Rose Theatre, Kingston-Upon-Thames – until 3rd January 2022
Reviewed by Bobbi Fenton
5*****
‘Beauty and the Beast’ follows the classic fairy tale story of Bella (Amelia Kinu Muus), whose father, Francesco (Oliver Senton) has been cursed with an illness. Bella sets out to find a cure, and in the process meets Beast (Stanton Wright) who saves her when she finds herself in danger. While staying as a guest in the palace, Bella uncovers the secret to her father’s illness, and how it relates to the beast. Francesco fearing Bella finding out the truth, sends a ‘rescue party’ led by the hilarious Felice (Amy Lawrence) to find her and bring her home before she learns about the past, and the truth about the magic rose bush. This story is being told by Florian (Jacob Towey) to his two younger siblings, teenager Jasmine (Amelie Abbott) who has some very funny comments about the story, and ten-year-old Rue (Alexander Forster) who is totally mesmerised by the story. The story is interrupted by the trio every so often, to add comments or to ask questions.
Amelia Kinu Muus does a fantastic job of portraying Bella, with incredibly powerful vocals that had even the most restless children in the audience completely captivated. Also, let’s not forget about the fantastic performance by Daniel Goode and Paula James in playing Felice’s parents, who seem to use Felice for their own benefit, while bad mouthing her to others. They also play a couple who live at the Palace. The pair’s singing is incredible, and their two characters perfectly juxtapose one another.
The set, which has been made to look like a room in an attic, separates into two, to make the space slightly bigger, and show the ladders behind it, which light up different colours in different scenes. There are also two levels above the stage, which are littered with furniture and lamps, and lightbulbs hanging from the flight rig.
It is a perfect trip out for everyone, with amazing songs and a fantastic story. This show is made of pure magic, and will leave you absolutely amazed. Get to the Rose Theatre and buy a ticket, just remember to be careful what you wish for.