Written by Lewis Hetherington

Co-directed by Dominic Hill and Joanna Bowman

Review by Dominic Corr

Citizens Theatre

There’s something to be said for a touch of the macabre at Christmas: a pertinent reminder to the evils in the world which lie beyond the windowsill, or worse yet, right within the doorway. It’s something that The Citizens Theatre has always been partial to with their family-oriented productions, using fairytales and familiar stories as a gateway to the truth

And though Lewis Hetherington’s Beauty and the Beast sticks with the core trope of locating the human beneath the hideousness, it more vitally reminds us to find the ‘beast’ within every ‘beauty’. Leaning into the uncanny, Baron Aaron’s fall from grace stts the stage for a tale that balances invention and tradition: Israela Efomi’s brilliant professional debut as Beauty, fresh from the Royal Conservatoire, brings a spirited presence opposite Holly Howden Gilchrist’s Bright as their inventing sister. Nikola Kodjabashia’s score threads mischief through a winter wonderland. What makes this production sing is its refusal to patronise: children revel in the darker beats, adults savour the wit, and together they share in a story that insists on the joy of being gloriously yourself

Warped and twisted; straddled between classical pantomime and recesses of a grim children’s story, Rachael Canning’s design draws audiences further into the darkness of the tale and magnifies the much-needed threats of the Beast’s castle: looming figures and faces on the walls, all of it tilted, one step away from the ‘norm’. Perfectly crafted for Lizzie Powell’s lighting, the pair conjure an enchanting evening of visuals which spark of a magic many of us have left behind. And where the production may teeter just heavily on shadow-use and misdirection, Powell’s lighting ensures we see everything we’re meant to, and conceals (most) of what we’re not to discover.

And prowling the castle is a beast unlike one the tale may usually tell: his flatulence ringing through the halls. Fuzzy, blue, but with claws and scales too, Nicholas Marshall’s Beast is more brattish and unaware than cruel or brooding. Ramping up this naivety and engrossing the audience quickly to the Beast’s side, Marshall makes the lumbering costume look real and grounded in this fantastical tale. Not the only beast lurking in the castle, Martin Donaghy’s Captain Biscuits, the Beast’s loyal hound, joins Michael Guest’s Mr. Mittens the cat as our anchor and narrators. The chemistry they share rivals that of Beauty and the Beast; friendship and whatever else may blossom feels earnest and earned, entirely natural, as the pair deliver some of the bigger punches of humour and sincerity for the night.  

A few cups short of the teaset, clattering their way across the hallways and always landing themselves right where they need to be, Elicia Daly’s Mrs Flobberlyboo catapults the production into chaos of the most glorious kind: song, dance, and a few surprises to get both kids and adults a little more worried for our heroes. Ensuring things run the right way in the castle, Daly often finds themselves the strongest in a scene – conjuring a similar vein as Tyler Collins’ Baron Aaron as defined characters with purpose and goals, turning the dial to eleven (and snapping it off), and leaping headfirst into every scenario with gusto. Hill and Bowman’s direction is tight, though the ambitious spectacle within the second act needs tightening, but enables the cast to run with their roles and make them firm family favourites to fight over on the journey home. It’s theatre at its most earnest: letting anyone escape the world outside, and gracefully whisking them away for a couple of hours before safely delivering them back, all the better for going on the journey.

Theatre with teeth (and claws and snarl), the Citizens’ returns to rightly claim the crown of the more twisted and unique Christmas-time tale in Scotland: A fairytale with a resounding bite. Its ambitions may falter somewhat towards the finale as it wraps things a bit too tightly and conveniently, but the initial act is the best festive production in Scotland; a mirthful one with a grim snarl of impish attitude. The Citizens Theatre’s Beauty and the Beast is a festive fairytale that gleefully sidesteps pantomime cliché, offering Glasgow audiences a darker, roguish, and heartwarming spectacle.

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