Beauty and the Beast, KW Productions Review

Written by Sam for Theatre and Tonic.

Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in return for an honest review. All opinions are our own.

---

KW Productions proudly present Beauty and the Beast, The Broadway Musical, which is based on the award-winning animated film by Disney. Directed and produced by the Beast himself, Kieran Whelan-Newby, this is a romantic fairytale of book lover Belle (Rose Bale), who lives in a town where being different isn’t seen as a good thing. Her father, Maurice (Tony Whitmore) finds himself lost in the woods and then in thrown in the castle’s dungeon by the Beast. Can Belle save her father? What does she come up against when she arrives?

A spell has been cast upon the castle’s household and Belle is confronted by the Beast when she finds her father in the dungeon. Time is running out to break the curse, if the Beast does not learn to love another and be loved by another, he and his enchanted household will be doomed for all eternity. The household staff do everything in their power to stop this from happening. Will the pair fall in love?

Everything has been carefully thought out for this production. The costumes are exquisite, I never thought I’d want to dress up as cutlery, but they looked fantastic, so I’d be up for being a spoon for a night. It was also nice to listen to renditions of well-known songs from the original film.

The choreography by Caroline Walsh was so elegantly put together, especially when the ensemble used contemporary style dancing to mimic key moments within the story. The dancers were gentle and graceful, almost like butterflies on stage and when needed their body language and tempo changed when they needed to portray more aggressive characters, i.e. the wolves in the woods. I think the choreography in this show is one of the best I’ve seen at The Little Theatre, as an audience member, you felt all the emotions through their movement, facial expressions and how they interacted with one another. In every scene where there was some style of dancing, they all filled the stage.

I have always been nervous and not really on board with shows that heavily rely on projections to set the scene because, if the projector malfunctions, you’re in a bit of a sticky situation. However, Joe Roberts smashed it for this production. It was beautifully done; the colours were bright and endearing and took us back to watching the original Beauty and the Beast on our TV screens. I liked the use of dividers on stage, so the projector was always in operation to keep the audience’s imagination flowing. The production team also revealed the band in certain scenes which added something special to the performance. Musicians are a huge part of what makes a show work well and, in this production, they are not forgotten about, they’re on display for all to recognise and appreciate.

Now onto some of our favourite Disney characters…

Belle (Bale) was as angelic as ever! Her vocals had everyone in awe of her and she reminded me so much of Emma Watson at times. Belle is a delicate character, and Bale knew exactly how to be the perfect Belle. Whereas Gaston (Vaughan Barton-Ashcroft) is the complete opposite and makes the audience shudder at his monstrous behaviour. Their scenes together were great and added much needed comedy to my evening! Bale did well to not cringe at Barton-Ashcroft’s lines, because Gaston is one heck of arrogant man, and I would have wanted to laugh in his face after some of the cheesy things he said. 

Beast (Whelan-Newby) was frightening, funny, heart-warming and exposed us to his vulnerable side. I thought the quirky mannerisms of the Beast were great and often received a few chuckles from the audience. I especially enjoyed the dinner scene as he was finally learning how to be a gentleman.

Next, we have the household’s dynamic trio, Mrs Potts (Siobhan Ball), Cogsworth (Russell Webster) and Lumiere (Simon Butler) were. I absolutely loved their chemistry and how they were their characters and didn’t do a carbon copy of those in the original Disney film. It didn’t come across as acting, it seemed very real to me because they were bouncing off one another so well. Ball’s ‘Tale as Old as Time’ gave me goosebumps.

The final two French fancies are Babette (Katherine Ardley) and Madame de La Grande Bouche (Karen Gordon). Both held their French accents throughout the entire performance and Ardley couldn’t stop the audience from laughing. Her take on Babette was fantastic and flirtatious – she was the perfect choice for the part. Keep on shimmying.

I am not sure how I’ve gone this long without seeing Beauty and the Beast, The Broadway Musical but it’s definitely a family favourite. The script includes a few cheeky innuendos for adults but also has children laughing due to the stupidity and chaotic behaviour from Lefou (Matt Barton-Ashcroft). There’s an excellent balance and offers something for all, you will not leave disappointed.

The show is running until 21 September, but it’s sold out which is fantastic news, so for those who are already booked to see it, you’ll have an incredible time.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★