Beauty and the Beast. Grimsby Auditorium. 12 December 2025.

Every year, families across the Grimsby region look forward to what the Auditorium has in store for them with its annual pantomime. This year is no exception. The Press Night audience loved the show and the audience was rocking with laughter and dancing in their seats as Chris Moreno returns to weave his unique Christmas magic for families of all ages. In recent years, the Disney incarnation of the classic story dating back to 1740 has dominated stages up and down the land, full of anthropomorphised crockery and furniture whilst desperately trying to avoid law suits from the global entertainment giant. Moreno delivers a somewhat different interpretation of the story, which at times tries to hard to veer from the Disney-inspired expectations and rather loses its way but manages to deliver rip-roaring variety entertainment for those present.

The elements of the story which remain familiar are that a witch curses a handsome prince, turning him into a horned beast who must live in splendid isolation, forlornly stalking the halls of his palace as a rose loses its petals. When the final petal drops, all will die unless he can be redeemed by true love's kiss. Meanwhile, the beauty of the title is Belle, a gorgeous young woman, eager to look after her ageing, widower father, and is the object of desire in for the vainglorious local braggart and womaniser. You can work out the rest from there.

The panto has all the traditional hallmarks you would expect to one degree or another, with gags and routines that have been tried and tested for decades. One possible exception being that the dame is the villain of the piece here, rather than on the side of the heroes. Thus, the duties traditionally performed by the dame are split among the rest of the hero cast. We still have a blend of pop music and musical theatre, we have the ghost gag, we have the inevitable wedding scene at the end and we have a lot of high-energy playing to the crowd as illuminated toys wave merrily amongst the audience.

One nitpick for me was that the story was set at Christmas, with a snowball fight and songs like Winter Wonderland and a fabulous Christmas medley, but the sets and backdrops were always devoid of snow scenes. I know that is a minor quibble, and it clearly didn't bother the energetic and enthusiastic audience or spoil anyone's enjoyment, but it would have added to the spectacle, had the production found weather-appropriate backdrops with snow-topped roofs and streets etc. It would also have been perfect for highlighting the really colourful costumes of the entire ensemble.

The cast worked exceptionally hard throughout but none more so than the quartet who delivered a rambunctious performance of a panto-friendly version of The Twelve Days of Christmas that had the audience whooping, cheering and rocking with laughter. The biggest cheer reserved for the repeated appearance of Mariners' shirts across the stage firmly winning favour with the Grimsby audience. The other, undoubted winner on the music front was the performance of the K-Pop Demon Hunters' song, Golden. From the first bars, the crowd was ready to rock, and rock they did! Children and parents were singing along enthusiastically as Belle was returned to the castle. Kudos must also go to the vocal performances of each of the principal performers. Jordan Adams' Beast struggled to compete with a dodgy microphone but delivered an impressive rendition of Rag'n'bone Man's I'm Only Human.

Jordan Adams made for a tall and handsome prince, prior to his transformation into The Beast replete with horns, though the transformation seemed to take far longer than expected with the Prince appearing in human form, long-after being cursed in the first Act. Adams delivered an assured performance and it is easy to see why Belle fell for the tragic figure of the Beast, knowing him to be the handsome Prince whom she had admired in his human form earlier.

One of the standout performers for me, was Eleanor Homer as Belle, it would be very easy for Belle to be a carbon copy of the winsome, bookish Belle of Disney, but here we have an intelligent, independent pragmatist who is not easily frightened and is eager to do the best for her father and to consider the lot of everyone around her, before her own needs. Homer is a fabulous singer and dancer and is very charismatic in the role. It is easy to see why everyone falls for Belle and her beauty.

Grimsby panto returnee, Ian Norton plays Miserabelle, the witch who curses the Prince in a somewhat different role for him. Previously, audiences have loved him as the silly. traditional dame as he guides them gently through fairy tale after fairy tale. Here, Norton appears to relish the role of the baddie, encouraging the hisses and boos all readily delivered by the crowd. I think it is fair to say that Norton's performance here is more like a drag queen than a panto dame with the judgmental, withering looks and the acid put downs, but he really does play the role perfectly.

The role of Belle's father is played by John Hewer, perhaps better known for recreating the work of Tommy Cooper, Tony Hancock and Harold Steptoe with Hambledon Productions, Here, Hewer is an amiable, but easily confused old man, perhaps in the mold of Clive Dunn's Corporal Jones in Dad's Army with a few other comic characters thrown in for good measure, including a touch of John Inman at times! He is an actor perfectly suited to delivering classic comic routines and playing the bewildered, chaotic inventor, though disappointingly, we never saw any of his inventions within the show.

John Hewer in "Dracula One Bloody Fang After Another" photo by Andy Evans

Rob McVeigh played Anton the Gypsy King, the role fulfilled by Gaston in Disney's telling. Anton is the object of female desire and boy does he know it. The women throw themselves at him, all except Belle - making her even more desirable to him. He succeeds in stirring up and leading the angry mob to the Beast's castle only to be convinced by Belle that he should trust the Beast.

Martin Daniels returns to Pantoland here in Grimsby as Seymour Bottom, the Simple Simon-style character who is teh Prince's servant and leader of the "gang" of children in the audience as he whips everyone up into a frenzy with his energetic delivery of quick-fire gags and self-deprecating humour. It was a shame that he was limited in terms of the magic he got to perform on stage this year with only the Black Rabbit, White Rabbit routine to highlight his skills, however we were treated to his other talents including a tap routine he performed wonderfully alongside the ensemble.

The final principal role was that of the Fairy Godmother, Wizadora Crabapple, played with real gusto by Sue Hodge. There were noticeably less references to 'Allo 'Allo this year, though you cannot possibly ignore her greatest role completely. The children were clearly a little confused by some of the gags based on her role as Mimi, but Hodge's naturally funny bones and undoubted comedy talent shine through with this charming performance as the tough-nut fairy eager to outwit the witch.

The ensemble featuring the choreography of Thomas Wood really enhance the show with their bright and cheerful dances, the finale with the Christmas medley looked fantastic and they served to keep energy levels high on stage always providing beautiful pictures for the audience in their wonderful costumes.

I wasn't a fan of the Zoomer Pubbet used fleetingly in the show as something of a deus ex machina to resolve the loss of Wizadora's wand. I would far rather see a puppet character or characters integrated throughout the show as a significant element of the panto so that we can follow his/her/their progress as a part of the journey, instead of being a super-convenient tag on to solve a problem in the plot never to be seen again. And if a puppet is to be used, I would also prefer to see it properly puppeteered on stage, instead of popping up through the floor as it has done in previous years.

Overall though, I cannot deny that this year's panto is an engaging, lively and winning family show which will play successfully and put lasting smiles on the faces of its audiences and will encourage them to return to next year's show in eager anticipation!

Andy Evans 15 December 2025