KD Productions have been bringing Southport’s professional pantomime for the past three years.
This year the traditional tale of Beauty and the Beast. Obviously, there are things that cannot be done due to copyright. But all of the things are in there, a goody a baddie and a happily ever after. Even the it’s behind you moment.
With live band of musicians led by musical director Alex Holley.
I will say I find it a little bit of a shame that they are not able to use people from the north west to appear in a pantomime taking place in the north west. I understand that you find talent where you find it, but we have a lot of talented professionals from the area.
Having said that, of course, the cast were very talented; Safia Bartley gave us a lovely Belle, a stunning vocal with lovely characterisation. She gave us a fantastic version of Adele’s ‘All I ask.’
I would say the standout performance was definitely from Coral Mourant as the evil queen Morgiana. Everything from the powerhouse vocals, well rounded character and even the movement of the hands during the scenes, she had considered every detail.
A strong performance also from Sam Robinson as Gastrong, the vain, buff character based roughly on Gaston from the film. He really embodies this character.
A shout out also to the two members of the ensemble, Chris Gray and Felicity Nunn Who also had the daunting task of covering various roles. Due to the small number of cast, there were a couple of moments where it seemed uncomfortably placed for the two dancers to be basically placed in front of the cast of Junior dancers.
Some of the choreography to me, looked messy and under rehearsed, which seems crazy being so far into the run. The junior dancers also didn’t look particularly happy to be there. Which is not normally something that you would notice.
The biggest problem for me with this production is the sound in every aspect. During the dialogue the microphone level was way too loud, when they were speaking with underscore music, the music was too loud. When they were singing, the music was too loud compared to the vocal. It was so loud in parts that I was unable to concentrate. And I am a big fan of having productions play loud. I was sat halfway back!
Overall, the set, costuming, and light design were excellent, a memorable moment being the traditional costuming of Belle and the beast in the lovely yellow and blue.
Use of pyrotechnics, confetti Cannons and it even snowed, a magical Christmas moment.
The show has been put together well and the children in the audience seem to have a really good evening, loads of audience participation. High energy, with an eclectic choice of music. The Dame, Terry Burns repeatedly used one chap in the audience, for a call and response, this created a few nice moments.
Some of the scenes dragged slightly, for example there was one scene all about different kinds of chocolate bars and sweets, it easily could’ve been cut in half.
That being said the team have done a good job and the cast put their all into the show. Any professional productions brought into the town are a positive thing and it’s always good to see the theatre busy, especially towards Christmas.
With performances running through until New Year’s Eve, don’t miss out get your tickets now. https://theatkinson.co.uk/
Reviewer: Rebecca Casey
Reviewed: 17th December 2025
North West End UK Rating: