Beauty and the Beast at Charing Cross Theatre Review
Beauty and the Beast at Charing Cross Theatre. Photo by Steve Gregson
Written by Mia for Theatre & Tonic
Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review
It’s that time of year again (oh no it’s not… etc.). Well, now that joke is behind us (groan), let’s talk about adult panto. Pantomime has always been a little bit naughty and full of innuendo, with plenty of jokes for kids and grown-ups. It’s also been a little bit camp, with people in drag and a hell of a lot of glitter.
So if you up the ante and make it fully adult (and fully queer), sparks will fly…
Now, while this may be called Beauty and the Beast, the plot is only loosely based on the fairy tale, although there is - as our wee gay hero Bertie (Matt Kennedy) says, ‘that Stockholm Syndrome bullshit’. Hoorah. That said, he’s pretty much made his choice before Charlie - our Beast - played by Keanu Adolphus-Johnson, opens his mouth, but this is panto and there’s not a lot of time (or need) for character development. Bertie’s twin sister Bonnie (Laura Anna-Mead) finally finds herself a real lesbian in the form of Juno (Dani Mirels), who - for some unknown reason that has nothing to do with the plot - is also the enchantress who cursed poor Charlie in the first place.
Relocated from France to the Scottish town of Lickmanochers, there’s a lot to love about BATB, particularly David Shields’ set and Robert Draper’s incredible costumes, especially for Flora (Matthew Baldwin), our wonderful Dame. Baldwin is, without a doubt, the best Dame I have ever seen, with exquisite facial expressions and comic timing, breaking the fourth wall just enough, but epitomising everything one could ever want from this classic pantomime character. Five stars for Matthew!
The cast as a whole is very good, with excellent comic performances from Anna-Mead and Kennedy in particular. Adolphus-Johnson provides the ‘aww’ factor with his performance and Mirels brings the glamour. The castle scenes with the ensemble are well done and perhaps the funniest moments in the show.
The lack of a real story is a shame, especially as it’s quite slow, but primarily this doesn’t really feel like an adult panto. The jokes are a little PG in nature, and nothing leaves the audience howling with laughter (considering there was an open bar, you’d expect more guffaws as people let loose). Instead, the C-Bomb is dropped purely for comic value, which feels a little cheap considering the talent on display and behind the scenes. A lot of the lyrics are also lost, perhaps due to the backing track volume and poor diction.
It is fun and there are plenty of musical and visual nods to the Disney version, not least the excellent teapot costume for Flora, but - and I can’t believe I’m saying this - I wanted more filth. Definitely worth a watch, and the production values are exceptional, but it falls short in terms of humour, musical numbers and plot. And… the beast is far too sexy to be transformed back into man!
Plays at Charing Cross Theatre until 11 January 2026
★ ★ ★
