Like the beast himself – part polar bear, part nylon rug – this is a curious hybrid of a show that tries to mix pantomime tradition with musical play, and fails on both scores. “What’s our story?” asks one of the songs, and you may well ask the same about Paul Sirett’s convoluted script, which places the action in a zero-hours sweatshop sweet factory where the immigrant Belle and her family have come to work, and in the Beast’s castle.
The latter is peopled by servants who are also book characters – Peter Pan, Pinocchio, Baby Bear from Goldilocks, one of the Three Little Pigs – who all lost their stories when the witch (Antonia Kemi Coker, below) placed a curse on an unpleasant Made in Chelsea-style toff for failing to allow her and her daughter to spend time reading in the castle’s library. At one point I wondered if this was supposed to be a metaphor for the closure of public libraries, with the Beast representing George Osborne and his austerity cuts; but if it is, it’s a rather mixed metaphor. In any case, if you kissed George Osborne, he’s be more likely to turn into a frog than a prince.
The audience are really up for it, but they deserve far better than off-colour jokes (“Have you seen the size of his gobstoppers?”), a rather half-hearted dame, some earnest, Sunday-school moralising and a complete lack of magic. The pop-up book-style design is a great idea, but appears to have been affected by its own austerity cuts. The cast work hard, but it’s a disappointing evening from a theatre with a proud tradition of festive shows.
Until 17 January. Box office: 020-8534 0310. More details: stratfordeast.com
