With panto season in full swing my next panto outing took me to Croydon, more specifically the Fairfield Halls for Beauty and The Beast. Having somehow missed previous iterations of Beauty and The Beast as a pantomime I was intrigued to see how they would turn this traditional fairy story into a pantomime.

This pantomime however had all the wonderful traditional elements that make pantomime so unique, our Dame was the Beasts housekeeper, the audience friend was her son who also worked for the beast and the baddie was of course Gaston….or in this version I should say Hugo!! We also had Fairy Bon Bon to help guide Belle along the way. It kept to the traditional story that Belle’s father is captured by the Beast and to gain his freedom Belle trades places with him. As her stay goes on they begin to fall for each other but will in be in time to break the curse?!

This panto had all of the elements that make a good panto – there was the right amount of story,  plenty of audience interaction, a good balance of jokes for the children along with others for the adults in the audience combined with a healthy amount of song and dance. The songs ranged from musical theatre to the song of the year ‘Golden’ so there really was something for everyone and it was especially welcome whenever Will Haswell as Hugo or Samuel John Taylor as the Beast got a chance to sing as they both had wonderful voices. I also enjoyed many of the lyric changes to well known numbers to make it fit the show.

The cast themselves were a joy to watch and in particular our Dame Polly La Plonk played by Jamie Steen and the audience friend, Louis La Plonk played by Charlie Guest had the children in the audience eating out of the palm of their hands. They were both high energy, silly and perfect for these panto roles. Fairy Bon Bon played by Sorelle Marsh was also delightful in the role, speaking entirely in rhyming couplets she played the role effortlessly! Ellie Dadd of Eastenders fame took on the role of Belle and whilst she was delightful in the role generally it did seem at times that some of the musical numbers given to her were just too big for her vocals.

The show also excelled when it came to the costumes and the set. Costume design by Elzabeth Dennis was joyful, from Belle’s ballgown to the plethora of outfits for the Polly La Plonk it was always a delight to see what the cast would turn up in next. Equally the set designed by Jon Harris and Jason Bishop was spot on for the show, whilst there wasn’t a huge amount of variety in the backcloths used the effect of changing some of the other items on stage such as the ding table, bed or jail cell worked well to let the audience know just which part of the castle we were in. 

Beauty and the Beast at Fairfield halls delivers exactly what a panto should: festive escapism, family friendly fun and a generous helping of heart. With a strong cast, an eye catching design and a clear affection for pantomime tradition this production proves a thoroughly enjoyable outing for audiences of all ages.

Beauty and The Beast is on at the Fairfield Halls until 4^th January 2026. You can find out more and book tickets here.

If you like this review you might also like my review of Robin Hood Pantomime at New Wimbledon Theatre, Wicked and Hunger Games on Stage.