Review: Beauty and the Beast 'absolutely spectacular'

If I only had a one-word count for this review of South Hill Park’s Wilde Theatre’s production of Disney’s ‘Beauty And The Beast’ musical, it would be ‘spectacular’. If I only had two words, then they would be ’absolutely spectacular!’

Luckily, I have a more generous allowance of words allowing me to extol the pure joy I got from watching this show. From a fantastic opening light show and projected credits to an absolutely show-stopping presentation of the popular ‘Be Our Guest’ song and finishing with a prolonged and so well-deserved standing ovation.

All the performances, led by Bethany Nicholls as Belle and Sam Gillett as The Beast and a superb supporting cast and ensemble, were of a West End and Broadway standard, who under the exuberant direction of Mark Hooper and his team, provided incredible vocals and dance skills, wonderful immersive visuals and a theatrical spectacle that deserved the plaudits all involved received from a well and truly entertained audience of young and old.

If the onstage extravaganza wasn’t enough, then the creative and technical talents backstage deserve equal praise. With beautiful ever-changing sets that transformed almost magically and smoothly before our eyes, vibrant colourful and creative costumes and, in the case of the Beast, clever make-up effects.

Along with extraordinary lighting and stage effects, musical arrangement and scores to take ones breath away and, sometimes an unsung part of production, but in this case, a faultless stage management team, this was indeed a beast of a beautiful show.