REVIEW: Beauty and the Beast at Aylesbury Waterside Theatre

Although I thought it took a bit of time to get going, this was a very enjoyable pantomime based on the traditional children's fairytale.

Beth Doyle was first on stage playing the enchantress and duly enchanted the audience.

Next up was Danny Walters as the role of Beast whose costume and make-up was impressive, as was his acting to suit the variations of his character.

Danny has played Keanu Taylor in EastEnders for just under three years and this was referenced to on a couple of occasions with clever use of the traditional boom, boom, boom that comes with an Albert Square cliffhanger.

Amelia Adams-Pearce was delightful in the role of Belle portraying her character very well and wowing the audience with her wonderful singing voice.

Her dating scene with Beast was a personal highlight - and this was the one where she wore a wonderful flowing yellow dress, which meant she was crudely described by Beast as looking like a 'custard tart.'

Michael Quinn played the role of Hugo Pompidou with plenty of French flair and a certain amount of je ne sais quoi - and got plenty of boos from the audience for his failing attempts to woo Belle.

The stars of the show in my eyes were Louis Pot et Pan played by Andy Collins and Polly Pot et Pan played by La Voix who once again entertained the audience with their flowing gags, great sense of comic timing and fantastic chemistry.

The Twelve Days of Christmas song went down a storm, and ended with lots of people getting very wet - just how most people probably like it, even if they wouldn't admit it!

There were a couple of moments where things did not totally follow the script - Louis Pot et Pan briefly forgot an Ed Sheeran related gag - but things do not always go Perfect on the night, while there appeared to be an extra, unexpected line about a rabbit - but we won't go there!

The last character on stage, but by no means least, was Clement played by David Alcock, whose manner was as beautiful and graceful as the painting that accompanied him for most of the show.

There were plenty of good musical numbers, but not one that seemed to get the whole audience singing along.

The youngsters from Castielli School of Dance and Vivo D'Arte lived up to their usual high standards and overall Beauty and the Beast's first appearance as a Waterside panto, surprising as the theatre prepares to enter its tenth year, was a great success.

Beauty and the Beast has an extended run this year, going around until January 5 2020, and will certainly be a night of traditional pantomime fun, served with the usual dose of Aylesbury-themed entertainment and personalities.

For a full list of performances and to check ticket availability visit https://www.ents24.com/aylesbury-events/aylesbury-waterside-theatre