It's opening night and there is electricity in the air. Families and groups of children take their seats and the excitement is palpable. Now here is where the magic begins...
There is nothing greater than capturing the heart of a child and this is why this year's Panto, Beauty and the Beast has won on every level. This tale as old as time has been written and directed by Lee Waddington and boasts the perfect blend of enchanted charm, fantastic family comedy and some powerhouse anthems that promises to get everyone on their feet and all the children singing along.
Enjoy a trip to the heart of France where we meet Belle (Beauty -Melissa Potts) and her Beast (Collabro's Jamie Lambert) and follow their journey falling in love before the last rose petal falls. As the story unfolds we meet some hilarious characters including the best Dame I've ever seen (Bobby Crush), Gaston (Andrew Edwards) the towns casanova, his sidekick the loveable Jean Pierre (Mick Dundee) and my personal favourite the incredibly talented pantomime villain, evil witch (Nicki French) whose performance of her classic hit (and my favourite song) Total Eclipse of the Heart should be this years Christmas number 1.
It's jam-packed with dance numbers, laughs, and costume changes (well a Dame should never be seen twice in the same outfit darling!) rivals any west end performance. However, the secret it has that simply makes it worth taking every child to, is the audience reaction when Belle falls in love, dons her gown and cascades down the staircase to meet her prince. This was accompanied by the gasps of "wow" from the rows of little ones as their eyes filled with wonder. It was simply heartwarming proof enough that magic happens at Christmas and that you can believe in true love.
So if you want validation that the theatre is magic, that love can conquer all and that a fantastic pantomime is better than anything you can put under the tree take your little ones along I promise you won't be disappointed. It's just delightful.
A massive hats off to everyone involved with the Parkwood Theatres pantomime, you are doing a phenomenal job making so many people laugh and I can’t thank you enough for brightening my December.
If you haven't got your seats yet please don't delay. For more information visit http://bit.ly/BeautyBeaast or to buy tickets head to http://bit.ly/Pantotic
