Review of Beauty and the Beast at Castle Theatre, Wellingborough

The Castle Theatre Wellingborough this year sees the home of Beauty and the Beast as its seasonal pantomime, and what a fabulously entertaining show it is. Hiding away from the big star names, Parkwood Theatres & Castle Theatre has assembled a talented bunch of performers to bring this tale “as old as time” to the stage.

Produced and directed by Martin Cleverley once again, back from previous years' pantos, the show relies very much on characters rather than showy visuals. Taking full advantage of a French setting, the puns flow freely, including to the characters, with names such as Danon and Djon thrown into the mustard pot (very much intended) of puns.

Aura Mitchell and Kaysee Craine lead our cast of characters as the title characters of Beauty and the Beast (also known as Prince Pierre). While they do play second fiddle, as is the norm for a panto, to the additional comic characters, they form a charming partnership.

Returning to the role of panto dame from last year's Peter Pan is Gary L. Johnson, this year as Mademoiselle Marmalade. He has an ease in the dame role and effortlessly plays with cast members and any unwilling victim(s) from the audience. The fact that Howdens were on a corporate trip also allowed both Johnson and the rest of the cast to shift a few kitchen and additional jokes into the performance, which, for one show only, gave a little quirk.

Daniel Taylor was another return player from last year, and here he plays Doc, the father of Beauty, a madcap inventor and professor, which allows a few sideways nods to a particular eighties science fiction film, including the brief appearance of a “hoover-board” and additional puns.

Playing the baddie, but not always entering from stage left, is Andy Rose as Danon, and while he isn’t as dominating as many a panto baddie, his worldly-wise laddish take on the role does prove effective. Nancy Doubledee plays the role of Enchantress, bridging the scenes with her storytelling in verse and creates a personable character, who is just your charming friend. Also wanting to be your mate is Edward Conroy’s Djon, a lively individual, who has also fallen for the charms of Beauty. He has a fine repartee with the kids, and they all definitely want to be in, “oui oui!”

The best performance comes from Samuel Morgan-Grahame in his role as FC. Seen last year in the Royal & Derngate’s The Jolly Christmas Postman. Morgan-Grahame has an enviable, joyous stage presence, ideally suited to entertain kids and adults alike. He clearly knows how to milk comic moments as well, including the revelation that the world of La Wellingborough is actually flat, and he's brilliant at ad-libbing, running with the audience's suggestion of “burning” Danon when captured. A brilliant performance.

While Beauty and the Beast lacks the budget of many larger-scale shows across the country, it has a heart stronger than its own appearance, much like the beast below. An evident passion comes through the performances of the cast, making it more of a community theatre and a name-selling extravaganza. The shows feature a vast number of jokes of the usual panto quality, which are often gloriously obvious. There are also numerous excellent musical numbers performed by the ensemble to an impressive standard. The songs, the usual kind of taking familiar ones and twisting them, allow moments of coffee-based puns and Great British Bake Off skits. These, alongside a traditional wall scene, cooking chaos and a totally chaotic “If I wasn’t in pantomime” song, make everything fun and familiar as only panto can be.

While it is a long show, coming in at over two and a half hours with an interval, Beauty and the Beast stays high-energy, and the audience does remain hooked. Some material removed from the slightly overlong first act would be beneficial, but, with much more story to tell in the second half, the audience leaves the theatre on a glorious high. Great family Christmas entertainment.

More beauty than beast, the Castle once again comes up trumps with a gloriously traditional panto.
⭐⭐⭐⭐

Performance reviewed: Saturday, 13th December 2025, at Castle Theatre, Wellingborough.

Beauty and the Beast runs at Castle Theatre until Wednesday, 31st December 2025.

Further details about Castle Theatre can be found at www.parkwoodtheatres.co.uk/castle-theatre