Beautiful or Beastly? Beauty and the Beast at The Albany Theatre
- David Court
- Dec 12, 2025
- 1 min read
Beauty and the Beast, performed at the Albany Theatre, Coventry from 6 December 2025 to 4 January 2026
Review by David Court
I’m usually a fan of fresh and distinctive takes on classic material, and Beauty and the Beast is certainly a bold retelling of the Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve story.
In Theresa Heskins’ stage adaptation, the Goblin Queen Ranjhildre is finally captured by the Warrior Queen and, in her attempt to escape, curses the Warrior Queen’s son to remain in the form of a beast until he finds true love. When Bella stumbles upon the Beast’s castle, she encounters the cursed prince, who tries—sometimes awkwardly—to win her affection.
All art is subjective, of course, but this production didn’t quite connect with me. It’s undeniably lavish, with inventive staging, impressive puppetry, and strong lighting and sound design. However, the narrative itself felt less magical.
At times the production seemed a little overcrowded, with frequent moments of characters talking over one another and pacing that felt unusual. I also found it difficult to pinpoint the intended audience, as both children and adults around me appeared uncertain how to respond, and several of the comedic moments didn’t quite land.
While it wasn’t the right fit for me, others may find much to enjoy in its ambition and visual flair.
For more details on the show, click here.
I agree with the comments above. There was consistent over-acting, a poor storyline and my children were bored. We left early as my boys had lost interest and were getting distracted. I left feeling frustrated that what should have been a wonderful end to the Christmas holiday was a waste of time, money and energy.
This was probably the worst production I've ever seen. It was unclear whether it was intended as a pantomime since it possessed none of the usual aspects and since it wasn't a musical either came across as just a bunch of very bad actors shouting over each other. It was hard to interpret the story that made little sense and with what appeared to be thrown together costumes andjust curtains for scenery it couldn't be described as lavish. The tickets, over priced at £22 warranted something far better.