Ok where do I begin with my Beauty And The Beast Review, of the 2022 Uk Tour at the Palace Theatre Manchester? You know any Disney production is going to be glorious, I don’t think anything Disney has ever disappointed me! But Beauty and the Beast was a different league, well it wasn’t for Disney, but it was for anything I had ever seen at the theatre.
Now thats a tall claim, I have so many favourite shows, I know this. But….. nobody does it like Disney, fact!
Beauty And The Beast Review, Uk Tour 2022, Manchester
What Is Beauty And The Beast About?
Ok, just in case you have been living under a rock? Belle (Courtney Stapleton) is different from other girls in her village, she craves knowledge, reading and romance. So when Gaston the self acclaimed village catch (Tom Senior) sets his sights on her she is appalled at the prospect of being a trophy wife.
Meanwhile her father Maurice (Martin Ball) gets lost in the forrest and stumbles across an old castle, full of enchanted furniture and a Beast (Shaq Taylor) so terrifying and mean, that Maurice finds himself captured and locked up as the Beast’s prisoner.
When Belle realises that Maurice is missing, she sets off to save him. However ends up swapping places with her father to save his life. Although when she makes this switch, she is unaware that the castle is bewitched. But also that time is running out to undo the spell that has bound its inhabitants.
My Review Of What I Can Only Call 2 Hours Of Magic
This was always a risky one as Beauty and the Beast is one of my favourite Disney Films. I cried when I visited the Beasts Castle in Orlando, I know total goon but I adore it. Yet so often shows of favourite films are different. They have to be because they can’t compete with the original.
But Disney changed hardly anything. (Maurice had a powered seat, rather than a horse) Beauty and the Beast is as seen in our favourite movies but better! I mean come on, how did they do that?
I wanted to jump up and applaud after The Town song. Then came Gaston and the Tavern, the effects were incredible, but this was only the beginning. Beauty and the Beast builds and builds. Be Our Guest is my single favourite theatre moment of all time.
I had been wondering how they could ever make “Be Our Guest” as magical as the movie? But wow, of course they did! It was like I was the only person in the theatre watching a spellbinding chorus line, it was more than I could have ever imagined.
Beauty and the Beast was so engulfing, and took over every sense, I was totally absorbed in the magical world presented in front of us. It pulled me in and made me believe in magic, if only for that moment. However any magic I felt was nothing to the watching my Goddaughter Susie and her little sister Rose’s faces, you could see the magic in their eyes.
My Favourite Moments?
Hands down Be Our Guest, Lumiere ( Gavin Lee) was just glorious during every second he graced the stage. He was delivered with a delicious campness, that just kept the whole audience wanting more, and roaring with laughter at his antics.
But I also want to be greedy and say all of it. Every character was glorious, the costumes, set and delivery was all magical. I am still wondering how they made Chip (Rojae Simpson) and the Beasts transformation work? From where we were sat it looked like some kind of wizardry.
Should You Go And See Beauty And The Beast?
If you love the movie you will love the Beauty and the Beast Uk Tour more I will never forget the feeling I had as I watched Be Our Guest. It made me weep, and I noticed several people sat around me weeping too, tears of pure joy. Honestly, if I could watch it every night this week I would.
Please note I was gifted the tickets in return for a review and you can’t argue with pure, unadulterated magic that has you smiling so much your face aches.
Where Can You See Beauty And The Beast
Beauty and the Beast is showing at Palace Theatre Manchester until Sat 4 Jun 2022
And then Bristol Hippodrome Theatre from Thu 29 Sep – Sat 12 Nov 20.
Check here for more Manchester theatre reviews.