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Theatre
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST Royal Lyceum, Edinburgh, until Sat 31 Dec ●●●●●
The basic story is so simple it’s mythic: girl meets beast, they fall in love, beast turns into boy. Stuart Paterson’s venerable adaptation is a tad more complicated. There are ugly sisters (as if a titular ugly character weren’t enough), played with irresistible relish by Karen Traynor and Nicola Roy, who are hampered only slightly by not being ugly at all. Then there’s a witch, Crackjaw, whose role is confusing. Crackjaw creates the Beast, but then the beast has to die so that she can have his ‘power’. Hang on, if she created him, surely the power is hers? And why doesn’t she just kill him? Never mind, the show ticks along as smoothly as a vintage Daimler, and Angela Clerkin brilliantly enhances the malevolence by giving Crackjaw a voice curiously evocative of Margaret Thatcher chewing expanded polystyrene. Ruth Milne tackles the laugh-free role of Beauty with admirable commitment. Andrew Rothney as the Beast has to wear what looks like a boarskin on his head, but he projects tenderness and dignity. Your typical modern panto is like one of Tolkien’s orcs: nasty, ugly and cynical. Beauty and the Beast rightly distances itself by self-describing as a ‘children’s play’, but it needs a double shot of the manic energy that was historically the lifeblood of panto. The fairytale element inspires Neil Murray’s gorgeous set and some lovely stagecraft, but they’re at war with the bearpit, peanut-shells element, as if Paterson would have preferred to write something seductively Cocteauesque but felt obliged to throw in the odd fart and puke joke. The kids seemed gripped, although smaller ones may find the spookier moments alarming. As Beast lay dying, Beauty, choked with emotion, whispered, ‘I love you, Beast.’ Pause, then a sardonic, pre-teen, female voice fluted from the stalls: ‘Well, kiss ’im, then.’ (Alex Johnston)
HANSEL AND GRETEL Citizens Theatre, Glasgow, until Sat 7 Jan ●●●●●
The Citz, of recent years, have taken their festive shows down a musical theatre route and Alan McHugh’s Hansel and Gretel ticks all the genre’s boxes. Older audience members may prefer a quirkier Christmas production but the dry ice, flashing lights and belting numbers has an audience of primary school children transfixed. Jennifer Harraghy, taking her first professional
role as the evil witch stepmother Vanya, has a fine set of pipes, a grand cackle and a masterful swish of her fur-trimmed cape. She rather overpowers the rest of the cast, with only Gemma McElhinney, a feisty Gretel, playing at the same level. The costumes and sets lack the Citz’ usual wit and magic, with only the Love Heart sweet on the front of the gingerbread house – with the legend Eat Me – raising a smile.
Claire McKenzie’s score, played live by a four- strong ensemble, does a lot to keep things cracking along and youngsters raised on Andrew Lloyd Webber’s TV shows lap it up. But it left me pining for the old days.(Anna Burnside)
CINDERELLA Dundee Rep, until Sat 31 Dec ●●●●● RUDOLF The Arches, Glasgow, until Tue 3 Jan ●●●●●
Writer Phil Porter has taken perhaps the best-loved of all festive tales, pulled it apart and reassembled it with a bold lack of concern for tradition. Yes, folks, this is Cinderella but not as we know it. For starters, this version is set on a houseboat populated by retired magicians, cared for and cleaned up after by our downtrodden heroine (Kirsty Mackay). And Porter also throws in a number of eye-catching contemporary twists, with Prince Daniel (Kevin Lennon) auditioning prospective brides in a Britain’s Got Talent-style competition and the Queen (Irene MacDougall) stealing the show with a gangsta rap. While the production lacks sufficient gaps for audience participation (you can feel the crowd itching to join in) there’s plenty to compensate in Porter’s witty script – pitched at slightly older children and young-at-heart adults – and the generally excellent performances. MacDougall is a riot, John Buick is funny and touching as retired magician Mr Marakovic, while Ann Louise Ross and Emily Winter and Natalie Wallace are deliciously nasty as Cinders’ grotesque stepmother and stepsisters respectively. (Allan Radcliffe)
For the last couple of years, The Arches have offered an offbeat alternative to the traditional panto – and this year’s Rudolf is no exception. The classic reindeer tale (red-nosed fella, rejected by society, wins out in the end by saving Christmas) is told in an innovative way, using two unnamed narrators with big imaginations, who spin a compelling yarn without resorting to any of the ‘look behind you’/‘oh yes it is’ tactics usually present in theatre at this time of year.
The inevitable moral is played out at the end but not overdone, and the festive, woodland vibe is created with scenery that starts in the waiting area before the kiddies even enter the theatre. A small but adaptable set encourages audience creative thinking to picture the rest. Performers Ross Allan and Rob Evans flit comfortably between their various characters (man, woman, reindeer, duck) and strike a good balance between slapstick and dry humour to raise a giggle from the little people present, but avoiding seeming patronising at any point. It’s a sweet, clever show, ideal for stepping away from the mainstream Christmas madness. (Lauren Mayberry)
15 Dec 2011–5 Jan 2012 THE LIST 113