Wellingborough panto to bring Beauty and the Beast to Castle Theatre this Christmas featuring 'wonderful' talent
Beauty and the Beast will tell the tale of a cursed prince transformed into a beast, whose only chance at breaking the spell lies in finding true love, but as is the way with the Castle Theatre’s annual pantomime, several surprises will be in store.
Cast members have come from far and wide including from Oxfordshire, East Sussex, London and the Isle of Man, as well as local cast members from Wellingborough and Northampton.
Martin Cleverley, former general manager of the Castle, now serves as a producer of its in-house productions.
He said: “We were blown away with just how many people wanted to be involved in the production of Annie in May, which must go to show how special this theatre is to its local community.
"For Beauty and the Beast, this is the first time we’ve produced this title at the Castle as a professional pantomime."
The Castle has long held a pantomime in December every year, with such stories including Cinderella, Peter Pan, Jack and the Beanstalk and more.
Tickets for Beauty and the Beast start at £15.50 on November 30, rising to £31.50 for performance times close to Christmas.
The Castle celebrated its 30th anniversary in the spring, with Beauty and the Beast being the first pantomime production since the milestone.
It follows the 2024 production of Peter Pan, and will see returning actors Gary Johnson and Daniel Taylor take on new roles as Mademoiselle Marmalade and Doc, respectively.
Other cast members include Aura Mitchell as Beauty, Edward Conroy as Dijon, Kaysee Craine as Prince Pierre/Beast and Andy Rose as Danon.
Gary Johnson said: “It’s a joy every Christmas coming back home to Wellingborough and this fantastic theatre. We’re so lucky to have a theatre here in this town run by Parkwood with such wonderful talent to share the stage with.
“We’ve got such a fantastic cast here, we’re so lucky to have this talent come and join us in our local theatre.”
Daniel Taylor added: "One of the things I was looking forward to when coming back is that, last year being new to Wellingborough, was the level of actors and team from stage and front of house blew my socks off.
“There’s a real family feel here, it’s a real joy.”