Beauty and the Beast Pantomime at Worthing Pavilion Theatre

We received press tickets for this event

It's so good to see pantomimes back in the theatres this year! Going to the pantomime has been a part of our festive celebrations for a few years now, and so we were delighted to be invited along to watch the Worthing Theatres pantomime for Christmas 2021 - Beauty and the Beast. Having not having been to the theatre since before the pandemic, it was so good to be back in the audience.

Beauty and the Beast is a classic fairy tale, and this production features actress and singer Sapphire Elia as Belle, Britain's Got Talent winner singer Jai McDowall as The Beast and Strictly Come Dancing star Robin Windsor as Gaston, alongside a fantastic supporting cast and dancers. 

Beauty and the Beast is a familiar story - when a handsome prince is cursed by a magical enchantress and turned into a terrifying beast only true love can break the spell. It's about looking beyond what we see on the surface as Belle discovers that true beauty lies beneath. 

The show has everything that you expect from a pantomime - the pantomime dame with her spectacular outfits, comedy sidekicks and slapstick humour and plenty of chance for audience participation. There was some excellent aerial gymnastics and I was really impressed with the singing and the dancing - all of the performers are incredibly talented. 

We very much enjoyed our night at the pantomime and I would definitely recommend Beauty and the Beast in Worthing this Christmas.

Beauty and the Beast is playing at the Pavilion Theatre until January 2nd 2022.

Review - Aladdin at the Pavilion Theatre, Worthing 2018

This Christmas we were delighted to be invited back to the Pavilion Theatre, Worthing to see this year's Pantomime - Aladdin.

The original story of Aladdin and the Magic Lamp is a middle Eastern folk tale, one of the stories from One Thousand and One Nights which dates back to the 18th century. There's an interesting connection with Worthing - it was originally translated by Edward William Lane at Union Place in Worthing, and so the story returns to the town after 180 years.

The story of Aladdin and his magical lamp needs little introduction, and most people are familiar with the story thanks to various film and stage adaptations. We follow Aladdin, tricked by an evil sorcerer and trapped in a cave, where he discovers the magical Genie and is able to turn his fortunes around and marry the beautiful princess.

Aladdin is played by Lee Latchford-Evans, famous from Steps, and the princess by CBeebies presenter Rebecca Keatley. Brian Blessed provides the distinctive voice of the Genie, with comedian Vikki Stone as Abanazer, Mark Jones as Wishee Washee and Dave Lynn as Widow Twankey.

Once again, the children and I enjoyed a magical pantomime. There were plenty of catchy songs (with of course some Steps classics), great sets and all the traditional pantomime elements. My children are often a bit hesitant when it comes to audience participation, but with a bit of encouragement they were soon joining in with gusto. The performances were brilliant, and Vikki Stone in particular as the baddie Abenazar was a genius casting, you could really tell how much she was enjoying the role! There were plenty of jokes, lots of slapstick comedy, and we all loved joining in with the singalong sequence.

We had a great night out and I'd definitely recommend getting tickets!

We received complimentary tickets to the pantomime in exchange for sharing on my blog and social media.