Beauty & the Beast; Devizes Musical Theatre at its Best

It was a fantastically successful opening night for Devizes Musical Theatre at Dauntsey’s School for their latest show, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, and I returned home still singing Be My Guest and Gaston; they’re still stuck in my head now truth be told, and I’m not usually one for musicals!

Remaining faithful to Disney’s 1991 adaption of the French fairy tale by Barbot de Villeneuve, widely regarded as one of the greatest animated films of all time, new director Georgia Watson and the entire team at Devizes Musical Theatre pulled out all the stops last night; amateur dramatics has never been this good, surely?!

Already clued up on the plot, as my daughter had a “thing” for the film when little, didn’t prevent me thoroughly enjoying this show, rather it’s likely it aided it; familiarity transformed from film to stage is kingpin to a universally welcomed musical, which this is. Aside from the stellar performances, it was arduously and thoughtfully produced with attention to detail, especially the costume design; they were brilliant. Easy for a cartoonist, but how do you recreate inanimate objects such as a clock and teapot as characters on stage, I wondered beforehand, but not now!

And in this, commendations in particular go to Tia Shafee and Oli Beech, also Sarah Williams, Natalie Angus and Claire Abraham, all for adding those comical elements as candlesticks, clocks and teapots. Yet it was up to Georgia Saunders to add the sparkle, as the compassionate bookworm protagonist Belle, and her relationships with Samuel Phillis as the troubled Beast, Gareth Lloyd as the bawdy egomaniac Gaston, and Graham Day portraying her troubled inventor father, all of which were played confidently and rapturously.

Interactions between Gareth and his literal sidekick LeFou, played with camp hilarity by Adam Sturges were comedy gold, as was the “silly girls” fighting for Gaston’s affections, Georgia Claridge, Mimi Martin, Laura Bartle, and Bronwyn Hall. With special shout to Pip Emm who was last night’s Chip, a role which takes on a different young actor each performance, everyone on that stage looked to be loving the spotlight and this enthusiasm shone through, reflecting back off the audience in awe.

It never fails to amaze me how much work and effort goes into Devizes Musical Theatre’s shows, and how professional they are. Beauty & The Beast runs until Saturday 5th April, with a matinee performance on the final Saturday. Ticket holders are in for a real treat, anyone looking for a ticket should act fast as the last rose petal is about to drop; last look there were some left for tonight, the rest is already sold out. At £16 a pop, you’d pay more at the bar in a West End theatre for a glass of fizzy pop, or for parking.