Beauty and the Beast – by Alan McHugh. Richmond Theatre, the Green, Richmond, Surrey TW9 to 5 January 2025, 5☆☆☆☆☆. Review: William Russell.

Beauty and the Beast – by Alan McHugh. Richmond Theatre, the Green, Richmond, Surrey TW9 to 5 January 2025,

5☆☆☆☆☆. Review: William Russell.

“Truly Terrific.”

National Treasures who appear in pantomime usually play the fairy godmother but Dame Maureen Lipton in this spellbinding Richmond theatre panto plays a teapot, which makes a change. Dame Judi next? She plays Mrs Potty, mother of Silly Billy, played by the equally fabulous Pete Firman, and is a housekeeper to the Beast who, in this version of the tale, does not get that much of a look in although he is allowed to sing the song closing act one. The man behind the mask, Luke McCall, does it rather well. This is a show in which the plot disapears for a lot of the time and there is lots of chat straight to the audience at which Dame Maureen, Mr Firman and Beauty's mother, Betty Bouffant.played by vintage dame Ben Stock. Two dames is pushing it a bit but maybe next year they can do the ugly sisters. For a dame with a bus pass Mrs Potty is up for anything, dances, sings and indulges in cross talk to the full, especially in a splendid she sells sea shells style conversation with Silly Billy and Betty Bouffant, one of the highlights of the night. Mr Firman, as well as being a magician with tricks to dazzle, has a genuine rapport with the audience not least when Silly Billy leads the audience in the inevitable sing along. Mr Pushy is squashed, little Miss Won't talk obliges. As a magician he has a magnificent encounter with a  man from the audience persuaded to take off his wedding ring, much to his wife's displeasure, which then vanishes only to eventually be found inside a sealed envelope inside a sealed envelope. The sets ar good, the costumes even better, Beauty, or Belle as she is called, played by Hope Dawe sings sweetly and the Fairy, Cherece Richards, who has caused all the trouble by, in another guise as an old peasant woman, putting the spell on the uppity Prince Sebastian turning him into the Beast – just about stops the show with her number. There is even a villain called Flash Harry played to the hilt by Jason Leigh Winter, who flashes his muscles, and gets booed as they do.Last year's Richmond pantomime was terrific, this year tops it with a 5***** show. As for Mrs Potty – there is nothing like a dame when it comes to rising to an occasion.

Cast

Maureen Lipton -Mrs Potty

Pete Firman – Silly Billy

Ben Stock – Betty Bouffant

Luke McCall – Prince Dsebastian, The Beast

Jason Leigh-Winter – Flash Harry

Cherece Richards – The Enchantress

Hope Dawe – Belle

Ensemble

Imogen Amos, Ethan Atkinson, Meg Darcy, George Deller, Hollie Kate, Catherine Puri

Creatives

Director – Paul Robinson

Musical Director – Pierce Tee

Costume Designer – Teresa Nalton

Costume Design for Maureen Lipton – Ron Biggs

Lighting Designer – Tim Oliver

Sound Designer – Nick Sagar. Choreographer – Jenny Thomas