Stage: Tale as old as time

He's Behind You! presents
Beauty and the Beast: A Horny Love Story
by Jon Bradfield and Martin Hooper
director Andrew Beckett
with Matthew Baldwin, Matt Kennedy, Chris Lane, Keanu Adolphus Johnson, Laura Anna-Mead, Dani Mirels, Ben Mabberley, Owen Arkrow, Olivia-Grace Weaver
composer Jon Bradfield • choreographer Carole Todd
sets David Shields • costumes Robert Draper
sound Andrew Johnson • lighting Matt Hockley
Charing Cross Theatre, London • 21.Nov.25-11.Jan.26 ★★★★

While this lively pantomime definitely hasn't been made for the kiddies, its bouncy childishness is hugely engaging. The grown-up audience at Charing Cross Theatre may continually roar at the raucously smutty wordplay, but it's the comfy self-aware nuttiness that keeps a smile on our faces. It definitely helps to have such an eye-catching array of sets and costumes, and such an up-for-it cast as this one, led by indefatigable panto-dame legend Matthew Baldwin.

The story is set in the Scottish village of Lickmanochers, where young Bertie (Matt Kennedy) and his sister Bonnie (Laura Anna-Mead) are struggling with their queer identities, because there are so few potential partners here. Their "easily spread" mother Flora (Baldwin) runs the local shop and is also on the prowl, while the villainous Cornelius (Chris Lane) plots against everyone. His big secret is that his cursed beastly brother Charlie (Johnson) is locked up in the family's Traitors-esque castle, and soon both Flora and Bertie get stuck there as well. Flora gets on with the resident ghosts, cooking bouncy scones and a shenanigan-filled Christmas dinner, while Bertie and Charlie of course have a more romantic trajectory.

The plot is resolutely simplistic, but the snappy dialog gives the actors a lot to work with. There's a barrage of hilarious zingers, current political asides and lots of references to the Disney classic. Indeed, the fabulously irreverent pastiche songs include Be Our Slave, crooned by the castle ghosts. And the climactic scene on Cornelius' drilling platform resounds to the strains of Village People-style anthem On an Oil Rig. Romance is on the cards for everyone, as Flora falls for local Harris (Ben Mabberley) and Bonnie meets the tourist Juno (Dani Mirels) and settles down alarmingly quickly.

While Baldwin owns the stage with his razor-sharp timing, iconic costume changes and astonishingly snappy improv, the skilful surrounding cast hold their own. Kennedy is an endearing hero who is very easy to root for, creating terrific chemistry with Johnson's amusingly tetchy beast. Both are able to punch the comedy while also finding deeper resonance. Everyone has a lot of fun with the elaborate costumes, witty songs and riotous Highland Fling-inspired choreography. Most impressive is how the show manages to be both silly and sexy at the same time, with a happy ending that comes complete with an enticingly dubious moral.

For details, HE'S BEHIND YOU! >

photos by Steve Gregson • 4.Dec.25

Stage: A riotously rude treat

Dick Whittington: A New Dick in Town!
by John Bradfield, Martin Hooper
songs John Bradfield
dir Andrew Beckett
with Jonny Peyton-Hill, Matthew Baldwin, Keanu Adolphus Johnson, Nikki Biddington, Bradley Walwyn
Above the Stag, Vauxhall • 2.Nov.21 - 16.Jan.22

It seems impossible that writer Martin Hooper and writer-composer John Bradfield have missed a single gag in this fabulously naughty pantomime, which updates the legend of London's iconic 14th century mayor into the riotously queer present day. Everything about this adult-aimed production is firing on all cylinders, including the innuendo-stuffed dialog, catchy songs, ceaselessly up-for-it performances and superbly inventive sets. Often painfully funny, the show also carries a wonderful emotional kick.

It's the tale of hopeful young Dick (Peyton-Hill), who arrives in London not with a cat but a sassy Insta-star Frenchie named Ariana. But his fashion career is cut abruptly short. Then he meets street-smart Alex (Johnson), who is earning a crust selling generic Covid vaccines and believes that he is the Spirit of London. Alex's undertaker father Fitzwarren (Walwyn) is also taken by Dick, which explains why he's ignoring his wife Sarah (the great Baldwin, in his seventh Above the Stag panto). Meanwhile, Queen Rat (Biddington) is determined to be elected London's next mayor, chasing the action to a Mediterranean island where Fitzwarren's much livelier twin brother (also Walwyn) holds the key to everyone's fate.

Biddington, Johnson,
Peyton-Hill and Baldwin

Comical touches spring from every direction, including broad slapstick, witty wordplay, wacky character details and random asides. Almost every joke elicits a big laugh, while the songs are also packed with cleverly playful lyrics that are both ridiculous and instantly evocative, such as a celebration of going on holiday and ordering dinner from an illustrated menu. Of course, the title character's name is the main source of double entendre, accompanied by timely jabs at everything from politics to pop culture.

Each of the five cast members is on scene-stealing form, although it's Baldwin's impeccable timing and quick-witted improvisational skills that shine the brightest. As the show's dame, he's loveable and outrageously hilarious, constantly injecting deranged rhyming slang amid a wildly colourful parade of costumes. Biddington's villain adeptly channels rock-goddess mayhem as she creates constant chaos. And Walwyn's dual role is hugely amusing even before the brothers have their enormous confrontation, a genius combination of clever direction and sharp-witted acting. Which leaves the endearing Peyton-Hill and Johnson to infuse the show with heart and soul. And even more ribaldry.

Biddington and Walwyn

This is a relentlessly rude show that's refreshingly unafraid to go for the smuttiest joke imaginable, maintaining an unusually high energy level from start to finish. It's inventive and unexpected, beautifully staged with eye-catching video-augmented sets that vividly create atmospheres from rat-infested sewers to a sun-drenched paradise. And it's the perfect tonic for pulling us out of our pandemic funk just in time for the holidays.

For details: ABOVE THE STAG

10.Nov.21