It’s December and the panto season is in full swing and there’s nowhere better to soak up this Christmas tradition than in Blackpool. Nothing says festive fun quite like a good old-fashioned pantomime, and in Blackpool, where the humour is gloriously cheeky and the double entendres glide in quicker than a seagull after chips – it’s family entertainment at its finest.
Betty Legs Diamond, the original Funny Girl herself, strides on as Dame Polly La Plonk, resplendent, outrageous and armed with a wicked glint that suggests she could reduce a grown man to helpless giggles with nothing more than a raised eyebrow.
Belle, played by Kitty Harris is exactly how a fairytale princess should be. She’s beautiful and kind and you can easily see that she sees past the horns, fur and claws to spot the prince within.
Leading the all-star cast is Coronation Street baddie Marc Baylis as Hugo Pompidou. He strides across the stage with the perfect mix of danger, drama and irresistible charm, making it impossible not to boo the moment he appears.
Photo credit © Blackpool Grand Theatre | Photography Martin Bostock
But the real heart of a Grand Theatre panto is, as ever, Steve Royle. Having earned the title of the UK Pantomime Awards’ Best Comic, he bounds onto the stage like a child who’s had too many fizzy drinks. His energy, perfectly timed slapstick and razor-sharp adlibs had the audience in stitches from the moment he appeared on stage.
Photo credit © Blackpool Grand Theatre | Photography Martin Bostock
The costumes this year are an explosion of colour, big, bold and bursting with personality. The Beast’s costume is particularly impressive and with his swishing cloak he cuts quite the imposing figure. The transformations from prince to beast and back again are especially impressive, they are so quick that you half expect to find Doctor Who lurking in the wings with a malfunctioning time vortex! Maybe one to include next year!! Elsewhere, the French theme justifies a profusion of red, white and blue. The dancers seem to have a new outfit for every scene, while Dame Polly’s costumes… well, let’s just say they’re that little bit more daring. Would we expect anything less?
The show is peppered with brilliant scenes, from classics like the Ghostbusters routine to wonderfully funny adlibs when the balloon scene went deliciously off-script.
Photo credit © Blackpool Grand Theatre | Photography Martin Bostock
Choreographed by Katie Hill, the talented dancers from The Barbara Jackson’s Theatre Arts Centre were excellent, wowing the audience with a variety of different dance styles. We especially enjoyed the Can Can which added a typical French flourish to the show.
Beauty and the Beast runs until Sunday 4th January, giving you plenty of time to catch this magical, laugh-out-loud production. If you love pantomime – and honestly, who doesn’t at Christmas? – this is one you absolutely won’t want to miss.
Tickets start from £15 and are available from The Grand Theatre here
Photo credit © Blackpool Grand Theatre | Photography Martin Bostock
The Review Studio 