The Whitley Bay Playhouse – Friday 5th December 2025 – Saturday 3rd January 2026
We were lucky enough to get invited to The Whitley Bay Playhouse‘s performance of Beauty and the Beast last night, and we were treat to a real beauty of a show.
We’ve always had a great time at the pantomimes the they Playhouse put on each Christmas and Easter, so we had high expectations and we were definitely not disappointed! They brought this classic fairy tale to life with passion, heart, humour and a huge dose of Playhouse Panto fun!
The show perfectly balanced all of the traditional romance of the classic story, some great well performed songs, barrels of laughs and an energy and enthusiasm we’ve come to expect of a Blue Genie production.
There were some very on trend songs, great slapstick comedy and jokes that got the kids off their seats and on their feet with excitement, playing along and thoroughly enjoying the themselves, plus all the plenty of innuendo and entertainment for the adults too!
Dani Hamer (Bafta award winning CBBC star as Tracy Beaker) was starring in the lead role of Belle and was an absolute natural, she brought the story to life with ease, with it feeling very real and sincere.
The Beast was played by Chris McLeish, and he delivered a powerful performance. Playing The Beast is arguably the hardest role in the show, getting the right balance between theatrical and fun, purveying the character of Beast/Prince and his story arc from arrogant Prince to much loved hero, all while wearing all those horns and fur. He did this magnificently and made the audience feel for the fallen cursed Prince.
The scenes between Belle and The Beast has an authentic and heart felt feel and made the audience genuinely care for their unlikely but budding relationship.
Belle had been raised by Patsy since she was very young. Patsy, played by Daniel Mawston, was the cook, bringing the show a large serving of sass, with a side order of innuendo and a belly full of laughs for good measure. The panto dame was a much loved character and got a large reception ever time she entered the stage.
Complimenting Patsy and bringing the whole show to life was Steve Walls, as French Frank. A Whitley Bay Playhouse legend you can’t really comprehend a panto there without Steve, he engages the audience with such ease and professionalism you cannot help but get swept up in the performance. This year was no exception! With a tide of gags, some good groans at some top level ‘Dad Jokes’, energetic slapstick, cheeky improv and a tonne of laughs.
Frank had a real surprise scene stealing moment half way through (no spoilers) that had the whole audience a gasp!
As ever Steve was brilliant and brought the whole production to life with his charm, cheek and infectious humour.
There was also some great comedy moments from Gaston played by Stylianos Thomadakis and his loyal sidekick Le Shue, Simon Barnard. Gaston gave us the much needed villain of the story while his hapless companion Le Shue was the brunt of much of the slapstick. They both played their parts perfectly, and you could tell they loved the roles.
Narrating the whole show was the Fairy of the North, played by Mary J Proud. She set the story in motion perfectly and brief moments of calm between the scenes.
Alongside the main characters there was a host of dancers. The main four professional ones, plus a troop younger ones from the region. As ever they were all amazing. I’m always blown away by the standard at The Playhouse, they really do a great job, with an outstanding level of ability and professionalism when it comes to the dance and choreography.
But all of the cast mentioned aside, I have clearly not mentioned the real star of the show yet! The Bench! For those who are Playhouse Panto regulars know that no show would be complete without it! Well not to worry, The Bench, as ever stole the show!
All in all the show was a huge success. It did everything you want from a Panto. Loads of laughs, big dance numbers, sing-a-long out load songs, slapstick, innuendo gallore, all of the classic audience participation, and a truly heartfelt story brought to life.
We’d definitely recommend going to see Beauty and The Beast at The Whitley Bay Playhouse if you can this festive season.
You can catch the show Fri 5th Dec 2025 – Sat 3rd Jan 2026. For more information visit here.