A beast of a show: our review of the Leamington Christmas pantomime Beauty and the Beast

“Ever just the same ever a surprise”, Beauty and the Beast follows the usual feel good formula of jokes, slapstick humour, song and dance thinly but finely wrapped around a classic fairy tale, fable or story.

Regular Leamington panto-goers will be happy to hear that the rambunctious Twelve Days of Christmas segment has been reintroduced to proceedings after its absence last year and, during this part in this particular performance - either by design or accident – the backdrop curtain got pulled down revealing ‘unsuspecting’ backstage staff working behind the scenes.

This is a show full of fun and energy in which most of the plot, probably quite rightly, falls largely by the wayside.

I still believe popular dame and the show’s co-writer/co-director JP McCue could well have a statue of himself and his trusty co-star/co-writer Sean Dodds erected outside the venue in years to come.

The two always have enough panache, chemistry and charisma to carry the show as a pair and are always worth the ticket price alone.

Dodds - in particular this year - is in fine form, showing even more than ever that there’s a lot more to him than the “silly boy” his on-stage mother claims him to be.

But along with the fantastic backing dancers a special mention must be given to Harry Pudwell, who is devilishly hilarious as he evokes a bit of Ben Stiller’s White Goodman in Dodgeball and Lord Farquaad in Shrek as the arrogant, deluded and nasty social media influencer Edgar.

The audience’s boos energise him to play up even more thus creating more laughter – he could be the best pantomime villain to appear at the Spa Centre in recent memory.

As ever, people living in and around Leamington are lucky to have such a high-quality Christmas panto right on their doorsteps.

Who can love a beast?

I can - and so can you and many others.

Performances of Beauty and The Beast are taking place up to and including January 5.

Tickets cost from £23.

To book visit https://www.warwickdc.gov.uk/royalspacentre/homepage/67/beauty_and_the_beast