of tomfoolery and skilful self-referencing along the way. There are catchy songs, mood-altering lighting effects and a wonderfully creative use of props and costumes (which were super-sumptuous – a carefully curated colour palette, divine fabrics, multi-layered textures…gorgeous).
The show is two hours long (including the interval) which I did worry might be a little too much for my 5-year-old but although he was getting a bit ants-in-his-pantsy towards the very end he was on the whole captivated and intrigued. I asked both kids what their favourite bit of the performance was and they agreed it was “ALL” their favourite.
My favourite part was that smug-parent-feeling made only possible when you’ve managed to entertain your kids away from a device for several hours and everyone is left feeling so much better for it. That and the warm festive glow we all carried with us well into the evening.