Claire Stout comforts Scott Ainsley on losing the Ozzie Osborne looky-likey competition: Beauty And The Beast, Brunton Theatre, Edinburgh
Cinderella
Edinburgh: King's Theatre, until Sat 16 Jan *‘k‘k
Cinderella gets a shock when she finds that her new step5isters are sassenachs and pretty unpleasant with it. Just when it looks like she won't get to the ball, Fairy Godmother steps in and she's united With Prince Charming.
magic and adventure slapstick and knockabout jokes and japes
love and romance
smut and innuendo baddies and bounders celebs and soap stars top tunes
singalongs
sweetie showers
glitz, glamour and pizazz
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(U3)
As you'd expect, plenty of singing, dancing and glitter here, but you might not expect a female Prince Charming. Nor, perhaps, the Slightly disturbing anti-English sentiments attached to the ugly sisters, and the outright Weegie- baiting implied by Dorothy Paul's incompetent West Coast Fairy Godmother. All the same, there’s a good deal of slickness about the whole thing, With Paul, Andy Gray as Baron Hardup and Allan Stewart as Buttons, mugging their way through like the troupers they are. (Steve Cramer)
Peter Pan
Edinburgh: Royal Lyceum, until 8 Jan *ir‘k
Peter Pan sweeps Wendy and little brother John away to the land of the lost boys, where adventure and magic are everyday occurences. Peter wants Wendy to be his mother, but refuses any other form of relationship.
magic and adventure slapstick and knockabout jokes and japes
love and romance
smut and innuendo
@09@@@
baddies and bounders @ celebs and soapstars (3 top tunes ® singalongs — sweetie showers — glitz, glamour and pizazz (2)
It's an old cliche', but there really is something in this for everyone. Peter’s slightly disturbing need to create a mother for himself is explored, making for some peculiar insights into his gender relations. All the same, there's plenty to generally ’ooh' and 'ahh’ about in his exotic world, and if Stuart Wilkinson’s Peter has a fixed grin that tends to remind one disturbingly of Tony Blair, Caroline Devlin makes for a superb Wendy. (Steve Cramer)
‘ The Little Lamp
Edinburgh: Theatre Workshop, until 24 Dec it t it
The st0ry of a princess With two oddball sisters and her symbolic quest
to bring the Sun into the King's palace is real fairytale material, but the
approach here is more educational
than slapstick.
magic and adventure (3 slapstick and knockabout ® jokes and japes C2) love and romance — smut and innuendo — baddies and bounders @ celebs and soapstars - top tunes @ Singalongs — sweetie showers - glitz, glamour and pizazz @
Based on a moralistic tale written by a Palestinian school teacher, this is far more sophisticated than your average glitzy swash-buckler. Beautiful visuals
and a traditional Middle Eastern score
STAR RATINGS ***** Unmissable it a. * * Very ood * a ‘k Wort a shot i t Below average * You've been warned NUMERICAL RATINGS Marks from (D to (5)
Christmas shows reviews THEATRE
combine with a social conscience, making for an alternative panto experience. No Buttons, no thigh- slapping; if truth be told, it's more like children's theatre than pantomime. So be warned: if it's thrills and sweeties you're looking for, look elsewhere. (Olly Lassman)
Beauty And The Beast
Edinburgh: Brunton Theatre, until Sat 8hn*****
One-time handsome prince turned angst-ridden hairy-boy comes good, thanks to 'tart with a heart’ and weird mates. Featuring a farting horse, an evil witch, the de rigueur man-in-a- dress and a highly suspicious Frenchman.
magic and adventure slapstick and knockabout jokes and japes
love and romance
smut and innuendo baddies and bounders celebs
top tunes
singalongs
sweetie showers
glitz, glamour and pizazz
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Let’s be honest, pantomime isn't about plot anyway, but when it comes to what does make a great panto, Beauty And The Beast is spot on. Every aspect of the show is OTT, from the flamboyant costumes to the hilariously hammy acting. No celebs, but given the choice between sweeties and a Frank Bruno cameo, I know which I’d choose. (Olly Lassman)
Beauty and the Beast
Kirkcaldy: Adam Smith Theatre, until lenkii
Monsieur de Beaumont and his lovely daughter, Beauty, have fallen on hard times. Beauty’s working part-time pulling pints at Betty Buckfast's Wild West Theme Bar while her selfish father is about to learn that stealing roses from the gates of imposing looking castles doesn’t pay.
magic and adventure slapstick and knockabout jokes and japes
love and romance
smut and innuendo baddies and bounders celebs and soap stars top tunes
singalongs
sweetie showers
glitz, glamour and pizazz
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In a show dominated by lavrsh sets, costumes and special effects, the performances by the unintentionally ridiculous Beast and his captive Beauty are a little disappomting. However, the inSpired creations of panto dame Betty and her cheeky son Bobby Buckfast lend plenty of bawdy humour and some great country ’n' western tunes to this classic fairytale (Catherine Bromleyi
The Princess And The Goblin
Stirling: MacRobert Arts Centre, until Sat 8 Jan * t it
The glamorous Princess Irene teams up
with lowly miner’s son Curdie to do battle With the ’ l'll)llnS Who lurk underground, plus. 'l : dastardly deeds and the downfa‘l < ' z' -- mountainous kingdom. magic and artxi-r2‘yr» C5) slapstick and l :1 ml about @ jokes and japes F2) love and romaiir ‘1' (4) smut and innuendzi — baddies and bounders (3 celebs and soap stars — top tunes — singalongs — sweetie showers — glitz, glamour and pizazz (3)
Despite a beautiful set and enthusrastic performances all round, this is a convoluted tale which relies heaVily on dialogue rather than action to get up and running. They save the day With a healthy sprinkling of audience partiCipation and the appearance of an excitable, lovable dragon. (Mark Robertson)
Taking up the Santa Cause: The Happy Gang's Cracking Christmas, SECC Glasgow, then touring
16 Dec 1999—6 Jan 2000 THE UST 83