Beauty and The Beast The Pantomime
★★★★☆ Joyous
Church Hill Theatre: Wed 3 – Sat 6 Dec 2025
Review by Erin Frances Speirs
Balerno Theatre Company’s Beauty and The Beast The Pantomime, running at the Church Hill to Saturday, is a gloriously fun affair from an energetic community theatre for – and featuring – adults and children alike
Lewis C Baird directs with dynamic flair. He places his own adaption of the Disney version, mixed in with elements of Cinderella, in our very own Auld Reekie where the Enchantress (Debbie Spurgeon) has put a curse on the superficial Prince Sebastian to transform him into The Beast (Mark Jones) until a pure hearted woman loves him.
Belle McTavish (Kirsten Keggie) and Dame Brenda McTavish (George Mackie). Pic: Sarah Hendrie creative.
Many years later, Belle McTavish (Kirsten Keggie) and her mother Dame Brenda McTavish (George Mackie) find themselves caught up in Baroness Morag De Bagg’s (Jessica Russell) villainous plans to take over Auld Reekie.
Needing to scrape up some shillings in order to not lose Dame Brenda’s bakery, the pair decide to take up an invitation to a nearby palace, where they meet The Beast and his comic janitors Hector (Michael Davies) and Senga (Roman Mitchell).
From Wicked to Celine Dion, this is packed with popular songs of different genres, performed by a live band under MD James McCutcheon. The music fits seamlessly into the plot –even when some lyric changes are difficult to make out from the ensemble – Not an issue with Adele’s ‘Rolling in the Deep’ which is more forced than other numbers.
jolly pace
The production moves at a jolly pace with a great mix of family friendly jokes with innuendoes. crafted to fly over children’s heads. These are mostly delivered by George Mackie as Dame Brenda, who is truly hilarious and a pleasure to witness on stage.
A scene from Balerno Theatre Company’s Beauty and the Beast the Pantomime. Pic: Sarah Hendrie creative.
Keggie shines as Belle, a Scottish version of the famous kind hearted princess-to-be. While Jones struggles at times with his vocal performance as the Prince/Beast. his acting as the grumpy but secretly romantic beastly Prince is strong. The chemistry between the lovers is lacking in the first act, however, although it comes alive later.
Russel stuns as the villainous Baroness, with a performance full of purposeful extravagance, and many evil cackles. Her vocal talents and comedic skills as the main villain are spectacular. Malcolm McFadyen brings a comic charm to sidekick Squire Jimmy, while Debbie Spurgeon’s Enchantress is full of grace, with vocal talents just as magical as the character herself.
Michael Davies and Roman Mitchell as the janitors Hector and Senga are a highlight of the production. Davies’ vocal and comedic abilities are true perfection in his hilarious moments with Dame Brenda. Mitchell, depping for Iona Irving on the night Æ was in, might be only eleven years old, but she rightly struts around the large stage with confidence, giving a brilliant performance as the sassy janitor.
phenomenal
The large ensemble should also be commended. Specifically, it must be said, the child performers who, at many times, outshine the adult ensemble.
BTC’s production values are phenomenal. Lighting design from MM Sound & Lighting is vibrant and lively. This helps mask the loosely performed yet well choreographed movement from Sophie Douglas. The high quality of the production is pulled together by costumes hired from The Looks Good, which are perfectly campy and varied.
The Balerno Theatre Company in Beauty and the Beast the Pantomime. Pic: Sarah Hendrie creative.
BTC uses a video wall with content from SLS Productions to change from scene to scene, rather than using larger sets. While this design choice makes it easy to change location, it is disappointing to see generative AI used for these. Particularly in a pantomime as spirited and creative as BTC’s. These off-putting cartoonish images, often falling into the Uncanny Valley, take audiences out of the magic.
Disappointing use of AI apart, BTC’s Beauty and The Beast The Pantomime is a joyous evening out for the whole family. It is filled to the brim with all the humour, pop culture references, and sass you could ask for from a pantomime.
Running time: Two hours and 30 minutes (including one interval)
Church Hill Theatre, Morningside Rd, EH10 4DR
Wednesday 3 – Saturday 6 December
Wed – Sat: 7.30pm; Fri mat: 2.30pm, Sat mat: 2pm.
Tickets and details: Book here.
Balerno Theatre Company Website: www.balernotheatrecompany.co.uk
Facebook: @balernotheatrecompany
Instagram: @balernotheatrecompany
ENDS.
