It’s the most wonderful time of the year at Princess Hall in Aldershot, as audiences are transported to panto-land for an all-singing, all-dancing, glittery spectacular. For 2024, we are whisked to France for Beauty and the Beast, sometimes viewed as a rather problematic title but presented here sweetly with an emphasis on recognising the good in others.
It’s also a special year for two cast members, with Robert Hopkins celebrating his 30th consecutive panto for Princes Hall and partner in comedy crime Donovan Christian Cary celebrating his 20th! As the saying goes, “if it ‘aint broke don’t fix it”, and these two are clearly beloved by local audiences. With bags of energy, warmth, and old school charm, they immediately have the auditorium eating out of their hands and make it look effortless. This year, Cary is Sugar Kane and Hopkins her son, yes you guessed it—Harry.
But they are not alone in the talent stakes, with every principal character giving their all, including some stunning vocal performances.
Naomi Cowe is a beautifully bright Belle, gentle and generous but not afraid to speak her mind. Her solo of “Daddy’s Girl” provides some unexpected pathos in an otherwise very upbeat show. As the Beast / Prince, Matt Bond starts vain and shallow, beginning with comedy number “That’s it” from the 1960s musical Charlie Girl,but later gets to really shine and bring the house down with a passionate rendition of “This is the Moment” from Jekyll and Hyde. Theirs is not the smoothest of panto love stories, so there was an added “oooooh” for their eventual kiss.
Representing good and evil through some wonderful rhyming, and respectively standing on stage right and left, there’s Natalie Turner’s Fairy Fantastique and Melanie Masson’s Mademoiselle Pimpernel. Vicki Michelle would be proud of Turner’s French accent (although occasionally very high pitched!) that creates a very sparkly and bubbly fairy who’s at much at home front of tabs as disguising herself as a French maid and lending her polished vocals to the ensemble numbers with gusto.
In complete contrast, Masson stalks the stage in black and purple leather, very much giving 1980s sexy villain. She milks the boos and makes the most of every moment of both solos, the appropriately picked “Queen of the Night” and “Look What you Made Me Do”. This is a performance that really takes flight after the Beast’s transformation and her plans for domination are revealed, as in the opening scenes, the Prince is so beastly it doesn’t look like an unfair fate.
But these aren’t the only inhabitants of the town of Petit Pois, and the cast also features Belle’s Father Marcel (Tom Capper) and the Prince’s servants Flambe (Matt Sparkes) and Coggins (Tristan Ward). These three work hard providing additional comedy and propelling the plot forward. Sparkes makes a flamboyant impact during “Don’t Stop me Now” and “Don’t Stop Moving” and Ward as the earnest tour guide and etiquette coach keen to make Belle feel at home in the castle. Special mention for Tom Capper’s ad lib whilst running up and down the aisles chasing five toilet rolls—“I’m meant to be playing an old man this year!”
In a tradition that’s sadly fast fading elsewhere, the chorus is made up of talented local dancers ranging from (what looked like) 6–16 years, who elegantly fill the stage and show their skill in a variety of styles. The choreography never upstages the principals, but they all have their moments in the spotlight, be that as woodland creatures, villagers or sequinned French maids.
Structurally, it’s a rather long first half with a lot of exposition (that’s a little wordy for the very littlest of audience members) and a rushed transformation scene. However, with a quick pace and plenty of puns, the time until the interval does fly. And where would you trim the script anyway? It would be a huge shame to deny Aldershot audiences either the razzle dazzle of the company dance routines or the comedic capers of the dame and her son. Indeed, this panto is a triple threat, delivering a “12 Days of Christmas”, bench routine and silly sausage kitchen scene on top of a house song!
And this is what makes the Aldershot panto so special: they absolutely know what works and they deliver it in spades, giving the audience so many opportunities to shout out, boo, hiss and generally join in that by act two, the noise is absolutely deafening. There’s a fine line between dated and traditional, and the company treads it finely, settling on a classic approach that combines modern references such as The Traitors with jokes so well-known that Hopkins encourages the audience to shout out the punchlines.
This is a cast that radiate joy, and that feeling of warmth is more than reciprocated by the eager audience, who understand that they have permission to show their appreciation loudly and with great enthusiasm. The Princes Hall flies the flag for traditional pantos, and Beauty in the Beast continues that custom, creating an animated world of storytelling with friendship and love at the heart. It’s all coming up roses in Aldershot!
Reviewer: Amy Yorston