Beauty and The Beast

Bright and Beautiful

Beauty and The Beast

by Loz Keal

Exchange Players at The Exchange Theatre until 21^stDecember

Review by Heather Moulson

It was my first visit to a pantomime at the Exchange, and I was unfamiliar with the full story of Beauty and the Beast. However, a strong introduction to the tale by The Enchantress, played by Helen Geldert, soon put me in the picture.

Set in the fairy-tale Forest of Forever, Geldert sang Wow in a smooth handling of a complex detailed song. She very much looked the part and swiftly drew one in.

Grace and Hope, brought in the evil element as step-sisters. Dave Hannigan and John Wilkinson, incredibly and colourfully attired, brought genuine humour and villainy to gold-digger Hope and her equally avaricious sister Grace as as they bickered with each other. Both actors had very strong stage presence.

The matinée featured the Twickenham Youth Theatre Red Team and what its young actors lacked in projection was more than made up in enthusiasm and command of their roles. Charlie the Chandelier had the best lines and carried them off well. The Book was played by Elsa, Kettle by Isla, Microwave by Isobel, Microphone by Mila and Wardrobe by Rebecca. It was a clever move to give the chorus silver tabards that indicated which object they were playing, but they did appear rather plain next to the more splendidly dressed cast.

Silly Billy was beautifully done by Kieran Rose, who also played Candlestick, and Dandy Andy, Silly Billy’s sidekick, matched him word for word in a deft performance by Cameron Christie. Their flamingo routine was cleverly thought out. However, not all the cast’s gags did so well.

We met the spoilt Prince, played with charm by Meaghan Baxter, who doubled as the Clock servant. This doomed prince metamorphosed into The Beast, in a sequence that was executed with great skill by Matt Ludbrook, whose persona resembled Hagrid’s at Hogwarts. The beast is not high enough in the villain level to be booed, and Ludbrook carried off a great Monster Mash number. However, moving into the second act, Ludbrook’s Beast excelled. In fact, there was more pace and tension in the second half, particularly with a countdown of shedding rose petals, in a powerful backdrop image.

One felt that the musical numbers were also stronger in the second half. A poignant version of Something Stupid with the two sisters and their timid fiancées, and a very full-on and rocky scene at The Fiddle Inn with air guitars, led by Dame Di and the ensemble, were memorable moments.

Highly watchable Freya Broe was emphatic as Hoover, and her powerful voice won the audience over. I pondered whether Broe was underused, but there were a lot of characters in this production.

Beauty played by Ellie Armstrong was much more than her title role. Earthy and entertaining, with a strong singing voice and great dance skills, Armstrong’s characterisation of Beauty delivered a lot more than just a dewy-eyed heroine.

Any suspicions that Act One had slightly too many musical numbers was rendered void by the excellent The Boy Does Nothing performed by Hoover and the TYT Chorus. Overall, Helen Geldert produced great results as the show’s musical director.

Marc Batten as the long-suffering Mr Full and Sally Halsey as Dame Di were confident in handling the excited audience and provided us with great entertainment. Helping us build up to Golden, the finale, and followed by the coda All I want for Christmas is You, Batten and Halsey led an all-in sing-along.

Loz Keal, the show’s writer and producer with an impressive CV, has adapted this traditional story and used its potential fully. With the effective lighting of Adam Moore-White and atmospheric sound by George Sellis, director and choreographer Samantha Pears skilfully handled this ambitious and artistically winning production of Beauty and The Beast. We look forward to the Exchange Players next big triumph.

Heather Moulson, December 2025

Photography courtesy of the Exchange Players