"Beauty and the Beast" by Ben Crocker (7-10 Dec 2016)

Poster

It seems hardly a year since I was writing the programme notes for Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves and we must thank everyone who came for being such a fab audience and for all the lovely reviews.  Nice to see you again and we hope you’ll enjoy “Beauty and the Beast” even more.
 
Now while the lovely cast, crew and band have worked their socks off to bring our Beauty and the Beast to life it’s the addition of an enthusiastic Chiswickian audience (ie you) that makes the magic happen.
 
Come on Chiswickia; Let’s be ‘avin ya!

What They Said
Saturday Evening Reviews:
“Brilliant fun as ever! Will be back next year” Chloe H
“Great show Chris and friends. Always a great way to start the festive period. X” Helen B
“Thanks - a great show - all ages enjoyed it thoroughly. It was well-acted, fun, lively and had excellent songs throughout. Well done to all those involved. We will be back next year.” Sue H
“Top team! Great energy, loved it and will be back for more” Paul F
"Brilliant Panto 👌😊, had so much fun 😂! Thank you very much and Merry Christmas 🎅,Xx" Ewa J

Saturday Matinee Reviews:
“Thank you to the lovely Sue and everyone at St Michaels Players we all had such a fab time as always at the panto this afternoon brilliant fun, kids and grown-ups loved it!” Faye N
"We so enjoyed St Michael's Beauty and the Beast Pantomime this year - it was snappy and fast moving and great fun" Vicki N
 
Friday Reviews:
“Congratulations, you did it again! The Panto was a howling (and I mean howling, dear Beast) success, the joy of it increased by three rows of ecstatic Brownies in front of us. The acting was great, the singing melodic, the sound and effects (naturally) better than ever, stage management and costumes immaculate and the sheer fun of it was infectious. Can't wait until the next one!,” Robin E
“Great show tonight, really enjoyed!” Alan L
"Good fun on Friday evening (Oh! No it wasn't!)" Peter C
"I and Alan are regulars. And we really look forward to the Pantos directed by Chris. It is 100% guaranteed you will have a great time. I love the size of the venue. It's very intimate. The performers are very enthusiastic and talented. They are great performers: act, dance, and sing. And the live band is a great bonus!!! We are already looking forward to the next Panto directed by Chris as it will be another great success!!!" Marcia D
​
Thursday Reviews:
"They've done it again! Who needs to go "up west " when you have this wonderful group just around the corner. My friends and I had an hilarious evening seeing and participating in the panto "Beauty & the Beast" last Thursday. It was a super night out, all the players were just great and so professional and I have to include the musicians, the staging and sound effects and lighting. and of course the Director Chris Hulatt. We all just LOVED it.
The show has now finished - I'd have posted immediately but have been without broadband until today but even if I'd been able to tell you all, I doubt you'd have been able to beg borrow or steal a ticket - it was a sell out! Just superb, well done the St Michael's Players - you cannot be bettered, it was magic. You'll be 'aving us all again for the next show." Maud G
"Well done ( Fenton, Ma , Malabelle Beauty too list so long to go on ) hope everybody who comes enjoys and has just as much fun watching the "Panto" for the rest of the run as JD & Me" Rose P
"So proud of Helen Doyle who broke a leg without actually breaking a leg. You put on an awesome show x" Jenny G
"Well done Chris, cast & crew on a great panto that had us giggling and guffawing throughout - and singing along too of course! Congratulations and break a leg for the remaining performances!" Jon H
"Laughed my socks off. Well done to all in the cast - you put up with us in the front row very well. Mwah" Adrian E"
"Thursday went really well, and the whole audience definitely got a good night for their money – everyone coped well with the occasionally intrusive over-enthusiasm of last year’s cast in the front row! The pace was good and the engagement with the audience was consistently effective.  A particular shout out to Beauty for audience engagement – my brain says it shouldn’t work to deliver every line directly to row 2 like that, but my eyes and my heart say it really does, and it always feels as if you’re telling the story to me. The big smile helps, of course!  The leads were strong throughout.  Malabelle is exhilaratingly evil, while Ma is a truly Grand Dame, effectively carrying all her scenes.  Fenton’s winsome canine charms keep the narration going well, with a good balance between knowing glances at the audience and full character participation in the story.  The Beast conveys the mix of menace and vulnerability well, and Jasmine’s lively stage presence and strong voice lift a role that could otherwise be rather bland. The Prince and Basil carry off their essentially straight-man roles with confidence (well done to the Prince for the dream duet in particular).    The chorus add energy and pace to the show whenever they’re on stage.  Stage management was essentially invisible – which means it’s being done really well.
I’m sure the occasional dropped or skipped lines weren’t noticeable to those who didn’t have the script in front of them as I did.  On which subject, I was well impressed with the way you got out of those occasional holes – you’ve clearly got a good handle on which lines are critical for moving the show on." Andy R

​Wednesday Reviews:
“Excellent performance from everyone, clearly a lot of time and effort has gone into putting it all together! Well done Chris and the cast. Some really good songs in there, well done to the band for creating the perfect Christmas atmosphere!” Amy C
"The Beauty and the Beast was the first St Michael's Players show that I've been to and I loved it. Excellent performance! I am a big panto fan and that was one of the most hilarious ones I've ever seen. Cracking jokes and very good song choices. The actors were really good and passionate about the play. The beast was quite scary as it supposed to be. The idea of Casio - the talking clock was brilliant.(I would love to have one of those at home)
I am looking forward to the next St Michael's Players show, now they've got a friend in me" Mariela M
"We thoroughly enjoyed the pantomime - well done to you and the cast and crew! " Caroline G
"I came to see it last night with my daughter. We loved it (especially the line about there being no shame in shopping in Actonia).  Looking forward to the next one :-)" Kristin S
"A Wonderful Show with polished musical performance! Interestingly, one of the most surprisingly entertaining parts was the narration of the Dame's 'trudge' through the forest. Just a bare stage and the actor's grumbling acquiescence to Fenton's wayward direction, really brought our imagination to life!" Sheila C
"Loved the panto last night.  Thought that you all did amazing! Went away feeling great.  Well done....." Anon
"'Amazing. Loved it. Really enjoyed it. I especially loved the legendary 'homes under the hammer' way of introducing songs!" Anon 
"Utterly entertaining. Lots of laughs, tonnes of energy and set us up perfectly for Christmas!' Well done to all. It was excellent" Lucy W
"The panto was brilliant and you were fantastic!!!   I was at the opening night and I really enjoyed it . You all looked as if you were having so much fun and it was infectious -- you could not help but come out feeling happy !  Congratulations !!!" Lynn E
"A refreshing novelty to have a French poodle, very well acted, pushing the story along, and an unusual story.  Talking furniture!  Everyone spoke clearly, the villains were villainous and though the beast was a bit too frightening for at least one young child he won sympathy later. The parody of the waitress from Acorn antiques was inspired. The 1st half was a tad slow but the 2nd half bounced along well. The costumes were good and it was great to have everyone in sequins and glamour at the end.  A very good dame.  Excellent singers. Not a lot for the audience to shout out I suppose; one boy behind me thought up comments of his own.
Altogether a happy production and I came out smiling. Well done!" Dorothy H

Programme
programme_beauty_v1.pdf
File Size: 83 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

Pictures

In chronological order

Cast

Fenton (Paul Smith)
Basil (Utku Er)
Jasmine (Stella Henney)
Beauty (Helen Doyle)
Prince (Emily Rudd)
Malabelle (Michelle Tomlinson)
Ma (Mark Hemmings)
Prince (as the Beast) (Mervyn Jupe)
Talking Clock (Tomathy Whyte)
Hot (Georgina Parren)
Bothered (Alastair Dewar)
Chorus (Sue Darrieulat, Elizabeth Ollier, Zenith Milner, Christine Lee, Cecilia Coleshaw, Jo Harry)

Band and Crew

​Musical Director, Keyboards (Nick Lawrence)
Guitar (Andy Murray)
Bass (Ian Trowbridge)
Drums (Martin Scott, Drew Biksas)

​Director (Chris Hulatt)
Stage Manager (Bryony Wilman)
Costumes (Jane Atkinson)
Choreography  (Stella Henney, Helen Doyle, Jane Atkinson)
Backstage and Props (Chris Pease, Allie Milledge)
Lighting And Sound (Marc Pearce, Andy Rooney)
Make Up (Rosie Copping)