| Completely captivating and deliciously entertaining |
At the Sherman |
| Sherman Cymru- Beauty and the Beast , Sherman Theatre Cardiff , December 10, 2007 |
This first Christmas production by the newly amalgamated Sherman Cymru company is a delightfully enchanting retelling of this well loved story in a unique perfectly crafted, jewel of theatre art, with a deft touch of ‘Welshness’, that will embrace the young at heart from eight to eighty. Whilst some of the seats are certainly ready for the soon promised refurbishment, one of the unique aspects of this auditorium is that with its steeply raked seating and its back wall so near to the stage every single member of the audience can share the experiences of each of the characters on the stage. It is like reading a wonderful book of Fairy Stories with giant- sized gloriously coloured moving illustrations. This is even more enhanced by Ace McCarron’s fine lighting design. He enables us to see into the eyes of all the players letting us share in the joys and in their fears as much as if they were close-ups on a very large cinema screen. Award-winning writer, Charles Way has introduced a sister, Cassandra, for the tender Belle and Catherine Ayers brings to the role a loving boisterousness in complete contrast to Belle’s gentle and more graceful manner. Bethan Walker is the ideal Belle, sweet without being sugary, an extravagant dreamer but also very bright when she is wide awake. They play so well off one another and create a really believable sisterly feeling between them. Dafydd Emyr is also able to strengthen the family bonds, he may be a bit of a failure as a businessman but we are made to feel quite certain he has the best interests of his daughters at heart. Of course we all know the story ends very happily but although he might have predicted that Cassandra would marry her childhood sweetheart and that Belle would find happiness eventually, no dad would have wanted a daughter to have to go to such a terrifying experience to secure it. As the curtain rises we see Belle, asleep with a very large grey full moon shining darkly over her head. In her dreams her room fills with loudly rustling leaves and two strange wolf-like figures. They swirl her bed around, tumble and dance with grace and agility, they might be friendly but their appearance by no means suggests this. Hugh Fowler’s music and sound enrich the eerie atmosphere. But quickly Cassandra enters and shakes Belle out of her revelry. We learn more down to earth details of father’s failing business. His fortune is ruined so they have to forsake the bright lights of London and set up a lowly home in rural Wales, in a cottage with warmly coloured wall-paper dotted all over with red roses. Cassandra’s dashing heroic young man Daniel is also left behind. But he’s not going to give up that easily and actor Richard Shackly, who plays the part dashingly and heroically, devises a cunning plan! He also introduces us into the twinkling humour that keeps cropping up in the story, sometimes in quite unexpected places. The heart of the strange tale lies in its evilness and beastliness and the main setting with the high, grey, turreted walls of a crumbling mansion is exactly where you would expect wickedness to flourish, and yes the beast does make his first scary entrance flying down from them. Robert Vernon’s beast is an elegant monster, but none the less extremely menacing. He is constantly at loggerheads with his house keeper who if anything is almost even more frightening. Penetrating howls drive us back into our seats, often quickly interrupted by well timed words that provoke great laughter. All this was played out to the accompaniment of howling wolves and very fine, variable and appropriate music. There was some hugely enjoyable and accomplished balletic dance and movement including some well staged fights arranged under the expertise of Kevin McCurdy. All the ingredients of the perfect Christmas entertainment. There was never a time when the artists on the stage were not completely captivating and deliciously entertaining. If this is an example of the work that the new Sherman Cymru is going to provide then it certainly looks like the company’s board has found the right man in Director, Chris Ricketts and as they continue to back his vision the future for Sherman Cymru looks extremely exciting. |
Reviewed by: Michael Kelligan |
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